The Black Widow of Loudun
Was Marie Besnard a monster or an innocent victim?
4.7 (37)
42 mins
Discover the chilling true story of Marie Besnard, a French woman accused of poisoning a dozen family members for their inheritance. Explore the baffling forensic science debates and conflicting testimonies that paralyzed the justice system for over a decade. Learn about how the murder trials ended in a dramatic acquittal that still divides historians today.
Ep 1:
The Good Lady's Deadly Fortune
Meet Marie Besnard, the small-town Frenchwoman accused of poisoning thirteen relatives and friends for their fortunes—and the exhumations that unearthed a chilling pattern of arsenic.
Ep 2:
Reasonable Doubt: The Trials of Marie Besnard
Across three grueling trials spanning over a decade, a brilliant defense lawyer dismantles France's forensic case piece by piece, turning overwhelming evidence into shocking acquittal.
Ep 3:
Poison, Trust, and the Killers Who Cared
From nursing homes to boarding houses, discover the disturbing pattern of women who weaponized caregiving and trust to poison victims for decades without suspicion.
Ep 4:
Arsenic's Long Shadow: A Legacy Rewritten
The system looked away for too long—but Marie Besnard's case forever changed forensic science, exposing the razor-thin line between damning evidence and provable guilt.
Discussions (5)
Harold
Level 5 · 1 week agoArsenic really does preserve corpses, thats documented
Willie
Level 5 · 1 week agoThe podcast frames the acquittal as some forensic triumph but 12 bodies with arsenic and 12 inheritances isn't reasonable doubt territory. The defense didn't find the truth, they just buried it under technical noise.
Jonathan
Level 7 · 1 week agoChecked this and arsenic in soil contamination is a real and documented concern in forensic cases, it's been used as a defence in other exhumation cases since Besnard too so Gautrat wasn't just making it up
