Lætitia-Marie-Joséphine Toureaux (née Nourrissat; 11 September 1907 – 16 May 1937) was a murder victim who was found stabbed to death inside an empty Paris Métro carriage.[1] Further investigations into her death later revealed that other than working as a factory worker in the day, she worked as a spy to infiltrate the La Cagoule, a far-right terrorist group, who may have been behind her death.[2] However, the case was dropped in 1939 during the start of the Second World War before any suspects could be identified, leaving her murder unsolved.[1]
| Murder of Laetitia Toureaux | |
|---|---|
_-_2022-06-18_-_2.jpg) Toureaux was found dead at the Porte Dorée inside an otherwise empty first-class carriage by passengers boarding in the station (pictured in 2022). | |
| Location | Paris Métro Line 8, Paris, France |
| Date | 16 May 1937 6:27 p.m. – 6:28 p.m. (CET) |
Attack type | Stabbing |
| Weapon | Knife |
| Victim | Laetitia Toureaux |
| Perpetrators | Unknown |
| Motive | Unknown |
Laetitia Toureaux | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lætitia-Marie-Joséphine Nourrissat 11 September 1907 |
| Died | 16 May 1937 (aged 29) Paris, France |
| Cause of death | Homicide by stabbing |
| Spouse |
Jules Toureaux
(m. 1930; died 1934) |
Biography and death
editLaetitia Nourrissat was born in Oyace, a municipality in French-speaking Aosta Valley. She moved to Paris with her mother and her four siblings. In 1930, she married Jules Toureaux. She was found dead in a Paris Métro carriage at Porte Dorée on 16 May 1937, having suffered a single stab wound in the neck. This crime was widely discussed at the time, and the interwar period generated multiple speculations, involving the secret services and the violent political group La Cagoule.[2] Toureaux entered an unoccupied metro car at one stop, and was found stabbed to death less than 90 seconds later at the next stop.[3] Toureaux was the first person to be killed on the Paris Métro.[4][5]
Investigation
editPolice investigations, led by Commissioner Badin,[6] found that the victim was leading a double life,[7][8] and that her entire family, originally from Italy, had relocated to France. Many Italians came to Paris at the time in search of work.[9] Toureaux worked during the day in a factory,[8] but was found to also be working under a false name as an attendant at a dance hall with a seedy reputation, and frequently making discreet visits to the Italian Embassy. She was known to have had various lovers, leading police to initially suspect a crime of passion. However, further investigation revealed she had been working as a spy.[9] She had been employed to infiltrate La Cagoule,[2] a far-right terrorist group that was often overlooked later in post-war France.[2] In 1937, a member of La Cagoule that was in police custody stated that Jean Filiol was behind Toureaux's death. Another member also claimed later on that Toureaux's murder was decided at a Cagoule meeting, although he later retracted the statement, saying it had been given under duress.[10] The case was dropped two years later at the outbreak of the Second World War and the files will be kept from the public until 2038, leaving the case unsolved.[2]
Adaptation
editOn 29 June 1978, one episode of the French TV series De mémoire d'homme (From man's memory) was based on the murder of Toureaux. It was named L'affaire Laetitia Toureaux ou Le crime parfait. A book named Murder in a Metro was also written about the crime.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "10 Completely Mysterious Deaths We'll Probably Never Solve". Listverse. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Brunelle, Gayle K.; Finley-Croswhite, Annette (19 May 2016). Murder in the Métro. ISBN 9780807145616. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- ^ Finley-Croswhite, Annette; Brunelle, Gayle K. (2006), Murder in the Metro, Old Dominion University, retrieved 3 March 2008
- ^ a b Deutsch, Stephanie (10 October 2014). "BOOK REVIEW: 'Murder in the Metro'". The Washington Times. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
- ^ David King (19 January 2012). Death In The City Of Light: The True Story of the Serial Killer Who Terrorised Wartime Paris. Little, Brown Book Group. pp. 161–. ISBN 978-0-7481-3235-5.
- ^ nbonnell (12 May 2012). "1937 - Porte de Charenton, l'énigme du meurtre de Laetitia Toureaux". Paris Unplugged (in French). Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- ^ "Der perfekte Mord an der schönen Laetitia (29)". www.bild.de/. Bild.
- ^ a b Michelle Spring; Laurie R. King (15 August 2013). Crime and Thriller Writing: A Writers' & Artists' Companion. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 127–. ISBN 978-1-4725-2965-7.
- ^ a b Paul Copperwaite (3 November 2011). The Mammoth Book of Undercover Cops. Little, Brown Book Group. pp. 80–. ISBN 978-1-84901-733-6.
- ^ "Murder on the Métro: Who killed Laetitia Toureaux, and how". Retrieved 3 November 2023.