True Crime
![Douglas Starr - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_douglas_starr.jpg)
The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science
Winner of the Gold Dagger Award
A fascinating true crime story that details the rise of modern forensics and the development of modern criminal investigation.
At the end of the nineteenth century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher terrorized the French countryside, eluding authorities for years, and murdering twice as many victims as Jack The Ripper. Here, Douglas Starr revisits Vacher's infamous crime wave, interweaving the story of the two men who eventually stopped him-prosecutor Emile Fourquet and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the era's most renowned criminologist. In dramatic detail, Starr shows how Lacassagne and his colleagues were developing forensic science as we know it. Building to a gripping courtroom denouement, The Killer of Little Shepherds is a riveting contribution to the history of criminal justice.
A fascinating true crime story that details the rise of modern forensics and the development of modern criminal investigation.
At the end of the nineteenth century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher terrorized the French countryside, eluding authorities for years, and murdering twice as many victims as Jack The Ripper. Here, Douglas Starr revisits Vacher's infamous crime wave, interweaving the story of the two men who eventually stopped him-prosecutor Emile Fourquet and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the era's most renowned criminologist. In dramatic detail, Starr shows how Lacassagne and his colleagues were developing forensic science as we know it. Building to a gripping courtroom denouement, The Killer of Little Shepherds is a riveting contribution to the history of criminal justice.
Editorial Reviews
"Chilling . . . An exemplar of historical true-crime nonfiction."
-Mark Dunkelman, Favorite Books of 2010, The Providence Journal
"Absorbing . . . Starr's thought-provoking journey, through the strange underbelly of a vividly rendered France, lingers in the reader's memory."
-Elyssa East, The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)
"Engrossing and carefully researched."
-The New Yorker
"A- . . . Gripping, almost novelistic . . . Like an episode of CSI: 19th-Century France."
-Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly
"Riveting."
-Laura Spinney, Nature
"Gripping . . . Starr's description of the legal, medical and even philosophical questions around Vacher's responsibility are strikingly current."
-Drew DeSilver, The Seattle Times
"The perfect true-crime book to curl up with on an autumn night."
-Doug Childers, Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Riveting, yet cerebral . . .Besides focusing on Joseph Vacher, also known as the Killer of Little Shepherds, Starr explains and expands on the fascinating achievements of those studying the criminal world."
-Elizabeth Humphrey, San Francisco Book Review
"A gripping book that alternately appalls and fascinates."
-Mark Dunkelman, Providence Journal
"Superior . . . This book is sensational and swift. But its real strength is the ability to show the history and progress of forensic science and its effect on the criminal justice system . . . This book reads like fiction and fascinates with fact."
-Bethany Latham, Historical Novel Review
-Mark Dunkelman, Favorite Books of 2010, The Providence Journal
"Absorbing . . . Starr's thought-provoking journey, through the strange underbelly of a vividly rendered France, lingers in the reader's memory."
-Elyssa East, The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)
"Engrossing and carefully researched."
-The New Yorker
"A- . . . Gripping, almost novelistic . . . Like an episode of CSI: 19th-Century France."
-Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly
"Riveting."
-Laura Spinney, Nature
"Gripping . . . Starr's description of the legal, medical and even philosophical questions around Vacher's responsibility are strikingly current."
-Drew DeSilver, The Seattle Times
"The perfect true-crime book to curl up with on an autumn night."
-Doug Childers, Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Riveting, yet cerebral . . .Besides focusing on Joseph Vacher, also known as the Killer of Little Shepherds, Starr explains and expands on the fascinating achievements of those studying the criminal world."
-Elizabeth Humphrey, San Francisco Book Review
"A gripping book that alternately appalls and fascinates."
-Mark Dunkelman, Providence Journal
"Superior . . . This book is sensational and swift. But its real strength is the ability to show the history and progress of forensic science and its effect on the criminal justice system . . . This book reads like fiction and fascinates with fact."
-Bethany Latham, Historical Novel Review
Readers Top Reviews
JayAPH
What a lot of research has gone into this book. Absolutely fascinating account of a French serial killer.
Grr (tiger)sebquestM
The chapters of the first half of this book alternate between relating the life story of Vacher up his apprehension as a serial killer, and the development of forensic science in France towards the end of the 19th Century. The second half deals with his trial, conviction and sentence. Unfortunately it seems that forensic science had little to do with solving the case of the French Ripper. Certainly the man most famously credited with the birth of forensics did give evidence at Vacher's trial, but with respect to his sanity and not to the science leading to his arrest. Which it seems was due much more to good old-fashioned detective work, a la Sherlock Holmes, rather than pure science. It is all very interesting, but I was left with the feeling that whilst I had learnt all about Vacher's crimes, I was left short changed on forensics and the issue of legal insanity. Moderately well written, but the case of the French Ripper and the birth of Forensic Science are really not as interconnected as the book and its title imply. And that is finally a disappointment.
Trish
I enjoyed this well researched and totally readable account of the serial killer, Joseph Vacher, (Vacher admitted to killing 11 people during the late 1800's across the French countryside), and the Forensic scientist who helped convict him, Alexandre Lacassagne. The book is told in alternating chapters between Vacher's history and killing spree, and Lacassagne's history, prior cases, and ultimately how he concludes whether or not Vacher is legally responsible for actions. Not only does Starr recount the personal histories of each man, but he puts everything in historical context, for example giving background about French economics and why there were so many vagabonds roaming around the countryside during this time. He also tells us about other scientific forensic theories i.e. "natural born criminals" based on certain physical characteristics, and of the first "database" of criminals' physical features and measurements used to track down and apprehend criminals across the country. Each man's story is fascinating, Vacher's killings and his reasoning for his innocence, and Lascassagne's use of forensic evidence, way before fingerprinting, DNA evidence, and ultraviolet light became the norm, to convict criminals. I recommend this to anyone interested in forensics or serial killers; historical true crime at its best.
Old Sub Sailor
Scary, yet it is Ann interesting look into the history of the first modern science of crime scene investigation.
Emmyemsays
I bought this book to read on my Kindle, and it grabbed me from the first page. It took me on a terrifying, informative, amazing journey. So well written! The author's style of writing a chapter about Vacher ("The Killer of Little Shephards") and then about LaCassagne, the brilliant French Physician who helped usher in the age of Forensic Science; and how the Police were able to work with Physicians and more to help solve some "unsovlable" crimes. This is before fingerprinting, before....ANYTHING! People who may have been innocent were sent to the Guillotine, especially if they were poor, or not well liked. However, in some cases, in the smaller villages in France, people who had some kind of wealth or property were accused of crimes because poorer people resented them!And when they got it into their minds that someone did something, they did NOT change their minds. What a very scary time to live, or die in.......... Villages far from Paris or Lyon were still thinking witchcraft and the like when some horrible crimes (like Vacher's ghastly murders) were commited! I loved the way the author made me think about whether or not Vacher was insane and was not culpable, or if he was just incredibly strange, with definite personality disorders, but knew exactly what he was doing. Vacher's murder trial had me on the edge of my seat. So many new things happened during this time, it was truly the beginning of a new era in solving crimes by using scientific evidence. I also enjoyed reading about other crimes that were solved using LaCassagne's techniques; what patience that man had, and he also had dedicated students and other physicians who admired him so much, and rightfully so. I highly recommend this book. As a Criminology student, I found it almost impossible to put down. It is not gratuitous, it tells what we need to know and not more. I don't like true crime books that go into WAY more detail than they need to. Read this book. You won't be sorry!
Short Excerpt Teaser
One
The Beast
On a drizzly spring evening in 1893, in the French provincial city of Besançon, nineteen-year-old Louise Barant was walking along the riverside promenade when she crossed paths with a man wearing the dress uniform of the French army. His name was Joseph Vacher (pronounced Vashay). "Ugly weather, isn't it?" he said, and automatically she responded, "For sure." Normally Barant, tall and wholesome-looking, with curly blond hair, would not have spoken to a stranger, especially one as brutish-looking as he; but Vacher projected a kind of disarming innocence, and the sergeant's chevrons on his sleeve reassured her.
So they chatted and walked and shared dinner in a café. They learned that they both came from small towns: she from Baume-les-Dames, a pretty village near the Swiss border, and he from Beaufort, a nondescript hilltown southeast of Lyon. As they lingered over shared stories about their pasts, he told her he had never felt this comfortable with anyone, and she, too, sensed she could speak freely and easily. Yet she felt a shiver of doubt when she looked up from her meal and saw his eyes burning into her. Later that evening, he ardently proposed marriage. When he vowed that he would kill her if she ever betrayed him, she realized she had made a terrible mistake.
In the weeks that followed, he pursued her relentlessly. Like other men who live easily with violence, Vacher knew how to interweave threat, regret, self-pity, and charm in an attempt to prolong the relationship. Louise, who was a stranger to the town and worked as a housemaid, tried desperately to avoid him, inventing endless excuses for not being available. Once, taking pity as victims sometimes do, she agreed to meet him at a dance. They were standing awkwardly among the merrymakers when a soldier approached to talk to Louise. Vacher lunged at the man with such fury that the soldier and Louise ran from the dance hall.
Now she knew that she would never be safe in the same town as Vacher. Too afraid to reject him directly, she made up a story that her mother had forbidden their marriage and had ordered her home. The distance did nothing to quell his obsession. He kept mailing her love letters. Finally, she responded in the clearest possible way: "It would be best if you stopped writing to me . . . Everything is finished between us; I do not want to go against the wishes of my mother. Furthermore, I do not love you. Adieu, Louise."
She hoped that would finally end things between them. Besides, she knew that if he left his unit to find her, he would face charges of desertion. But her departure and final letter had sent him into such a series of rages that the regimental doctor diagnosed him as having "nervous exhaustion" and gave him a four-month medical leave. He immediately headed to Baume-les-Dames, stopping to buy a revolver along the way.
Any of the soldiers in Vacher's barracks would have told Louise not to get involved with the twenty-three-year-old sergeant in the first place, for something wild and violent dwelled within him. They had witnessed his manias and explosive temper: How once, when a soldier lagged in formation, Vacher swiftly and without warning kicked him in the groin; or how, during alcohol-induced tantrums, he would hurl heavy wooden bureaus across the room, roar like an animal, and rip handfuls of hair out of his forearms. Once, when he was passed over for promotion, he drank himself senseless, tore apart the barracks, and slashed with a razor at anyone who came near. He ended the episode by taking the blade to his own throat. After that incident, he was hospitalized and transferred to another company.
Yet at times, Vacher could appear deferential, and, when necessary, even charming. Undoubtedly, he behaved that way when he first met Louise, although under the stress of rejection the beast had reemerged.
Arriving in her village, he spent days trying to persuade her mother and family to accept him, only to succeed in frightening them as well. On the morning of June 25, 1893, he went to the house of Louise's employer for a final confrontation before taking the train back to Besançon. Louise opened the door, recoiling when she saw him.
"Why are you afraid, Louise?"
"I'm not afraid," she said unconvincingly.
"Look, I don't want to harm you. I've come here peacefully to demand the things that you owe me."
He had become obsessed with reclaiming the letters and trinkets he had given her, and money he had spent taking her to dinner. She gave him all that he demanded, but still he kept talking about needing more. As he rattled on about his various resentments, she furtively backed her way up the marble stairway. The more he spoke, the more agitated he became.
"When...
The Beast
On a drizzly spring evening in 1893, in the French provincial city of Besançon, nineteen-year-old Louise Barant was walking along the riverside promenade when she crossed paths with a man wearing the dress uniform of the French army. His name was Joseph Vacher (pronounced Vashay). "Ugly weather, isn't it?" he said, and automatically she responded, "For sure." Normally Barant, tall and wholesome-looking, with curly blond hair, would not have spoken to a stranger, especially one as brutish-looking as he; but Vacher projected a kind of disarming innocence, and the sergeant's chevrons on his sleeve reassured her.
So they chatted and walked and shared dinner in a café. They learned that they both came from small towns: she from Baume-les-Dames, a pretty village near the Swiss border, and he from Beaufort, a nondescript hilltown southeast of Lyon. As they lingered over shared stories about their pasts, he told her he had never felt this comfortable with anyone, and she, too, sensed she could speak freely and easily. Yet she felt a shiver of doubt when she looked up from her meal and saw his eyes burning into her. Later that evening, he ardently proposed marriage. When he vowed that he would kill her if she ever betrayed him, she realized she had made a terrible mistake.
In the weeks that followed, he pursued her relentlessly. Like other men who live easily with violence, Vacher knew how to interweave threat, regret, self-pity, and charm in an attempt to prolong the relationship. Louise, who was a stranger to the town and worked as a housemaid, tried desperately to avoid him, inventing endless excuses for not being available. Once, taking pity as victims sometimes do, she agreed to meet him at a dance. They were standing awkwardly among the merrymakers when a soldier approached to talk to Louise. Vacher lunged at the man with such fury that the soldier and Louise ran from the dance hall.
Now she knew that she would never be safe in the same town as Vacher. Too afraid to reject him directly, she made up a story that her mother had forbidden their marriage and had ordered her home. The distance did nothing to quell his obsession. He kept mailing her love letters. Finally, she responded in the clearest possible way: "It would be best if you stopped writing to me . . . Everything is finished between us; I do not want to go against the wishes of my mother. Furthermore, I do not love you. Adieu, Louise."
She hoped that would finally end things between them. Besides, she knew that if he left his unit to find her, he would face charges of desertion. But her departure and final letter had sent him into such a series of rages that the regimental doctor diagnosed him as having "nervous exhaustion" and gave him a four-month medical leave. He immediately headed to Baume-les-Dames, stopping to buy a revolver along the way.
Any of the soldiers in Vacher's barracks would have told Louise not to get involved with the twenty-three-year-old sergeant in the first place, for something wild and violent dwelled within him. They had witnessed his manias and explosive temper: How once, when a soldier lagged in formation, Vacher swiftly and without warning kicked him in the groin; or how, during alcohol-induced tantrums, he would hurl heavy wooden bureaus across the room, roar like an animal, and rip handfuls of hair out of his forearms. Once, when he was passed over for promotion, he drank himself senseless, tore apart the barracks, and slashed with a razor at anyone who came near. He ended the episode by taking the blade to his own throat. After that incident, he was hospitalized and transferred to another company.
Yet at times, Vacher could appear deferential, and, when necessary, even charming. Undoubtedly, he behaved that way when he first met Louise, although under the stress of rejection the beast had reemerged.
Arriving in her village, he spent days trying to persuade her mother and family to accept him, only to succeed in frightening them as well. On the morning of June 25, 1893, he went to the house of Louise's employer for a final confrontation before taking the train back to Besançon. Louise opened the door, recoiling when she saw him.
"Why are you afraid, Louise?"
"I'm not afraid," she said unconvincingly.
"Look, I don't want to harm you. I've come here peacefully to demand the things that you owe me."
He had become obsessed with reclaiming the letters and trinkets he had given her, and money he had spent taking her to dinner. She gave him all that he demanded, but still he kept talking about needing more. As he rattled on about his various resentments, she furtively backed her way up the marble stairway. The more he spoke, the more agitated he became.
"When...
