Casefile True Crime - Case 129: The Dupont de Ligonnès Family

Episode Date: November 2, 2019

In early April 2011, several friends and relatives of Nante’s Dupont De Ligonnès family received an unexpected letter that read: “Hi everyone! Huge surprise: we have to leave urgently for the U.S due to a very particular set of circumstances that we will explain below. When you read this letter, we will no longer be in France and won’t be able to return for an as-yet-undetermined period of time.” --- Episode narrated by the Anonymous Host Episode researched by Erin Munro Episode written by Elsha McGill Creative Director: Milly Raso A special thank you to Holly Evans Plumelet and Sylvain Plumelet for their assistance with this episode. For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-129-the-dupont-de-ligonnes-family

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. The city of Nantes is situated in the northwest of France, in the heart of the Loire Valley wine region. The Loire River curves through the city, which is defined by its striking blend of heritage architecture, 18th century facades, and Mediterranean-inspired dwellings. The layout is typical of many French cities, a medieval town centre framed by densely packed

historic suburban buildings before giving way to newer homes and public housing. before giving way to newer homes and public housing. As the sixth largest city in France, Nantes has been praised by the European Commission for offering a higher quality of life. The six-member Dupont de Léganès family lived at 55 Robert Schuman Boulevard, a narrow two-storey residence in a wealthy residential area west of the city. Their home was part of a row of matching terraced buildings overlooking a busy thoroughfare, interspersed with patisseries, bars, and other businesses. The family lived a comfortable, middle-class life. Fifty-year-old patriarch Xavier Dupont de Léganès had aristocratic ties and noble ancestry. He was raised in a devout Catholic household in the regal, upper-class city of Versailles,

west of Paris. It was there that he met Agnès Sordanger, an elegant young woman two years his junior. Xavier and Agnès dated throughout their teens and became engaged, but the relationship ended before their marriage went ahead. In the years following their breakup, Xavier indulged his love of American culture and country music by travelling the famous highway Route 66 in the United States. The couple reunited in Versailles, at which point Agnes had a one-year-old child named Arthur from a previous relationship. Xavier told a friend he was in love and willing to take on the responsibility of parenting Arthur, which was unusual for a man of his status at the time. Xavier and Agnes were married in a quiet ceremony in 1991 and went on to have three children, Thomas, Anne and Benoit. The family lived throughout France

and spent nine months travelling across the United States before settling in Nantes in 2003. before settling in Nantes in 2003. Xavier was an entrepreneur who owned several small online businesses, including one based in Miami. His main focus was a hotel and restaurant guide for truckers, travelling salespeople and business owners titled Route de Commerce U, or Salesperson's Road in English. Agnes worked part-time as a supervisor at a primary school and also taught religious studies at a local Catholic school. By 2011, the couple's eldest child, 20-year-old Arthur, was studying information technology at a university an hour away. He boarded on campus but returned to the family home in Nantes every weekend, where he worked at a local pizzeria. His brother,

18-year-old Thomas, had moved an hour east to the city of Angers where he studied music, though he too visited home most weekends. The family's youngest, 16-year-old Anne and 13-year-old Benoit, still lived with their parents, attending school at the esteemed Pèverie Sacred Heart Catholic College. Anne was a dedicated and popular student who played the piano, did some occasional modelling work, and was passionate about her religion. did some occasional modelling work and was passionate about her religion. Benoit was equally popular. He enjoyed rollerblading and singing in the church choir and was looking forward to his upcoming confirmation sacrament. On the night of Sunday April 3 2011, the Dupont de Léganès family, minus Thomas, went out for dinner and a movie.

Upon their return home, Xavier phoned his sister, Christine, and left a voice message relaying the pleasant events of their evening. He ended the message by saying, Okay, I'm going to put the kids to bed and say goodnight to everyone. Talk to you soon. Maybe. Over the following week, neighbours of 55 Robert Schuman Boulevard noticed the property had fallen unusually silent and still. Its window shutters, which were usually kept open, had been closed for some time. The black Volkswagen Golf convertible belonging to Agnes Dupont de Léganès had been parked on a nearby street for several days. The family's two pet Labradors were heard howling and crying throughout the night a week prior, but hadn't made a sound since. On Wednesday April 13, a concerned neighbour called the Nant Police and four officers arrived at the DuPont de Ligonais residence to conduct a welfare

check. A printed sign was pinned to the letterbox that read, A printed sign was pinned to the letterbox that read, Please return all mail to sender. Thank you. The officers found the family home in a relatively orderly condition, with the kitchen and bathroom spotlessly clean. The fridge and bedroom wardrobes had been emptied and the beds had been stripped of their sheets. Photos had been removed from their picture frames and various cupboards and drawers were close to empty, but they found no evidence of foul play. Police were contacted again later that afternoon,

this time by a member of Agnes' family, who had in their possession a four-page typed letter authored by Xavier. Several other relatives and friends of the Dupont de Léganès family had been mailed the same letter. It read, in part, Hi everyone. Huge surprise. We have to leave urgently for the US due to a very particular set of circumstances that we will explain below. You're receiving this letter by conventional post because for the next few years, we can't communicate any other way for safety reasons. When you read this letter, we will no longer be in France and won't be able to return for an as-yet undetermined period of time.

You must be wondering what's going on. Here's the story, at least as much as we're allowed to tell you. When we started our company in Miami in 2003, the person who helped us start put us in contact with the DEA, Drug Enforcement Administration, a sort of American drug squad with agents on the ground in several countries, who were looking for a French national to infiltrate the French nightclub scene to obtain information about drug trafficking and money laundering networks without drawing attention to themselves. Through my business, Route de Commerce U, I found myself in a different city every evening with a legitimate reason to make contact with nightclub bosses,

so I was the ideal candidate. Once I was tested and briefed, I accepted my mission of working incognito for the DEA under the condition that I maintain secrecy. Everything has gone according to plan in the nightclubs for the last seven years, until now. With the information that I have collected in this time, I have become a key witness in an upcoming trial involving major international drug trafficking kingpins. The trial will have to take place in the US in the next few years. The date has not yet been determined. What complicates matters is that certain tips had recently led us to believe that my cover may have been blown, and unfortunately, we received confirmation of this yesterday.

and unfortunately, we received confirmation of this yesterday. Therefore, the situation has now become potentially dangerous for us here and has required us to take emergency measures. When I first went undercover, I accepted that I might be placed into the Federal Witness Protection Program. This is what we now have to do, and we're not doing it with any excitement, but because it's necessary and there's no way around it. So we have been taken into the protective custody of the US government and transferred to the US, and we have new identities, which must, of course, be kept secret. By the time you read this letter, we will officially no longer exist as French citizens. We will be US citizens, living in the US like any other US citizen. Except, we will be forbidden

from communicating with our family and friends for an undetermined period of time, at least until the trial is over. The hardest thing? There is some tension with the children, who couldn't tell their friends and are forbidden from using Facebook and other online networks. We had to give up the dogs. Luckily, someone took both of them so they won't be separated. The children's schools are aware, as are Arthur's and Thomas' landlords and Agnes' and Arthur's employers. The official story is that we have been transferred to Australia for work without providing any specific details. It would be good if you could spread this false story on Facebook and elsewhere. We hope it doesn't drag on for too many years.

elsewhere. We hope it doesn't drag on for too many years. Of course, we send all our love and a thinking of you very much during this enforced separation. Take good care of yourselves. We'll have so many stories to tell you later on. Xavier, Agnes, Arthur, Thomas, Anne, and Benoit. The hard part is going to be getting used to our new names. The letter went on to explain that the family had been allowed to store valuable personal items, such as photos, souvenirs, computers, paperwork, jewellery and weapons into a safe, but they hadn't had time to finish sorting through the rest of their possessions. They didn't trust the Americans to do a thorough job and assigned the task to friends, with the key to their house available in the meter box outside. 70% of the household items were to be taken to the dump, excluding several items of

expensive furniture, which were family heirlooms that needed to be shipped to Agnes' family. Some other high-value items should be sold, including the family's two cars, the Volkswagen Golf Convertible and Citroen Zantia, with the proceeds given to Xavier's sister, Christine. A third car, a Citroen C5, was unsellable and had already been scrapped for parts. The property's utility services needed to be cancelled, with relevant paperwork left on the dining room table. The foosball table, entertainment equipment and musical instruments could be divided between those who helped clear out the home. The letter specified,

No need to worry about the metal detector or the canoe which can stay there, nor the rubble and the other mess piled up on the terrace, at the end of the garden and in the basement. That was all there when we moved in. Through his work, Xavier had been developing a loyalty system for restaurant guests and he encouraged a friend to pursue the project, explaining it would provide his family with a comfortable income upon their return to France. He asked his sister Christine and her husband Bertram to manage the family's bank accounts, where payments of approximately 4,000 euros would be coming in for the next few months.

Christine initially thought the letter was a joke, but recognised the methodical instructions listed within were typical of her brother. She had never quite understood what Xavier did for work and the possibility that he was an undercover agent made sense to her. Bertram was less convinced, questioning the letter's light tone, and thought it strange that Xavier took the time to detail and delegate tasks under such critical circumstances. The American Embassy in Paris contacted the United States Drug Enforcement Administration where officials confirmed they had never heard of Xavier Dupont de Liguenesse and neither he nor his family were part of any witness protection scheme. Police attended the Dupont de Liguenesse residence for a second time

and walked through the house, garden and cellar, but once again found nothing particularly concerning. It appeared as though the family had simply left in a hurry. The timeline leading up to the family's sudden departure exposed far more red flags. Xavier and Agnes took three of their children, Arthur, Anne and Benoit, out for dinner and to see a movie on Sunday April 3. Their remaining son, Thomas, was not in attendance as he spent that weekend at his college campus in Angers. The morning of Monday April 4, Xavier phoned his wife's employer to inform them that she had fallen ill with gastro and wouldn't be coming in. Agnes' boss later

received a text message from Xavier stating her illness had worsened and she had been hospitalised. When colleagues tried to reach out, a text message from Agnes informed them that she was uncontactable while in hospital. At the same time, Xavier phoned Anne and Benoit's school, excusing their absence over the coming days due to illness. That evening, Xavier drove to Angers to pay Thomas a visit, taking his son out for a meal at a high-end restaurant. The pair were courteous to staff but barely spoke to one another. As they dined, Thomas announced he wasn't feeling well and walked outside to get some fresh air and rest in the car. The next day, Thomas was at a friend's house when

he received a call from his father alerting him to his mother's hospitalisation following a bicycle accident. Thomas told his friend her injuries weren't serious, but his father had insisted he return home that night. He sent a Facebook message to an ex-girlfriend with whom he was still friends to let her know before boarding a train to Nantes at approximately 10.30pm. He disembarked at the city station a half an hour later, where his father was waiting. Mobile phone data revealed the pair drove to the family home, arriving at approximately 11.45 p.m. The following morning of Wednesday April 6, two of Anne's friends paid her a visit to see how she was doing. The shutters on her bedroom window were closed, though a light shone from inside another upstairs room, suggesting someone

was home. A note stuck to the front door warned visitors not to ring the bell as the children were sick and shouldn't be woken. The girls left and received a text from Anne the next day explaining she was still sick and wouldn't be around for a few days. That same day, Thomas' friend texted to see how he was doing and was sent in response, I'm not coming to yours, I'm ill. A second text arrived later that day and read, Really ill. I'm not coming to class. Their blunt and impersonal tone struck his friend as odd, as Thomas typically wrote long, warm messages peppered with jokes. The same friend received a third and final text from Thomas the next day that read,

I'm out of battery, my dad's looking for a new charger for me. Like his younger siblings, Arthur had also been absent from class. His college had been contacted by Xavier at the beginning of the week, who explained that Arthur had been hospitalised following a scooter accident. Arthur's girlfriend went to the DuPont de Liguenès home to check in, but no one answered the door, even though a light was on downstairs. On Thursday April 7, a friend of Arthur's sent a text message to Agnes asking if her son was okay. The response read,

Hi, don't worry. Arthur has gone with his dad to the Paris region to help with the move. He forgot his cell and my husband has forgotten his battery charger. We told the school he fell off his scooter. He'll be back on Saturday working at the pizza bar. Have a nice day." Xavier was active over email during this time, sending a message to a long-time friend, Vincent, offering him ownership of his business websites. He needed a speedy response as he was finally fulfilling his dream of moving to the United States with his family and they would be leaving the following day. Vincent could assume ownership of the websites on the condition that he didn't

tell anyone about the deal or the DuPont de Ligonasse's upcoming departure. Xavier's email declared, If you are not interested, the sites will disappear from the web. Personally, I do not care. I turn the page and go to new adventures. Vincent wrote back right away agreeing to the deal and Xavier provided him with the relevant information and access codes immediately. Vincent then sent another email asking Xavier for written authorisation to manage the domain names, but didn't receive a reply. The following night, Xavier responded to an email from his brother-in-law, Bertram, that asked how things were going with the family.

It read, Everything's fine, Bertram. You'll hear more detailed news soon through Christine. Bye for now. All the best, Xavier. Around midday on Saturday April 9, a neighbour saw Xavier out on the street holding a bottle of some kind. By then, the letters about his family's inclusion into the Witness Protection Program were in circulation, with the first received by Xavier's best friend, Emmanuel. by Xavier's best friend, Emmanuel. He re-read the letter multiple times, unsure what to make of it, before heading to 55 Robert Schuman Boulevard, only to find no one home. The house keys weren't in the meter box as the letter described, but in their place was a handwritten post-it note informing they would be deposited between Sunday and Monday night.

That same evening, Xavier arrived to Arthur's College where he was witnessed cleaning out his son's dorm room. The next morning, his metallic blue Citroen C5 was caught speeding by a traffic camera on the way to Angers, where at 9am he began clearing Thomas' room of its belongings. A neighbour held the door open for Xavier, who nonchalantly commented something along the lines of, what you wouldn't do for your children. On Monday April 11, Anne and Benoit School received an envelope that contained a cheque covering the teenagers' fees for the remainder of the academic year. They also received a typed letter from Xavier, advising that he was withdrawing his children

as his work required the family to urgently relocate to Australia. as his work required the family to urgently relocate to Australia. Similar letters also arrived to Agnes' workplace, the pizza shop where Arthur was employed, as well as the colleges he and Thomas attended, all establishing the family's sudden departure overseas. Upon receiving the perplexing letter, Agnes' boss attempted to call her, receiving the perplexing letter, Agnes' boss attempted to call her, but there was no response. Several people tried to contact the family throughout the week, but to no avail, and their Facebook accounts remained inactive. Two relatives visited Robert Schumann Boulevard to investigate, finding the house key to number 55 had since been put in the meter box. finding the house key to number 55 had since been put in the meter box.

Upon entering the home, they too noticed its seemingly deserted state, with police examining the property soon after when concerns had peaked. A missing persons file was officially opened for Xavier, Agnes, Arthur, Thomas, Anne and Benoit Dupont de Léganès, with news of their mysterious disappearance broadcast locally. Investigators searching for the missing family looked into their finances and realised that while the close-knit household appeared well-off, they were heavily in debt. In 2003, Xavier had used the majority of Vanyus' sizable inheritance to register a series of businesses, but none garnered much success and recorded more debt than revenue.

The first, NetSurf concept, was registered in Miami following his family's trip to the United States and was intended to be a hotel and restaurant guide for truckers, travelling salespeople, and their employers. The second, Selref, was registered in France and provided corporate clients with a hotel, restaurant, and conference centre verification service. Xavier travelled across France, staying in hotels using a fake identity to vet the establishments himself. His third business endeavour, Route de Commerce U, referred to in his letter, was the French version of the NetServe concept. There were also a couple of other businesses Xavier had registered, but never activated. Almost all of his companies had laid dormant

for several years, and between 2004 and 2009, he was officially registered as unemployed. In 2009, tax records indicated the Dupont de Léganès household had earned a total income of just over 5,000 euros, followed by 4,000 euros in 2010. Their house rent cost 18,000 euros per annum and this didn't include living expenses, bills, food or school fees, so Xavier sought loans from relatives and friends to make ends meet. He had also opened multiple bank accounts and credit cards in different names. Police searched the missing family's property again on Tuesday April 19 and found several receipts for suspicious items purchased in the weeks leading up to their disappearance, including large garbage bags, a box of adhesive plastic paving slabs, cement, a shovel, a hoe,

and four 10kg bags of lime. The lime, which had been purchased from several different stores throughout Nantes, was of particular interest. Also known as calcium oxide, lime is a chemical compound that prevents odour and is widely, incorrectly, believed to speed up the decomposition of human remains. On Thursday April 21, Robert Schuman Boulevard was closed off as detectives armed with a search warrant entered number 55. The investigators responsible for carrying out this search noted the house was messier than their colleagues had previously led them to believe, with garbage bags full of clothing in the bedrooms and various items scattered about.

Documents appeared to be missing, as was Xavier's desktop computer, the family's computer, cell phones, hard drives and USB sticks. In a bathroom cabinet, detectives found several opened bottles of medication to treat depression and anxiety. Despite the house being in slight disarray, it was otherwise clean and contained no rubbish. Several empty bottles of cleaning liquids, scrubbing brushes, a mop and a broom indicated it had recently been given a thorough clean. A rear door led out to a small terrace that overlooked an unkempt backyard garden consisting of a patch of dirt and some sprouting weeds. In Xavier's letter, he had specifically told his friends and family to ignore several bulky items stored underneath the terrace, claiming they were there when the family moved in.

But an officer searching the yard noticed something out of place. Several plywood boards had been fastened to the right-hand side of the terrace, blocking access to underneath the house. Some boards were also lying on the ground and soil around them appeared to be fresh. The officer picked up one of the boards, finding a dog bowl. She brushed aside some of the loose soil and discovered cement that had not quite set. It crumbled when she dug her nails into it and she began digging until her fingers came into contact with something soft. She moved the crumbled cement aside, exposing a human leg. exposing a human leg. Forensic investigators conducted a thorough search under the terrace, which at its tallest point was only 120 centimetres high. In the location where the

officer had found the leg, they came across a layer of powdered lime. They dug deeper, They dug deeper, revealing the rest of the body, followed by three others. They were identified as 48-year-old Agnes Dupont de Léganès and three of her children, 20-year-old Arthur, 16-year-old Anne, and 13-year-old Benoit. Buried with them were the family's two Labradors. Agnes' remaining son, 18-year-old Thomas, was found buried in a separate pit to the left-hand side of the terrace. Each victim was dressed for bed and had been wrapped in a sheet or blanket, along with a Virgin Mary figurine, a crucifix necklace, or a set of rosary beads.

merry figurine, a crucifix necklace, or a set of rosary beads. They were placed inside individual garbage bags, with their heads resting against blood-stained pillows. Bullet shells belonging to a.22 calibre long rifle were also found inside the bags. Autopsies revealed each victim had been shot at close range, likely with the muzzle of the rifle pressed against their bodies. Agnes, Arthur and Dan had been shot twice in the head. So had Thomas, but he had also been shot twice in the chest. Youngest child, Benoit, had sustained the most wounds, three to the head and another two to the chest. The family dogs had also been shot. None of the victims exhibited defensive wounds, indicating they had likely been asleep at the time they were killed.

Toxicology tests revealed trace amounts of sleeping pills in each victim except Agnes, implying the children had been drugged before their deaths. Small amounts of human and animal blood was found on a mop, a bucket and on a chair in the kitchen. No fingerprints were detected on the bodies of the victims, nor the materials they were wrapped in. It appeared as though the five murders had been committed inside the home, with the perpetrator going to great lengths to clean the crime scene. The coroner was unable to determine an exact date of death, but estimated the family had died between 10 and 21 days prior to the discovery of their remains. Phone records showed Anne had sent a text

to a friend at 12.30am on Monday April 4 and an analysis of Agnes' sleep apnea machine, used to help her breathe at night, showed it stopped working a few hours later at 3.30am. Agnes was likely killed around this time time before the perpetrator went into the bedrooms of Arthur, Anne and Benoit and executed them one at a time, followed by the dogs. They were then buried together under the terrace before the perpetrator went about meticulously cleaning the crime scene. Thomas wasn't home at the time his mother and siblings were slaughtered, though he was summoned to the house the following evening of Tuesday April 5 by his father and was likely murdered and buried that night. His bout of illness while dining with Xavier the evening

before might have been a reaction to sleeping pills that were planted in his meal, though his murder didn't go ahead until the following night, for reasons unknown. The whereabouts of the deceased family's patriarch, Xavier Dupont de Ligones, remained unknown, despite ample sightings of the man and continued communications from him up until he mailed out his written send-off. Emerging as the prime suspect, it appeared that in the days following the murders, Xavier contacted his family's schools and workplaces and used their phones to text concerned friends to evade suspicions over their absence. He then fabricated a story about being placed into witness protection in an effort to justify their permanent disappearance. A press conference was held immediately, during which a public

prosecutor described the murders as a methodical execution and called the content of Xavier's farewell letter delusional and contradictory. An investigation was already underway to find him, with police utilising an automatic number plate recognition system that enabled them to track down Xavier Citroen C5. It was located in a hotel car park in the coastal town of Roquebrune-sur-Argent, just over 1,000 kilometres southeast of Nantes. The car was abandoned and Xavier himself was nowhere to be seen. News of the slayings had made national headlines. A majority of the media stories disputed the possibility that Xavier had been working headlines. A majority of the media stories disputed the possibility that Xavier had been working as a covert DEA agent, although some entertained the

idea. Members of Xavier's extended family told reporters they believed he was innocent and being held hostage somewhere against his will. His sister, Christine, made an appearance on national radio station RTL, urging her brother to come forward to police if this was not the case. She acknowledged there were many signs pointing towards her brother's guilt, but described him as a doting and affectionate father incapable of committing the crimes. father incapable of committing the crimes. Agnes' family also spoke publicly, declaring they would not pass judgement until Xavier was found and could explain himself. Meanwhile, a woman named Catherine had come forward to police,

declaring that she and Xavier had recently ended a two-year-long affair. Her claims were substantiated by text and email communication between the pair, who had dated as teenagers and reconnected online in 2008. Xavier was going through a difficult period at the time, as his father had suffered an embolism and the affair began soon after. In late 2009, at Xavier's request, Catherine provided him with a loan of 50,000 euros, with Xavier promising to leave his family for her. He failed to do so and in January of 2010, he emailed Catherine explaining he was quote, at the bottom of the hole and asked her to save him by providing another loan. She refused, requesting he repay the money she had already lent

him. Xavier replied that he was three months behind on rent and only had 500 euros for the family's food that month, with the government chasing him for tax payments. In further emails, Xavier said he suffered from insomnia, anxiety attacks and was plagued by morbid ideas. He claimed he was no longer in love with his wife and entertained the idea of drugging his family with sleeping pills before setting their house on fire. He also suggested throwing himself in front of a truck so that Agnes would benefit from his 600,000 euro life insurance policy. Catherine broke things off with Xavier later that year and in early 2011, she began legal proceedings to recover

the money she had loaned him. Catherine's legal counsel ordered a bailiff to attend the Dupont de Ligonais home to provide a valuation of their possessions. When the bailiff visited the property on the morning of Tuesday April 5, no one answered the door. Four days later, on Saturday April 9, Catherine received a letter from Xavier which included the line, We had a good time together, but now you will know misfortune. It became increasingly clear that the image Xavier and Agnes presented to the outside world was starkly different to what went on behind closed doors. Interviews with friends and family revealed that in 2005,

Agnes had developed a close relationship with one of Xavier's best friends. The two embarked on an emotional affair, exchanging texts and long phone calls. During this period, Xavier's work required him to be away from home for long stretches at a time, which led Agnes to suspect he was also being unfaithful. When Xavier found out about his wife's emotional affair, the pair separated, only to patch things up six months later and resume their marriage. They sent a detailed letter to their friends and family in which Agnes accepted blame for their temporary breakup and praised Xavier as a wonderful husband. Xavier expressed a desire to absolve the

negative image their loved ones might have developed as a result of Agnes bad-mouthing him. Agnes' family reported that she had grown frustrated with the amount of time Xavier spent away and had been contemplating leaving him. Yet, there were also reports to the contrary. A close friend said Xavier loved Agnes deeply and always hurried home on Friday afternoons so they could attend square dancing classes together. The family had recently vacationed in the south of France for a family wedding and Xavier's aunt told the media the husband and wife, quote, held hands and gave the impression of being perfectly happy.

One close friend and confidant maintained Agnes was still madly in love with Xavier. In addition to the mounting financial troubles and infidelity, the couple were also heading in different spiritual directions. Agnes was a devout Catholic and extremely pious, attending mass every Sunday. Xavier had distanced himself from religion in his adult years and was furious when his wife paid a Catholic guru 3,000 euros for his services. Agnes's priest told investigators that she regularly sought advice about the strong tensions in her marriage when it came to religion. He felt the troubles between Agnes and Xavier were significant enough that divorce seemed inevitable.

Agnes and Xavier were significant enough that divorce seemed inevitable. It was discovered that in the months leading up to the murders, Xavier had visited a shooting range in Nantes. He had enrolled for shooting lessons in December 2010, telling staff he would soon be inheriting his father's.22 calibre long rifle and wanted to obtain his firearms licence. He attended several lessons and received his licence in February 2011, around the time he inherited the rifle. From there on in, he attended the range regularly, usually hiring a weapon from the venue but occasionally bringing his rifle. He raised little concern from staff, appearing friendly and always smiling, although his rifle was fitted with a silencer, which was generally frowned upon. Receipts confirmed Zabier had purchased the silencer along with ammunition a month before the murders.

In the lead-up to April 4, he attended the range four times in quick succession, on March 26, 28, 30 and April 1. On the final visit, he brought Thomas and Benoit with him, who had recently started lessons of their own. brought Thomas and Benoit with him, who had recently started lessons of their own. The three usually ended their practice with a drink, but this time they told their instructor they didn't have time to stick around, as they had other plans. On Tuesday April 26, several hundred people gathered in central Nantes to participate in a silent march in honour of Agnès, Arthur, Thomas, Anne and Benoît Dupont de Léganès. They walked with the deceased's friends and family to 55 Robert Schumann Boulevard, leaving flowers on the street out front. Agnès' car was still parked on

a nearby street, with one mourner riding in the dust that had gathered on it. You had no right. We miss you. A funeral service was held days later, with the streets around the church closed to traffic to facilitate the crowds of mourners. Loudspeakers broadcast the service to the hundreds outside who couldn't fit inside the building as individual black hearses transported the five wooden coffins to the church. black hearses transported the five wooden coffins to the church. Stories were shared fondly by their loved ones, with a member of Agnes' family addressing the friends of the children directly, quoting Pope Benedict XVI, Fear not. Believe in the strength of life and of love.

Agnes was laid to rest with her four children in an ancestral tomb in the town where her birth family originated. Locating the surviving member of the family, Xavier Dupont de Léganès, had become the number one priority. Authorities were able to piece together his movements in the days following the murders through credit card records, witness reports, CCTV footage, and highway monitoring systems. By the early afternoon of Sunday April 10, Xavier had cleared out both Arthur and Thomas' dorm rooms, with the latter's belongings found in dumpsters nearby. After travelling 90 kilometres south, he stopped to eat lunch at a restaurant, where his mixed demeanour was noted as both seemingly relaxed, yet in a hurry. By that evening, he had checked into a hotel in the town of Puil Boho,

where he dined on steak and red wine. The next day, he drove 420 kilometres southeast to the town of Blagnac, where he stayed in a hotel overnight. He then drove 350 kilometres east to the town of La Ponte and checked into a five-star inn, registering under the alias Mr Lohan Xavier, with his profession listed as businessman. He chatted openly and confidently with staff and tried flirting with the hotel manager, telling them he was in the area looking for professional contacts. He ate dinner at the hotel restaurant and used a computer at their in-house internet cafe to search for information about a controversial Catholic institution called Opus Dei. The next morning, Xavier continued 160 kilometres southeast to the Mediterranean coastal town of La Seine-sur-Mer, where he had lived briefly before his marriage

to Agnès. He spent the night in a low-budget hotel before travelling onwards 91 kilometres northeast to the town of Roquebrune-sur-Argence, an hour from the Italian border. He was familiar with the area, having lived there with his family for two years in the 90s. There, Xavier, dressed in a dark long-sleeved sweater, light-coloured pants and eyeglasses, was captured on CCTV using an ATM to withdraw 30 euros, the maximum remaining on his monthly withdrawal limit. He checked into another budget hotel and at 8.40pm emailed his friend Vincent, whom he had given ownership of his business websites a week earlier. He claimed the Route de Commerce U business website had been infiltrated by a virus

and the site had subsequently been deleted. On Friday April 15, Xavier checked out of the hotel and abandoned his Citroen C5 in the car park. As he exited the establishment, wearing a backpack and carrying a duffel bag, he turned and looked directly towards a CCTV camera located at the front of the building. Investigators interpreted this look as one of defiance or some sort of a goodbye. Investigators interpreted this look as one of defiance or some sort of a goodbye. That evening, the theft of a license plate from the parking lot where Xavier had left his car was reported to police. From that point onwards, the trail went cold. The town itself was home to several small chapels, leading to the possibility that Xavier had chosen the area for a religious pilgrimage.

Police searched a wooded location 500 metres from the hotel, covering an area of 25 square kilometres, but no trace of Xavier was found. Xavier was found. Unsubstantiated sightings placed him in the coastal city of Nice near the Italian border, driving a sedan with Paris licence plates. Some witnesses claimed he was alone, while others put him in the company of a blonde woman. Media speculated over the identity of Xavier's alleged female companion and drew a connection to a missing woman named Corlette de Romme. The 50-year-old disappeared from her home in the town of Logue, 30 kilometres west of Roquebrune-sur-Argence, the same day Xavier was last sighted. Xavier and Agnes had lived in Logue for a while in the early 90s and their home had been just 500 metres from Corlette's. Reporters wondered if Xavier and Corlette had known each other previously

and were hiding together, but investigators were certain there was no connection and were proven correct when Corlette was found deceased and her sister-in-law and sister-in-law's son were charged with her murder. Xavier's motive to kill his entire family was theorised to have been a blend of personal and professional issues in his life, with his father's death in January 2011 acting as the catalyst. Yet, such crimes were usually triggered by upcoming events rather than ones that occurred in the past. Psychiatrists concluded Xavier was a narcissist who couldn't bear to sully the Dupont-DeLeganès name with financial or marital failures. The crime appeared to be a classic case of family annihilation,

also known as familicide. According to criminologist Professor David Wilson, male family annihilators act for one of four reasons. To enact revenge on the mother, to punish the family for not living up to his ideals, to protect the family from what he perceives to be an external threat, or because he views the family as a status symbol that no longer serves this function upon his own economic failure. Speaking about his research to Wired magazine, Professor Wilson said, What's interesting and different about this category of murderer is family annihilators were overwhelmingly not known to criminal justice or mental health services.

For all intents and purposes, these were loving husbands and good fathers, often holding down high-profile jobs and seen publicly as being very, very successful. They were simply not on the radar. On Tuesday May 10, an international arrest warrant was issued, meaning French officials would have the right to indict Xavier and put him on trial, even in absentia. By May 12, approximately 330 calls had come in from the public reporting possible sightings of Xavier throughout France, Italy, and as far away as Austria, though none proved credible. There were deliberations the fugitive was being harboured by a family member, yet search warrants came up empty. yet search warrants came up empty. As did inquiries into a former business associate of Xavier's,

who helped his clients obtain anonymous bank cards that could be used worldwide without leaving a trace. It was speculated that Xavier may have employed these services to create a new identity and disappear, but investigators uncovered no evidence to support this theory. Zabier's links to a prayer group his mother founded called Philadelphia were also explored. Zabier had reportedly been involved with the group, which had been accused of being sectarian and cult-like in the past, and some suspected the group may be assisting him. and cult-like in the past and some suspected the group may be assisting him. Investigators visited group members, seizing computers, hard drives and mobile phone records, but failed to uncover any direct links to their suspect. As Xavier remained completely hidden over the following months, speculation arose that he may have ended his own life shortly after

carrying out the murders. The public prosecutors believed this was the most likely outcome, but many disagreed, arguing that he wouldn't have gone to such extreme lengths to plot his escape if he intended to take his own life. Xavier's computer had been wiped clean, but the French cyber police were able to retrieve data stored on an external server hosted by the family's internet provider. They recovered hundreds of emails, photos, and texts dated between 2006 and 2010. There were emails addressed to Catherine, Xavier's former lover, and several other women, indicating he had participated in other affairs. He maintained his habit of borrowing money from them while making false promises about the future. At one stage, he wrote about his wife's affair, quote,

I was lucky to have found a woman emotionally and sexually faithful. I was naive and confident, gullible. Realising after 15 years of marriage that it was not so, that she had physical desires of other men, was the greatest personal disappointment imaginable. Throughout 2010, Xavier made hundreds of posts under multiple usernames to an online forum titled SeatCatholique.org in which he questioned God and his faith. Around a year before the murders, he started a thread titled Necessity of Sacrifices and participated in a heated debate with other users. He said, The concept of sacrifice, bloody or not, human or animal, is intrinsically linked to all religions, and especially ours.

is intrinsically linked to all religions, and especially ours. In May that year, he wrote, 99% of the people who killed another human being did it by finding it perfectly normal and justified. Investigators contacted the site's forum moderator, who revealed that Xavier had been banned several times for, quote, "...systematically deflecting all the topics he was involved in." Whenever Xavier was banned, he would create a new account and re-engage the community. In another recovered file, Xavier had written,

In another recovered file, Xavier had written, I think I've got a superiority complex. You could call it that, but it's based on a simple observation. I belong to a group of people who are intelligent, determined, balanced and in good moral and physical health. Such people are rare compared to the masses. His wife was also active on online forums and in 2004, Agnes regularly participated in one based around psychology. In one post, she wrote, I already put many messages on this forum, but I changed my nickname for fear that my husband recognises me. I have worries about my relationship because I have a husband who is very old-fashioned in his way of being in the family. The father is the leader,

he gives an order, we execute without seeing to question or understand. He plays his role of head of the family, of a husband who must bring back his crust, but is neither tender nor huggable nor attentive. Add to that big money worries and you will imagine the atmosphere. Several days later she wrote of lacking everything, including tenderness, love, mutual friends, and sex. Quote, He hates being made to understand that his behaviour does not please. He feels attacked and humiliated, belittled. Agnes also confessed to feeling attracted to other men and having virtual affairs.

She noted that her husband had once told her, quote, If we all die at once, then everything would be over. In the months leading up to the murders, Xavier had been in contact with several ex-girlfriends, including one from Germany named Claudia. The pair had originally met in Paris in the early 1980s and were close to getting married until Xavier broke things off due to religious differences. As they had stayed in touch over the years, investigators questioned whether she might have information regarding his whereabouts. Claudia became one of their strongest leads. However, efforts to track her down were difficult

as authorities didn't know her surname. A friend who had accompanied Xavier on a trip to Germany in 1983 said Claudia's apartment was located in the city of Hannover and police aimed to launch a public appeal in February 2013 to identify and locate her, but abandoned the plan last minute amid privacy concerns. concerns. In April 2013, Xavier's brother-in-law, Bertram, tracked down a vital email exchange between Xavier and Claudia that enabled German officials to successfully locate her. Nantes police travelled to Munich to question her, though the result was anticlimactic. She hadn't spoken to Xavier recently and couldn't provide any information to further assist with the search. On April 9 2013, as the two-year anniversary of the murders approached, investigators conducted a large-scale search of mountain ranges located

61 kilometres southwest of the town where Xavier was last seen. The area featured old, steep and difficult to access lead mines that had been used to conceal the bodies of murder victims in the past. Acting on the possibility that Xavier had taken his life in this remote area, cave divers searched the old mines but found no sign of him. They returned several weeks later on May 2, focusing on a two hectare area of woodland that contained mines, cavities, wells and caves, but once again uncovered nothing of value. Close to two months later, the body of a heavily decomposed man was found hanging from a tree in a wooded area 20 kilometres from Xavier's last known whereabouts.

Anticipation that the body was that of Xavier Dupont de Léganès was quickly dismissed by DNA testing. by DNA testing. Despite the overwhelming evidence to suggest otherwise, Xavier's mother, Genevieve, and sister, Christine, refused to believe he was guilty and were convinced of his story about working undercover for the DEA. They believed the murders were part of a conspiracy orchestrated by United States officials to cover up the family's admission into witness protection. They based their theory on the belief that the bodies found under the Dupont de Ligonès home were not those of Agnes, Arthur, Thomas, Anne and Benoit, but decoys. Neither woman was given the opportunity to view the bodies,

which they believed had been released for burial suspiciously quickly. However, in cases where heavy decomposition has occurred, DNA testing and dental records are used to save families from the trauma of viewing their loved one's disfigured remains. Genevieve and Christine also noted the heights and weights of the victims were out by a few centimetres on their autopsy reports. Yet, the bodies were buried more than two weeks before they were discovered, meaning some level of shrinkage was to be expected. They pointed out Xavier's behaviour was not akin to someone who had just

carried out a violent crime and was on the run from the police. He made no attempt to hide his purchase of garbage bags, lime, cement, bullets, or the silencer for his rifle. Following his escape, Xavier used his credit cards to pay for hotels and allowed himself to be recorded on CCTV, actions his family believed a murderer fleeing authorities would never do. They referred to the arthritis in his shoulder and his recurring back problem to prove he wouldn't have been able to dig the mass grave under the terrace, which required moving two and a half cubic metres of solid earth. In April 2012, one year after the murders, Christine created a blog titled Another Point of View on the Dupont-DeLeganesque Case, in which she shared aspects of the case

she found questionable, details about Xavier's character and what she regarded as evidence that supported her theory. She acknowledged that her family's findings were shocking, but that they needed to be highlighted to ensure Xavier benefited from the presumption of innocence. In her blog, Christine claimed that Xavier had sent an email to two of his friends less than a year before the murders, saying that if an accident were ever to befall his family, quote, I hope that even after a police investigation, my parents, brothers and sisters will never be led to believe that I intentionally caused

these accidents, even if the evidence is strong. He reportedly asked his friends to store the email in a special folder in case it could help him out in the future. Christine also reported that around the end of March 2011, an anxious and scared Agnes told two friends from her prayer group that someone had been making threats against her and Xavier. Agnes had allegedly changed her email address and phone number, with one friend claiming, quote, it seemed like she wanted to cut the bridges with something or someone. Christine was certain Agnes was complicit in the plan to leave and that the text messages purportedly sent to friends from Thomas and Anne's mobile phones afterwards were written

in a way that was characteristic of their mother. The blog also alleged that Agnes sent friends an email post departure that simply contained a photo of the Statue of Liberty. Xavier's family retained a lawyer named Stéphane Goldstein to represent their interests. In a 2013 interview with L'Epoir magazine, he said, My position as a lawyer is not easy. This file is out of the ordinary, and even if I do not share the theses alleged by my clients, I cannot dismiss any hypothesis. Because, in this file, errors were made. Huge flaws remain. We do not even know when the victims were killed. In reality, there is no certainty in this case, except that bodies were discovered at 55 Robert Schuman Boulevard. Despite reports stating otherwise, Goldstein claimed that DNA tests had only established a familial relationship

between the victims, but did not confirm they were members of the Dupont-DeLeganes family. He described the autopsy reports as negligent and said there was no way Xavier could have dug the hole under the terrace alone. Quote, There is enough evidence in this file to tip the balance in favour of my client's assumptions. I searched the truth without assuming Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès' guilt. In this case, it was assumed that Xavier had murdered his family before disappearing. No other trail was explored. hearing. No other trail was explored. The case remained open and as the months and years passed with Xavier still missing, armchair

sleuths gathered online to discuss the ongoing investigation and the prime suspect's possible whereabouts or outcome. Some speculated that Xavier had gone on the run not from law enforcement, but from another unknown threat. Relatives of the Dupont-DeLeganes family joined in on the debates, offering further insight into Xavier's background. Some were willing to believe his sister's theory that the family were still alive. On Wednesday July 15 2015, just over four years after the murders, a Paris-based journalist working for the international news agency Agence France-Presse received an envelope by post. It contained a candid photograph of brothers Arthur and Benoit Dupont de Liguenesse sitting side by side at a dining room table.

Arthur appeared to be mid-conversation with someone on the other side of the table while Benoit was eating a meal and looking down at his plate. Handwritten in French on the back of the photo were the capitalised words, I am still alive. Underneath in smaller writing it read, From then until this time, not July 11 2015 and was signed with the name Xavier Dupont de Léganès. with the name Xavier Dupont de Léganès. Debate soared over whether the message was genuine or not. The photo had never been published before, yet Arthur and Benoit appeared to be the same age in the image as they were at the time of their murder. Members of Xavier's family dismissed it as a fake, adamant that Xavier would reach out to them

long before he contacted the press. Additionally, it seemed almost impossible that he would still be in Nantes. A photojournalist from Nantes thought he recognised the photo and went digging through his archives. He discovered that in 2011, he had seen the image during the silent march held in the wake of the murders and taken a photo of it, which he still had on file, confirming it was not recent. The photo and envelope were tested for DNA and fingerprints while the handwriting was analysed, with police ultimately dismissing it as a hoax. the handwriting was analysed, with police ultimately dismissing it as a hoax. Over the years, alleged sightings of Xavier Dupont de Léganès continued to be reported from far and wide, including one in central France on Monday October 17 2016.

A man bearing a strong resemblance to Xavier caught the attention of bystanders after fleeing a casino without claiming his winnings. After reviewing CCTV footage, investigators deemed the resemblance to be so remarkable that the sighting seemed reliable. A spokesperson told the media, This is a highly sensitive affair and we are doing all we can to verify the likeness. We fully intend to bring this man to justice. A manhunt was launched and the individual was located, who turned out to be no more than a lookalike. be no more than a lookalike. Fourteen months later, police received a tip-off that Xavier was seeking refuge in an isolated monastery in Roquebrune-sur-Argence that served as a place of worship for a reclusive order of Catholic monks. Given its proximity to the location where Xavier was last seen, it had already been searched in 2011, but no sign of the fugitive was

uncovered. In 2018, two worshippers recognised one of the monks who regularly served mass as bearing a resemblance to Xavier. During morning mass on Tuesday January 9 2018, two plainclothes detectives entered the chapel where four monks, including the one suspected to be Xavier, were giving the holy sacrament to four worshippers. The one purported to be Xavier was identified as 53-year-old brother Jean-Marie Joseph, who was oblivious to the fact he'd been pinned as the wanted mass murderer. Brother Joseph had been living at the monastery for many years, including when the murders took place. He later told a French news network that while he could accept that his age and height corresponded with Xavier's, the two bore no other resemblances. He found it hard to conceive that a monastery could be

suspected of hiding a mass murderer and said that if Xavier had approached, he would have told him to surrender. The Dupont de Liguenesse house on Robert Schumann Boulevard remained under the seal of the Judicial Police until 2012. In 2014, it was renovated, repainted and put on the market, where it sat for over a year. In January of 2015, it finally sold to a couple for less than half of the original asking price. As of late 2019, the case is still open and will remain so as long as the examining magistrate deems necessary. Over the years, there have been over 900 reported sightings of the suspect, but none have ever been confirmed. 58-year-old

Xavier Dupont de Léganès is said to be one of the most wanted men in France However, as Christine highlighted on her blog, her brother does not appear on Interpol's list of wanted persons Christine's blog is no longer active She made her final post on May 13 2013, saying she had shared all the available information and it had served its purpose. She explained those who knew Xavier, Agnes, Arthur, Thomas, Anne and Benoit Dupont de Léganès personally would inevitably always share a different perspective from the public, reiterating her belief that the family's disappearance was not criminal but part of a classified case. The blog refers to a famous

quote from Mahatma Gandhi which says, An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it. The theory that Xavier took his own life following the murders remains prevalent. Some argue this would have gone against his religious beliefs as suicide is considered a mortal sin in Catholicism. But according to the book The Dupont de Léganès Case by journalist Guy Oignet, Xavier had become disillusioned with his faith and had debated with family members in the past about the moral issues surrounding suicide. It didn't pose a problem to Xavier, who argued that

everyone has the right to end their own life. Some believe he had been planning the murder-suicide for several months to escape his mounting financial problems and had gone to great lengths to cover it up because he didn't want to be identified as someone who would kill his own family. In 2016, Jean-René Persinic, the former head of Nantes Judicial Police, said, We work on facts, not impressions. Without proof of death, the only method that is worth considering is living. If Xavier's corpse is discovered, authorities have confirmed he will be presumed guilty and the case will be closed. On Friday October 11 2019, as the case file team was preparing this episode, the following news made headlines across the world.

Airport staff at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris contacted authorities after a man boarded a flight to Scotland using a stolen French passport. The passenger was arrested without incident upon his arrival to the city of Glasgow. Hours later, news reports announced that fingerprint analysis had confirmed the man to be Xavier Dupont de Liguenesse, who had undergone drastic plastic surgery to change his facial features. News of the arrest quickly made worldwide headlines, but in the early hours of Sunday October 13, it was announced that UK authorities had made a mistake. The man was actually 69-year-old Portuguese national Guy Joël, who bore no physical resemblance to Xavier and was not connected to the case in any way. Guy was released after spending a night in custody, with reports stating he and his family

were very distressed by the incident. French officials have placed the blame for the error on Scottish police, who claim they were simply acting under instructions from the French authorities. The true whereabouts of Xavier Dupont de Léganès remain unknown. Thank you.