October 14, 1798 - Jean-Charles-Alphonse Avinain
His two confirmed murders were distinguished less by their frequency than by their method — a former soldier and working butcher who applied vocational knowledge to the disposal of victims, dismembering bodies and distributing remains along the Seine to frustrate identification. The nicknames he acquired in the French press reflect the geographical spread of his crimes across the parishes north and west of Paris, and his final counsel came to hinge not on innocence but on whether the death penalty itself could be justified. His parting advice to future criminals — never confess — came only after authorities extracted an admission through the promise of clemency.
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