1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class as a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: a show that uncovers a little bit more about history 4 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 1: every day. I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode, we're 5 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,479 Speaker 1: looking at the crucial breakthrough that finally brought a string 6 00:00:23,560 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: of brazen murders into the life. The day was May eleven, 7 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: nine French authorities exhumed the body of Leone Baynar and 8 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,240 Speaker 1: found telling evidence that he may have been murdered by 9 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: his wife. A toxicology report revealed Leon's body contained a 10 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:55,319 Speaker 1: high dose of arsenic, an odorless, tasteless poison that had 11 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: been a popular choice among killers for centuries. A large 12 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:02,640 Speaker 1: dose of arsenic can kill a person within a few hours, 13 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,840 Speaker 1: but since the poison builds up in the body, it's 14 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:10,360 Speaker 1: also possible to kill someone gradually by administering small doses 15 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: of arsenic over time. This slow and steady approach often 16 00:01:15,080 --> 00:01:18,680 Speaker 1: produces signs of regular illness in the victim, making their 17 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: eventual death seem less suspicious. Arsenic poisoning had been notoriously 18 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: difficult to detect until the early eighteen thirties, when a 19 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: reliable test was finally developed. However, Since gradual poisonings were 20 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: still hard to recognize, many arsenic killers got away with 21 00:01:37,840 --> 00:01:41,959 Speaker 1: multiple murders before their crimes were discovered. This was the 22 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: case with Leone's wife, Marie Josephine Philippine de Vaio, or, 23 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: as she would later be known, the Queen of Poisoners. 24 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: Marie had been married once before to a cousin, but 25 00:01:56,320 --> 00:02:01,559 Speaker 1: he died of tuberculosis in Or, at least we think 26 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: it was tuberculosis at any rate, Marie married Leone the 27 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: following year, and the couple settled into a modest life together, 28 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:12,920 Speaker 1: one they grew to resent. Not long after the wedding, 29 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 1: the trouble arose when Leone's parents inherited a large sum 30 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: of money from his great aunts. It didn't seem right 31 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: for an aging couple to live so well while their 32 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: children lived in poverty. To correct this imbalance, the Beaynars 33 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: invited Leone's parents to move in with them in Loudoun, 34 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: a commune in western France. Leone's father died shortly after 35 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: the move, allegedly from eating a bad mushroom by mistake. 36 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:48,799 Speaker 1: A few months later, his mother passed away supposedly from pneumonia. 37 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: With his parents out of the way, Leone stood to 38 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:56,079 Speaker 1: inherit half of his family's fortune. The other half went 39 00:02:56,120 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: to his sister Lucy. As you can probably s Lucy 40 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 1: wasn't long for this world. She died soon after the 41 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: money was divvied up, and though her death was ruled 42 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: as suicide, it almost certainly wasn't. Marie and Leone took 43 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: possession of Lucy's half of the fortune, but they decided 44 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: why stop there. They took in a married couple, the 45 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 1: reves as Borders, and wouldn't you know it, both of 46 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: them died suddenly under the Baynar's roof. Their short time 47 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: together must have left a strong impression, though, because the 48 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: Reves will actually named Marie as the soul beneficiary. Next 49 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: up on the chopping block were Pauline and Virginie la Laurent, 50 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: a pair of Marie's cousins. Pauline was the first to die, 51 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,839 Speaker 1: and her sister followed suit about a week later. As 52 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,119 Speaker 1: Marie explained, in both cases, the women had died from 53 00:03:55,240 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: accidentally consuming lie. You'd think that virgin Any would have 54 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: exercised a little more caution after what happened to her sister, 55 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: but according to Marie, she did not Oh, and to 56 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: answer your question, yes, both sisters had named Marie as 57 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: their soul heir. By that point, the bey Nars had 58 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 1: inherited a total of six houses, two farms, one in 59 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: and a cafe. Now fabulously wealthy, Leone took the head 60 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:29,280 Speaker 1: of the town post office as his mistress. He even 61 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: invited her to move in with him and his wife. 62 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: Perhaps in retaliation, Marie took a lover herself, one who 63 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:41,480 Speaker 1: was supposedly thirty years younger than she was. Leone objected 64 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 1: to the arrangement, and it wasn't long after that he 65 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:49,760 Speaker 1: became violently ill and dropped dead over lunch. The town 66 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: doctors ruled that his death was due to uremia, a 67 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: deadly condition that occurs in the final stage of chronic 68 00:04:56,560 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 1: kidney disease. That explanation satisfied the local police, but the 69 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:05,479 Speaker 1: local gossips of Ludon, France, had a theory of their own. 70 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: For years, they had whispered about the so called Beynar 71 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:13,720 Speaker 1: family jinks, but as they watched nearly all of Marie's 72 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: family members die strange and untimely deaths, they eventually realized 73 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:21,840 Speaker 1: there was more than just bad luck at play. With 74 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 1: the death of Leon in ninety seven, Marie inherited all 75 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: of the couple's accumulated wealth, seemingly confirming the neighbor's suspicion 76 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: that she had been the mastermind behind all the mysterious 77 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: deaths all along. Still, despite all the rumors of poisoning, 78 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,719 Speaker 1: authorities didn't look at Marie as a suspect until fifteen 79 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,719 Speaker 1: months after the death of her husband, when her own 80 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:52,039 Speaker 1: seventy eight year old mother died under suspicious circumstances. Soon after, 81 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:56,040 Speaker 1: on the morning of May eleventh, ninety nine, the body 82 00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: of Leon Beynar was exhumed and traces of arsenic were 83 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 1: discovered in his body. Two months later, fifty two year 84 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,920 Speaker 1: old widow Marie Baynar was taken into custody and charged 85 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: with the murder of thirteen people. That's all of the 86 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 1: ones I've mentioned so far, along with her own father, 87 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 1: her great aunt, and her grandmother in law. The state 88 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: spent nearly three years building its case against the Queen 89 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: of poisoners. They interviewed townspeople, including Leone's mistress, who revealed 90 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:31,040 Speaker 1: that he had suspected his wife might try to kill 91 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: him and asked that an autopsy be performed. In the 92 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: event of his death. In the end, the bodies of 93 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: all thirteen of Marie's alleged victims were exhumed and examined. 94 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: Each of them had two things in common. They had 95 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:49,200 Speaker 1: all named Marie Beynar and their wills, and they all 96 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:53,760 Speaker 1: contained traces of arsenic. The evidence was strong enough to 97 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:57,360 Speaker 1: take Marie to trial three different times, in fact, over 98 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:01,039 Speaker 1: the course of a decade, but ultimately it wasn't enough 99 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:05,520 Speaker 1: to convict her. Toxicology was still a relatively new science 100 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: at the time, and the methods behind it left some 101 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,560 Speaker 1: room for doubt. This uncertainty led to two mistrials and 102 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: eventually to an acquittal. It was pointed out during the 103 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,400 Speaker 1: third trial that some of the bodies exhumed had been 104 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 1: buried for a decade or longer and had contained only 105 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,880 Speaker 1: faint traces of arsenic. It was possible, then, the defense 106 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: argued that arsenic could have entered their bodies through the 107 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:34,680 Speaker 1: soil of their grave sites. After all, witnesses testified that 108 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:38,640 Speaker 1: potatoes had been grown near the Ludon cemetery, and some 109 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: of the fertilizers used were known to contain arsenic. Scientists 110 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: were forced to admit the possibility and as a result, 111 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: the jury took less than three and a half hours 112 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:55,640 Speaker 1: to acquit Marie. On December twelfth, nine, after twelve years 113 00:07:55,680 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 1: of litigation, Marie Beynar was cleared of all charges and released. 114 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,440 Speaker 1: By most people's reckoning, she had gotten away with thirteen murders, 115 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: though it's possible the number could have been even higher. 116 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: If you're expecting a third act twist or maybe some 117 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: kind of late stage come up ince for the killer, 118 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: this isn't the story you're looking for. Marie Beynar was 119 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: a free woman when she died of natural causes in 120 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:27,080 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty at the age of eighty four. There's no 121 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:30,680 Speaker 1: clear cut takeaway for a case like this, though one 122 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: despondent states attorney did consider it a compelling argument for 123 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:39,080 Speaker 1: cremation over burial. True, that would make it harder to 124 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,320 Speaker 1: determine if you'd been killed by poison, but at least 125 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:44,559 Speaker 1: you could be certain that you wouldn't be hauled out 126 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:48,320 Speaker 1: of the ground for nothing. That's small comfort, but in 127 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 1: the case of the Queen of poisoners, that's the best 128 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: you're going to get. I'm Gabe Louzier, and hopefully you 129 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:00,200 Speaker 1: now know a little more about History today and you 130 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 1: did yesterday. If you enjoyed today's show, consider following us 131 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d i HC Show. 132 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,599 Speaker 1: You can also rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, 133 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,559 Speaker 1: or you can send your feedback directly to me by 134 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 1: writing to this day head I heart media dot com. 135 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,439 Speaker 1: Thanks as always the Chandler Mays for producing the show, 136 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 137 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for another day in History class.