Marie LaFarge

Marie-Fortunée LaFarge, née Capelle (January 15, 1816 - November 7, 1852) was a Frenchwoman who was convicted of murdering her husband by arsenic poisoning in 1840. Her case became notable because it was one of the first trials to be followed by the public through daily newspaper reports as well as the first person convicted largely on direct forensic toxicological evidence. However, questions about her guilt had divided French society to the extent that it is often compared to the better-known Dreyfus affair.

Disillusionment

As it could be expected when they arrived on August 13, Marie's disillusionment was boundless. The house, a former monastery, was in disrepair, damp and rat-infested. Her in-laws were vulgar peasants who disgusted her and who regarded her with deep distrust. Instead of the wealth she expected, she was faced with a mountain of debt. In her despondency she locked herself in her room the first night and wrote a letter to her husband, imploring him to release her from their marriage, while threatening to take her life with arsenic. LaFarge, whose affairs were desperate, agreed to make concessions except to release her from the marriage. He promised not to assert his marital priveleges until he restored the estate to its original condition. She appeared to calm down, and their relationship appeared to have improved in the ensuing weeks.

Related Topics:
August 13 - Arsenic

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Despite her situation, Marie wrote letters to her school friends pretending that she was having a happy domestic life. She also tried to help her husband by writing letters of recommendation for Charles to Paris, where he hoped to raise money. Before he left on a business trip, in December 1839, she made a will bequeathing to her husband her entire inheritance, with the proviso that he would do he same for her. This he did, but without her knowledge made another will soon after leaving the Le Glandier property to his mother instead.

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