Sandy and I will be traveling during the first three weeks of April. We are “repurposing” a blog originally published in 2015 under the title of Jacques the Ripper and again in 2018, but in an expanded format under the new title of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Both titles are appropriate as our topic today is about a serial killer who passed himself off as a member of the French Resistance during the occupation. About the only difference between Mr. Hyde and Dr. Marcel Petiot is that Petiot did not drink serum to transform himself into the serial killer — he did it all on his own. His two Paris residences have been included as stops in volumes 1 (page 86) & 3 of Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters?

Some of the artifacts discussed in this blog found their way to the Paris Police Museum (click here to visit the museum web-site). Along with our friend and the best Paris guide, Raphaëlle Crevet (raphaellecrevet@yahoo.fr), we toured the museum during our last visit to Paris and spent several hours examining its exhibits dedicated to the history and forensics of the Paris police department. The majority of exhibits dealt with actual criminal cases of murderers, serial killers (including today’s subject), assassins, thieves, and other unsavory individuals. The museum covers the period beginning in the 17th-century through the present. An original guillotine blade is on exhibit. Located in the 5^e, the museum is on an upper floor of a working police station so reservations are a must. Our visit to the police museum with Raphaëlle was so much better than our visit to the Paris Sewer Museum.

Doktor Petiot. Photo by anonymous (15 March 1946). The Netherlands National Archives. PD-CCO 1.0 Universal. Wikimedia Commons.

Eighteenth century Paris police uniform. Photo by Sandy Ross (c. September 2022). Paris Police Museum.

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Dr. Petiot — Portrait du Docteur Petiot. Photo (date unknown). Author unknown. Public Domain. Wikimedia Commons.

Not many tourists (or Parisians) find themselves on this narrow little street that connects the Place du General Patton and the grand Avenue Foch. I would venture to guess that only a small percentage of Parisians even know about the nefarious past of Rue le Sueur or should I say, one of its buildings.

On the evening of 11 March 1944, 5 months before the liberation of Paris, Monsieur Marçais, resident of 22, rue le Sueur, called the police over his concern for the immense amount of black smoke billowing from the chimney across the street at number 21. He was worried about a potential chimney fire in the unoccupied house. The neighbors later noted that the smoke had been heavy for the prior 5 days and the stench was nauseating.

Two policemen arrived on their bicycles and attempted to gain entry but were not successful. A neighbor who knew the owner telephoned him. Dr. Marcel Petiot lived at 66, rue Caumartin, approximately 15 minutes away by bike. He told the police to wait, as he would be right over with the keys.

After one half hour and no Dr. Petiot, the policemen were so worried about a fire that they called the fire department from which a truck and crew were sent immediately (the fire station still exists at 8, rue Mesnil). After smashing a window, several of the men were able to get inside the dark house. They followed the smell down to the basement where the most hideous scene unfolded.

Tag: Dr. Petiot

Jacques the Ripper

Jacques the Ripper

Discovery of Bodies

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