9781422284131

The Frenchman who rightly earned the name of a twentieth-century “Bluebeard” Henri Desire Landru. Advertising himself in newspapers as a widower anxious to meet a widow “with a view to matrimony,” he enticed 11 unsuspecting women to their deaths in his country villa. Why do certain people kill, not one, but a whole succession of victims, sometimes over a period of many years? Profit can be a motive: A rich wife—or a husband—murdered, and another, or two or three, to follow. Alternatively, there have been doctors who Words to Understand Bigamous: bigamy is the criminal offense of marrying a person while still legally married to another Heresy: beliefs and practices that are considered contrary to orthodox Christian practice Midwife: a woman who helps deliver and care for babies Psychiatrist: a medical expert qualified to study, diagnose, treat, and prevent mental and emotional disorders The Long History of Serial Murder

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