Jeanne Weber was born on October 7, 1874, in a small coastal village named Kérity in northeastern France. At the time, France was experiencing significant changes as railways expanded, making rural communities more accessible and leading to increased urban migration.
The 1870s witnessed a farming depression due to worldwide agricultural growth, resulting in stagnating food prices. However, this economic downturn had little impact on the Weber family, who lived simply in their house overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Their village, home to just a few hundred people, was typical of rural French communities where everyone knew each other’s business.
Education and Early Work Life
Like many children of her era, Jeanne received only basic schooling. In the 1870s, France had approximately 50,000 community primary schools, with an estimated 80% enrollment rate. However, attendance was often irregular, and illiteracy remained about 20%. It wasn’t until 1882 that primary education became mandatory throughout France.
As the eldest of seven children, Jeanne’s childhood responsibilities included helping her mother care for her younger siblings. At age 14, she began working in domestic service for wealthy families, a path that eventually led her to Paris in early 1893.
Jeanne Weber’s Life in Paris
The Paris that greeted Jeanne was vastly different from her coastal village home. The city boasted nearly two million inhabitants who regularly strolled along boulevards lined with beautiful Baroque and Renaissance architecture. However, beneath this elegant facade, Paris was still grappling with an economic crisis that had begun in the 1870s.
During this period, many industries relocated to the city’s outskirts, where rents were lower and transportation links were better. The workforce was also evolving, with traditional sectors like textiles giving way to emerging industries requiring skilled workers such as mechanical and electrical engineers.
Marriage and Personal Tragedy
While working in domestic service, Jeanne married Marcel Weber, a hardworking man with a drinking problem. They settled in La Goutte d’Or, a working-class neighborhood known for its vagrants and alcoholics. The couple had three children – two girls and a boy.
By 1904, at age 30, Jeanne’s life had taken a dark turn. Living in a dilapidated tenement building, both she and her husband had developed serious drinking problems. Their situation worsened when their two daughters died during a bronchitis outbreak. Although the girls’ deaths occurred close together and both showed suspicious red marks on their necks, doctors attributed the deaths to natural causes.
The Pattern of Deaths Begins
Following her daughters’ deaths, Jeanne fell into deep depression and increased her drinking. A series of suspicious deaths followed:
- March 2, 1905: Her sister-in-law’s 18-month-old baby, Georgette
- March 11, 1905: Another of her sister-in-law’s children, 2.5-year-old Suzanne
- Shortly after: Her brother’s seven-year-old daughter, Germaine
- Subsequently: Her only surviving child, Marcel
In each case, the children showed similar symptoms: choking, red marks on their necks, and sudden death. Doctors consistently attributed these deaths to natural causes such as seizures or diphtheria.
The First Arrest and Trial
The breaking point came on April 5, when two sisters-in-law caught Jeanne in the act of choking young Maurice, who showed bruising on his neck. This led to her first arrest and subsequent trial in Paris on January 29, 1906.
Despite being accused of murdering eight children, including her own, Jeanne was defended by renowned lawyer Henri-Robert and found not guilty on February 6, 1906. The jury viewed her as a grieving mother rather than a murderer, though residents dubbed her “L’Ogresse de la Goutte d’Or” (The Ogress of La Goutte d’Or).
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Continued Crimes and Final Capture
After her acquittal, Jeanne’s story took several dark turns:
- In 1907, she was implicated in another child’s death in Villedieu
- She gained employment at a children’s home in Orgeville, where she killed another child
- Following a period of destitution and prostitution, she met Emil Bastien
- In early 1908, she was finally caught strangling 10-year-old Marcel Poyatos in Commercy
Justice at Last
In her final trial, even the skilled defense of Henri-Robert couldn’t save her. On October 28, 1908, Jeanne Weber was found guilty of murdering at least ten children. She was committed to the Maréville mental hospital in New Caledonia.
Final Chapter
The story of the Ogress of La Goutte d’Or came to an end on July 5, 1918, when Jeanne Weber took her own life through strangulation – the very method she had used on her victims.
