Before I begin the crime story, France run on the Civil Law system which is unlike the American law system that run on common law. The basis of French law is off of the Napoleon Code originally drawn up in 1804. There are two branches of law in the France droit prive (Private Law) and droit public (Public Law). French courts are headed by a Juges (judges or magistrate). Criminal court proceedings can have a juge d’instuction (judge of inquiry) who is in charge of conducting investigative hearings the precede a criminal trial. A juge d’instuction can decide if a criminal trial will even take place. Another note is that France does not have capital punishment.
Our crime story takes place in 2011, in Nantes, France. Nantes is located in the Pays de la Loire Region, which on the West Coast of France by the Atlantic Ocean. Nantes is the 6th largest city in France and is known for beautiful scenery, seafood and many castles in the region. Nantes has a population of 300,000 but the greater areas population is just under a million. Nantes used to be apart of the Brittany Region, so Briton culture is still felt heavily among citizens.
The Dupont de Ligonnes family consisted of 50 year old Xavier the father, his wife aged 48 Agnes and their four children, Arthur who was 20, 18 year old Thomas, their only daughter 16 year old Anne and the youngest boy Benoit who was 13. The family also had two Labrador dogs. When you look at this case you will see the family described as aristocratic. But to note France aristocratic titles during the French revolution. Actually, the Dupont de Ligonnes family was drowning in debt. In the year 2009, the family reported as only making 17,000 euros.
Xavier is former military man who is described as someone who had a bit of a strange personality. Neighbors have said he was courteous and discreet. Some have even speculated that Xavier had a personality disorder. A friend of Xavier’s said he was not crazy about god though he was raised Catholic but that he adored his wife. Xavier wrote a Catholic forum website that he was fascinated by the concept of sacrifice and saw it an essential notion to Catholicism. He had a mistress named Catherine who is a company executive in the Val d’Oise region (just Northwest of Paris). Xavier told Catherine he was having marital problems and financial problems and that he had quote “hit rock bottom”. Xavier’s job can be described as an entrepreneur or a salesman. He was described as being often absent from the family home for professional reasons. He had several businesses, some with moderate success. He did have a business that was a debit card like feature that allowed users to take out money from ATM’s without leaving a trace.
Agnes, whose maiden name was Hodanger the mother has been described as devout catholic. Her religion was especially important to her. All of her children went to Catholic School and she was in fact an assistant teacher at a Catholic School in Nantes. Relatives describe a charming woman in public, but who can be very authoritarian with her children. Agnes met Xavier at the beginning of the 1980’s but according to a timeline I have made, they would have married in 1992 or 1993. A friend of Agnes described that Agnes “was crazy about [Xavier] and did what he wanted with her.” In 2004, Agnes wrote in an online discussion forum complaining that her husband was “to brittle, to dry, too rigid and too military” and that he only lived for his work.
Arthur, who was the oldest son, was not actually the biological son of Xavier. But Xavier had been in Arthur’s life since he was two years old and considered him to be his father. I tried to look for info about Arthur biological father, but I could not find any. Arthur who was 20 years old in 2011. Arthur was studying Information Technology at a college about an hour away from Nantes. Note: Most universities are not residential in France so Arthur could have been commuting to university, or there is a two-week school break in April, and he could have been home. He was a waiter at a pizza restaurant in Nantes that was just done the block from the family home so I would make an educated guess that he was commuting to college, I really could not find in my research this answer. Arthur had told friends that “he couldn’t bear the family climate”.
Thomas was 18 years old in 2011, he was born in 1992 and was the first child of Xavier and Agnes. Friends have described Thomas as a discreet, kind, attentive and joking boy. He had just earned his French equivalent of a high school diploma. He went to college for Music, and actually lived near the campus in Angers which is an hour east of Nantes. He actually wanted to study in the United States but because of the family’s financial issues it was not feasible. Pauline, Thomas's ex-girlfriend described Thomas as "light-hearted, cheerful and happy guy, a really nice guy who always listened to what you had to say ... very close to his brothers, sister, mother and father ... passionate about music and cinema.”
Anne was 16 years old in 2011, having been born in 1994. She was in the US equivalent of 11th grade with a science focus in school. She is described as sharing her mother’s devout catholic ways, considerate and approachable. Benoit was 13 years old in 2011, he was choir boy and considered to be popular among his peers with girls really like Benoit. Now I wish I could tell you more about the family because I feel to often that in crimes the victim is lost, and all the focus is put on the perpetrator. However, I really could find much more information about the family, and when I did it was often really repetitive. Just keep in mind as I go over the details of the crime that these people were loved, and that this horrible thing did not and should not have happened to them. I really do hope that they are all resting in peace.
In the weeks leading up to the tragedy, the father Xavier did target practice with a rifle that was inherited from his father. Some even speculate that the death of Xavier’s father may have led him to do what he did. Xavier also purchased a gun silencer, chalk lyme and a spade. Bullets for the gun were purchased in March 2011. Xavier reached out Agnes employer, remember at the catholic school and said that Agnes was suffering from gastroenteritis and in the hospital and not to contact her on her laptop. With a week later Agnes employer received a letter of resignation because she was moving to Australia. The family also went to the real estate agent to terminate the lease on their house staying that the house was “costing them to much and was poorly maintained.” Everything was cleared out of the house, the children’s schools were also informed that the children were moving to Australia due to Xavier’s “urgent professional transfer” five days after Benoit and Anne had not shown up to school which was April 1st and their final fees were paid off. There was also a note on the mailbox that stated to return letters to the sender and bank accounts were closed. A couple days before the tragedy, Agnes the mother confined in a nun and said, “Pray for me, I will need it”.
On April 1st, 2011, Arthur leaves his college and does show up at the restaurant he is working at to collect his check. His boss is surprised by this, note I only found this bit of info on the Wikipedia website I could not confirm it anywhere else so take that as you will. The next day Xavier bought 40kg (88 lbs.) of lime. Lime is said to fasten the decomposition process. A neighbor of the family stated on April 3rd she noticed Xavier making numerous trips back and forth between his car the family home carrying large shopping bags. Also, on April 3rd Xavier called his sister at 10:37 pm Xavier stated how the family had gone out to dinner that night and saw a movie. The recording of this voicemail was later released by police. Christine actually had a 30 min conversation with Xavier the next day and according to Christine he seemed “completely normal”. Also, on April 4th, Anne and Benoit did not show up to school. Apparently the two family’s dogs were howling through the night on the 3rd and 4th. Xavier and Thomas were seen out to dinner at a restaurant near Angers. Which is an hour away from the family home. They had dinner around 9pm, they spent 72.55 euros. The waiter stated that she noticed that they were incredibly quiet and said almost nothing during the meal but that they were very courteous and kind. When they left the restaurant, Thomas said he was not feeling well.”.
On April 5th, a debt collector showed up at the house, but no one answered the door. The next day Thomas spent the day in Angers with a friend and planned to spend the night at the friend’s house, but Xavier called Thomas and said his mother was in a bike accident and to come home. The next day Thomas texted this same friend that he was sick and not coming to class and the day after he said that he lost his charger and that his dad was getting him a new one. Neighbors said that they say Agnes in front of the house on April 5th. The next day Arthur’s girlfriend shows up at the house and no one answers the door, she notices a light on in the house and that they dogs were not howling. On April 7th neighbors notice Agnes walking the two dogs around the neighborhood though this has later been disputed if this was the correct day that they saw Agnes. This would be the last time that anyone heard from or saw the Dupont de Ligonnes family.
On April 8th there was some online activity from Xavier, and he sends a message to his brother in law. On April 11th Xavier sends a typed letter to his extended family. The letter reads, translated from French. It is a bit long, but I feel necessary to read the whole letter…
Hi everyone!
Huge surprise: we have to leave urgently for the US, due to a very particular set of circumstances that we will explain below. You're receiving this letter by conventional post because for the next few years, we can't communicate any other way (no emails, no texts, no phone calls) for safety reasons. When you read this letter, we will no longer be in France and won't be able to return for an as-yet undetermined period of time (a few years).You must be wondering what's going on…Here's the story (as least, as much as we're allowed to tell you. This letter is the only correspondence we were allowed to write – which might be good news for some of you – and it has been checked before being sent to you).
When we started our company in Miami in 2003, we were put into contact (through the person who helped us to start the company) with the "DEA" (Drug Enforcement Administration: a sort of American "drug squad" with agents on the ground in several countries), who were looking for a French national to infiltrate the French nightclub scene to obtain information about drug-trafficking and money-laundering networks without drawing attention to themselves.
Through the Route des Commerciaux, I found myself in a different city every evening, with a legitimate reason to make contact with nightclub bosses (to invite them to be listed in the "Leisure" section of the RDC), so I (Xavier) was the ideal candidate:So once I was tested and briefed, I accepted my mission of working incognito for the DEA, under the condition that I maintain secrecy (which includes, even more importantly, the children).So that's the real reason why we returned to France instead of settling in Miami (and not due to vaccinations that are supposedly "dangerous" for the children … those who have never "swallowed" this "bogus" reason can rest assured: they were right! LOL)
This has allowed us to build up our official business activity: the RDC and SELREF (established especially to develop "loisirs-visites.com" alongside RDC, so that nightclubs can feature in it), and to have an (unofficial) monthly income, since this official activity did not bring in enough money to cover our expenses … (far from it).(Moreover, even with this cash boost, we have experienced temporary financial difficulties from time to time, as you all know, and we'd like to take this opportunity to once again thank Emmanuel and Bertram, who bailed us out in a timely manner by acting as our bankers.)Everything has gone according to plan in the nightclubs for the last 7 years … until now:
With the information that I (Xavier) have collected in this time, I have become a key witness in an upcoming trial involving major international drug-trafficking kingpins. The trial will have to take place in the US in the next few years. The date has not yet been determined.
What complicates matters is that certain tips had recently led us to believe that my cover may have been blown. And unfortunately, we received confirmation of this yesterday. Therefore, the situation has now become potentially dangerous for us here and has required us to take emergency measures.
When I first went undercover, I accepted that I might be placed into the "Federal Witness Protection Program". This is what we now have to do … and we're not doing it with any excitement, but because it's necessary and there's no way around it.So we have been taken into the protective custody of the US Government and "transferred" to the US, and we have new identities, which must, of course, be kept secret.
By the time you read this letter, we will officially "no longer exist" as French citizens! We will be "lambda" US citizens, living in the US like any other US citizen … except we will be forbidden from communicating with our family and friends for an undetermined period of time, at least until the trial is over.
This gives us some advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
· Absolute safety (no reprisals to fear)
· The US Government is taking care of us financially
· Living in the US (we can't tell you where, but the weather is warm most of the time and the music is good …)
Disadvantages:
· Sudden, rushed departure in total secrecy, without being able to put our affairs in order
· No contact with you for a long time
· Impossible to let everyone know: all electronic communications had to cease immediately
· The hardest thing: there is some tension with the children, who couldn't tell their friends and are forbidden from using Facebook and other online networks (but it's OK really. They understand.)
· We had to give up the dogs: luckily, someone took both of them (so they won't be separated)
· We're relying on each of you to carry out the tasks that we have assigned you below. We hope we haven't asked too much of any of you:
We know we can count on you.
1) Cédric:
Come and remove whatever is left at home by 31 May (the earlier, the better)
We started sorting through things and giving stuff away (clothes, etc.), but we didn't have time to finish. We could have let the Americans sort everything out, but they're not very thorough and everything would have got lost (prized furniture, musical instruments, cars …)70% of the stuff can be taken to the dump (all the beds, chests of drawers, storage boxes, trunks, etc.): the furniture to keep is in the living room (+ the wardrobe that has been taken apart in Arthur's bedroom and the desk in the laundry room), the rest can go to the dump: the nearest one is Ecopoint, 3 km from the house (open until midday on Sundays)
[Redacted]
EXCEPT the boxes pertaining to Project Crystal (maps, tickets, etc.), which need to be given to F.M. [full name redacted] (contact [him/her] by phone)
ALSO EXCEPT the equipment to give back: Bouygues router. The furniture to be kept should be given to Locmalo while waiting for it to be shipped to B [full name redacted], Agnès's brother (see below)
The house keys are hidden outside in the gas meter, which you can open with any tool (car key, screwdriver, knife). Note: some of the copies of the front door key are badly done and you have to wriggle the key around in the lock to get the door to open.
We were able to put everything we want to keep – and which we can by no means take with us – into a safe to find later, such as personal items (photos that might show a "non-American" life, souvenirs, computers, various pieces of paperwork, jewellery, weapons, etc.): so you don't need to do any sorting, just throw everything out … or keep it for yourself if you want (electrical appliances, etc.).Inform Alain and other friends of our departure.
Sell the Golf convertible and the Xantia (the signed paperwork is on the living-room table) and send the money from the sale (minus 20% commission for your service) to Christine (contact her by phone).(Note: the C5 was unsellable so it was given to the father of one of Arthur's friends for parts.)
Also, go to Arthur's and Thomas's places to do the same thing: the landlords are aware. The addresses and keys are on the living-room table. Presents for Cédric (to share with Renaud and other friends who lend a helping hand) to thank you for your help: table football, piano, TV and other video equipment, CD/DVD collection, audio and video tapes, musical instruments (drum kit, guitar and bass, piano), plus some other things, which anyone can take (fridge, tumble dryer, etc.)
PS: no need to worry about the metal detector or the canoe, which can stay there (nor the rubble and the other mess piled up on the terrace, at the end of the garden and in the basement: that was all there when we moved in.)
2) Bertrand:
Arrange with Cédric to recover and store the high-value furniture to be kept (they are Hodanger family heirlooms.) Contact F. G. [full name redacted] to get the "crowbar" display cabinet from her (and take the other worthless furniture off her hands) Inform all the Hodanger family [redacted] [Redacted] Give the money from the sale of the display cabinet to Christine, to share it with Véro. Keep the sales receipts from the furniture to cover the moving fees
3) Emmanuel:
Set up an appointment for a final inspection and inventory after 31 May with the P [full name redacted] agency and obtain the deposit (and send it to Christine, even if the amount is insignificant.). Cancel the electricity, gas, telephone, water, Internet and water contracts: the paperwork is on the living-room table.. Tell our friends (Michel, Marc, Ludo, etc.) about our departure.FYI: all the letters addressed to the house are being returned to sender. Ongoing matters will fall by the wayside as time goes by (social security and other professional or private matters)
4) Christine and Bertram:
Manage the accounts according to the instructions in the document enclosed with this letter. (More than €4,000 will be coming in every month to various accounts for a while + the proceeds from the sale of the furniture mentioned above.)
5) Frédéric:
Inform Véronique and help her let the rest of the Ligonnès family know.
[Redacted] The best thing to do would be to send her a copy of this letter when she is in Versailles. IMPORTANT: tell the "youngsters" not to divulge any information on Facebook and not to be surprised if the kids don't reply to them. If possible, pursue Project Crystal: this could be a good project for Arthur, Laetitia's son, and maybe Edouard (and it would allow us to have a comfortable income when we return.) The enclosed documents give an overview of the project – contact Cédric to pick up the stock of maps and tickets.
So that's it for the to-do list.
The children's schools are aware, as are Arthur's and Thomas's landlords, and Agnès's and Arthur's employers. The official story is that we have been transferred to AUSTRALIA for work, without providing any specific details. It would be good if you could spread this false story on Facebook and elsewhere.We hope it doesn't drag on for too many years. (But we're still anxious about how long the legal proceedings in the US will take.) In a while from now, we will be able to send you some information by post.
We have designated Emmanuel as the "central contact" as he has the advantage of knowing almost all of you. He will be the one who receives letters to be sent on to you. He will receive instructions in good time.
Of course, we send all our love and are thinking of you very much during this enforced separation; Take good care of yourselves. We'll have so many stories to tell you later on!
According to the newspaper Ouest-France, neighbors were worried first and contacted the police about the missing family on April 13th. Now Xavier has been on the run. On April 11th and 12th Xavier stayed at a hotel in Blagnac, France where he pays with a credit card then leaves in his own car. On April 13th and 14th Xavier stay in a hotel in La Seyne-sur-Mer which is just East of Marseille and a 10-hour car ride from Nantes. Xavier lived in this town before and apparently reached out to an old girlfriend while there but did not meet up in person. On April 14th Xavier takes out money from an ATM in Roguebrune-sur-Argens which is further east from the last town he was seen in. He checks into a hotel in Roguebrune-sur-Argens where he is seen on CCTV, abandons his car and has never been seen again.
Back in Nantes on April 21st, 2011 Agnes, Benoit, Thomas, Anne, Arthur and the family’s two Labrador dogs are discovered dismembered under the garden terrace in the backyard. The bodies were covered in lime. The Autopsies discovered that the family was shot from the gun that Xavier had inherited from his father and that the family was drugged. The autopsies showed that they were executed in methodical manner in their sleep. The family is advised to not view the bodies, making the family believe that Agnes, Benoit, Arthur, Thomas and Anne were not the bodies discovered in the backyard. The autopsy could not determine the dates of death. Now this keeps me awake at night about this case. There is speculation that the family were killed on different dates. It is believed that Agnes, Benoit, Arthur and Anne were killed on April 3rd or 4th and that Thomas was killed later. Thomas’s grave was separate from the others which suggests his was killed later. What was happening in that house? How did Xavier power Thomas? Could Thomas have escaped? Did he sense that anything was wrong. And if Agnes was seen on the 7th walking the dogs, were some of her children already dead in the house? Did she know? It is honestly insane to think about!!!! A funeral for Agnes, Arthur, Thomas, Anne and Benoit was held on April 28th, at the same church that the family attended, and that Benoit was a choir boy at. 1,400 people attended.
On May 10th, 2011 and international arrest warrant was issued for Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes. A Interpol red notice was issued a short time later. There have been some sighting of Xavier and even a arrest in the 9 years since this crime has happened. Xavier got rid of his laptop battery and shaved his head before he went on the run. He could also be using the pseudonym Xavier Laurent which he checked into hotels under. In July 2015, a journalist from Nantes received a letter signed by Xavier. The letter incases a photo with two of the Dupont de Ligonnes sons, that has never been published. The letter read I AM STILL ALIVE it was dated July 11, 2015 in Nantes. They tried to grab fingerprints from the letter without success. There were rumors that Xavier was in a monastery in Le Saint-Desert de Roquebrune-sur-Argens. The monks take a vow of silence there which would protect Xavier. This rumor was taken seriously because there was a monk that looked like Xavier, but it turned out not to be him. On Friday October 11th, 2019 in Scotland a man was arrested in the Glasgow airport from a flight from CDG in Paris who was believed to be Xavier. They checked the fingerprints of the man who had taken the alias of Guy Joao, but it turned out to be a man named Guy Joao and not Xavier. The main investigator of the case believes that Xavier committed suicide. Many John Doe’s have been tested without avail.
If you have any information about the murders of Dupont de Ligonnes family or the disappearance of Xavier Dupont de Ligonnes please contact the Nantes Police Department at +33 2 53 46 70 00 or +33 2 55 58 46 90. If you say to the operator “Parle Anglais?”, they will get someone who speaks English to take your tip.
Comments