Véronique Frantz

Véronique Frantz (c. 1825 – August 3, 1854) was a French serial killer. While working as a maid, she poisoned the family of her employer with arsenic from 1852 to 1854, in an attempt to marry her male employer. After his death, she was arrested, charged and convicted of the three murders, for which she was subsequently executed in 1854.

Murders Sometime during 1848, Frantz was hired to work as a servant to the household of George Guntz, a winemaker who lived together with his wife, son and his parents in Nothalten. Despite her status as a housemaid, Frantz was treated almost as a family member by everyone in the household due to her diligence and hard work. However, she was also admonished for her domineering and at times brash behavior.

In late November 1852, after Guntz's wife Marie-Elisabeth Ruhlmann overcame an unspecified illness, Frantz was told by her employer that in the sad case that his wife would pass away, he would consider her as a potential pick for marriage. Desiring to become his mistress, Frantz started using the arsenic bottles stored in the house's attic to poison the food and drinks she served to the family, with her first attempt resulting in most of the family members developing symptoms such as nausea and profuse vomiting, but still managing to live. After this incident, Guntz's mother-in-law, 75-year-old Marie-Anne Kobleth, threatened to leave the house if Guntz did not fire Frantz, which he refused to do. Fearing possible repercussions, Frantz continued poisoning Kobleth's drinks until she eventually succumbed to her illness on December 1, 1852.

While awaiting execution, Frantz is said to have completely devoted herself to religion, spending most of her time praying at the prison chapel to abbot Guerber. On the day of her execution, she was transported to Barr accompanied by gendarmes and the abbot. After being placed on the guillotine, Frantz gave a final prayer before she was executed in front of a small crowd. At the time, her execution was the first to be conducted in Barr in 62 years. Her final meal consisted of a cup of café au lait and a bread roll.