In 1939, France carried out its last public guillotine execution.
In 1939, France carried out its last public guillotine execution.
WHAT WAS HIS CRIME ACTUALLY.
Eugen Weidmann's crimes centered on robbery and murder for financial gain. A German career criminal born in 1908, he had prior convictions for robbery.
While imprisoned, he met accomplices Roger Million, Jean Blanc, and Fritz Frommer. After release, the group targeted wealthy tourists and locals in France during 1937, luring victims with false promises, e.g., jobs, tours, or investments, before killing them and stealing money or valuables.
Between July and November 1937, Weidmann committed at least six murders:
Jean de Koven, a 22-year-old American dancer and tourist from Brooklyn, was lured to a Paris villa in July 1937 under the pretense of friendship; Weidmann strangled her, buried her in the garden, and cashed her traveler's cheques.
Joseph Couffy, a private chauffeur, was shot after being tricked into a fake tourist trip.
Janine Keller, a young woman enticed with a fake governess job for wealthy Americans, was murdered in Fontainebleau Forest.
Roger LeBlond, a real estate agent, was killed in his office.
Raymond Lesobre, another real estate agent.
Fritz Frommer, a former prison acquaintance, was eliminated as he knew too much.
Most killings were premeditated for theft; only de Koven's was ruled unpremeditated. Weidmann confessed cooperatively after arrest on December 8, 1937, showing regret only for de Koven, describing her as "gentle and unsuspecting."
Convicted of six murders, he was sentenced to death. On June 17, 1939, he became the last person publicly guillotined in France at Versailles, an event so chaotic it ended public executions forever.

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