PARIS POISON MYSTERY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16456, 18 June 1921, Page 8

PARIS POISON MYSTERY.

“GENTLEMAN GIRARD/'

MICROBES FROM MUSHROOMS.

Henri Girard, the insurance agent Ktiown to a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in Paris as “Gentleman Girard,” and welcomed everywhere as a roost cultured man with a leaning towards music, literature and science, will probably stand his trial shortly (writes the Paris correspondent of the’ “ Daily Mail.") accused of being one of the most ingenious criminals ever j known in the annals of French crime. I After three years’ investigation by the well-known magistrate, if. Bonin, be has been sent before the Chamber of Criminal Indictment (which corresponds to the British Grand Jury). If this court agrees, lie may attend his trial at the next Paris Assizes charged with two murders by poison, several attempted murders, and many forgeries. His wife and one of his mistresses. Mdiue-. Donetau, me accused of being accomplices in certain of his criniesc. The debonair Girard, tall and sliru. with immaculately creased trousers and patent boots, is, according to the allegations made against him in M. Bonin’s bulky dossiers, a figure worthy of a place in the crime novels of GaborCultures of deadly microbes and concoctions of poisonous mushrooms were, it is alleged, the instruments he used instead of the better known arsenic or strychnine, so brutal in their effects and. so easy of detection. EXQUISITE MANNERS. “ Gentleman Girard ’* appears, according to the accusations. to have possessed the most extraordinary powers of attraction for both men and women- Tt was perhaps due in part to his exquisite manners and the courtly ton© of his conversation. His alleged victims, once they came within the spell of his magnetic personality, seem to bare surrendered their wills entirely to his. Girard was arrested in' August. 191 T. owing to the refusal of the Phoenix Insurance Company to pay £IOO for which a. widow named Monin. a modiste, had been insured that year. That it was merely an accident which led to the Phcvuix inspectors refusing to pay is clearly shown by the fact that t\\% other “big insurance companies had already handed over to Girard or his associates similar sums without inquiry. The police, who were informed of the suspicions against Girard, opened their inquiries and found that the dead woman had been insured four times that year. Girard, as the agent who had secured the business in each case, had according to custom been paid the first premium as his commission. The woman died before the second premium was due. After Girard’s arrest a number of scientific works on poison, drugs, plants and microbes was found at his house. He was also found, to possess a quantity of deadly poisons and a complete laboratory equipment together with a number of glass jars containing typhoid microbe cultures. GLASSES OF SWEET WINE. The charge against him in connection with the death of Mdme. Monin is that, having made out four policies on the woman's life, he lock steps to poison her. Her persuaded her to go round to the house of his future wife, Mdlle. Drouhin, to trv on some hats While Mmo. Monin was so engaged, it is alleged Girard poured out some glasses of sweet wine. The hat, having been chosen, the wine was drunk. The glass handed to Mme. Monin contained extract of poisonous mushrooms, and, says the accusation, it was Girard who had made the extract and put it in the glass. On her way homo Mme. Monin was taken ill in the street and had to bo bellied by two policemen. Three hours after reaching home she was dead. Post-mortem examination resulted in a medical declaration that she had died from mushroom poisoning. Police investigation revealed another suspicious death among the number of “ Gentleman Girard *s '* friends. Six years previously. M. Pernotte, a retired business man, after having for unknown reasons handed over to the insurance agent two policies on his life totalling £BOOO, suddenly contracted typhoid fever, together with all his family. If is wife and children recovered, but M. Pernotte, after Girard, it. is alleged, had given him a subcutaneous injection, grew worse and died. UNSUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT. The accusation alleges that at that time Girard was experimenting with microbes and had bought quantities of the typhoid cultures from wholesale druggists. During the war a soldier named Delmas became very friendly with Girard, and. after having signed"* bills in favour of the insurance agent, also sickened with typhoid. Delroas, however, was sent to a military hospital and recovered. It was next the turn of a post office employee named Durox Tn Girard's notebook, which was filled with mysterious entries, can be read opposite the dates May 10 and 11. 1917. the word “ mushroom.” On May 14, there was an invitation to dinner for Durox. The servants, it is alleged, were told not to wash up. and they say that Girard and one of his mistresses washed the plates and knives and forks in a bath full of antiseptic. Durox, liowever, was none the worse. Tn December of the seme year lie twice went to a cafe with Girard and each time was violently ill. He could not understand what was the matter, but having consulted some of his friends, decided to avoid Girard in future.

The motive put forward bv the prosecution to explain Girard's alleged crimes was that as lie never did anv real work, lie had always to find money to maintain his expensive mistresses. Tt is stated that at one time lie was keeping three costly households.