Pierre Laget

Pierre Laget (11 July 1885 – 1 September 1944) was a French dentist, convicted murderer and suspected serial killer who fatally poisoned his wife and later attempted to kill his younger sister between December 1929 and February 1930. Although he was also suspected of killing his first wife and aunt in 1922 and 1923, he was convicted for the latter crimes and sentenced to death, but his sentence was later commuted by President Paul Doumer.

While serving his new sentence in prison, he committed suicide in September 1944.

Biography

Youth Pierre Laget was born on 11 July 1885, in Gignac. He had a younger sister, Marie-Louise, and was described by his parents as a brilliant pupil through his school years, between September 1891 and July 1903. Later on, he went to a high school in Béziers and later on to the University of Montpelier, from where he graduated in 1909 with a degree in medicine.

Occupation, first marriage and first world war After his graduation, in September, 1909, the 24-year-old Laget became a dentist and opened his own practice in Béziers, in 1910.

In 1911, he met a woman named Sarah Alexandre, whom he subsequently married in 1912. Their union produced two children, Jean and Gaston. Another child, Jacqueline, died shortly after birth.

In August 1914, Laget was mobilized and went to fight at the front, where he was injured on 31 August; however, he recovered and was dispatched back. After the armistice was signed on 11 November 1918, he returned home where his relationship with his wife quickly began deteriorating. Laget always arrived later to his office, much to the dismay of his patients, but used this as an opportunity to welcome mistresses and gamble. After discovering his double life, Sarah began to frequently argue with him, initially only in private but later in public as well and sometimes in front of family members.

On Christmas Day, Marie-Louise fell ill again but was unable to recover, spending four weeks under the care of Dr. Roulleau. As her condition worsened, Roulleau and his colleague, Dr. Pages, worked to have her hospitalized in January 1930. Unable to bear the fact that he was known as a killer, Pierre Laget committed suicide on 1 September 1944, by swallowing a large dose of poison. He left behind a suicide letter, expressing his desire to end it all and requesting that he not be resuscitated.