The First Serial Killer

Gilles de Rais

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"Gilles de Retz" 

Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Rais by Éloi Firmin Féron (1835) (artist's impression since no contemporary portrait has survived).
Born	prob. c. September 1405 Champtocé-sur-Loire, Anjou
Died	26 October 1440 (aged 35) Nantes, Brittany
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Other names	The Original Bluebeard
Criminal penalty	Death
Spouse(s)	Catherine de Thouars of Brittany (1420–1440) (his death)
Children	Marie (1429-1457) (left no progeny)
Parents	Guy II de Montmorency-Laval Marie de Craon
Killings
Victims	80-200
Span of killings	1431–1440
Date apprehended	15 September 1440

Gilles de Montmorency-Laval(prob. c. September 1405 – 26 October 1440), Baron de Rais, was a lord from Brittany, Anjouand Poitou, a leader in the French army, and a companion-in-arms of Joan of 

Arc. He is best known for his (disputed) reputation and later conviction as a presumed serial killer of children.

A member of the House of Montmorency-Laval, Gilles de Rais grew up under the tutelage of his maternal grandfather and increased his fortune by marriage. He earned the favour of the Duke of Brittany and was admitted to the French court. From 1427 to 1435, Gilles served as a commander in the Royal Army, and fought alongside Joan of Arc against the English and theirBurgundian allies during theHundred Years' War, for which he was appointed 

Marshal of France.

In 1434/1435, he retired from military life, depleted his wealth by staging an extravagant theatrical spectacle of his own composition, and was accused of 

dabbling in the occult. After 1432 Gilles was accused of engaging in a series of child murders, with victims possibly numbering in the hundreds. The killings came to an end in 1440, when a violent dispute with a clergyman led to an ecclesiastical investigation which brought the crimes to light, and attributed them to Gilles. At his trial the parents of missing children in the surrounding area and Gilles' own confederates in crime testified against him. Gilles was condemned to death and hanged at Nantes on 26 October 1440.

Gilles de Rais is believed to be the inspiration for the 1697 fairy tale "Bluebeard" ("Barbebleu") by Charles Perrault. His life is the subject of several modern novels, and referenced in a number of rock bands' albums and songs.