The disappearance of Pauline Picard was the case of a missing Breton toddler in 1922.
Pauline Picard was discovered missing on 6 April 1922 from her family's farm in Saint-Rivoal, Brittany, in northern France. An extensive search turned up few suspects and no evidence. When a similar girl was found in distant Cherbourg, Normandy, a month later, the Picards claimed her as their own and took her back to Brittany, despite discrepancies and reservations.
Almost three weeks later, the naked and mutilated corpse of a young girl was found near the farm, along with Pauline Picard's clothes. A formal investigation determined that the body was that of Picard, and that she had died accidentally, possibly of exposure. Picard was buried, though the press continued to question her identity. The Cherbourgeoise girl was returned to that city, where she died of measles in the first days of 1924.
Background
editPauline Picard | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1919 or 1920 |
| Disappeared | 6 April 1922 (aged 2) Saint-Rivoal, Brittany, French Third Republic |
| Status | Presumed body found |
| Body discovered | 25 or 26 May 1922 |
| Resting place | Saint-Rivoal, France |
Pauline Picard was born circa 1919 or 1920, and at age two and a half,[1] she lived on her family's farm in the French village Goas-al-Ludu, Saint-Rivoal,[2] in the Monts d'Arrée mountain range.[3] The Picard family consisted of Pauline, her father François Picard, her mother Marianne, and her eight siblings.[4] Of the eleven, only François Picard spoke French;[5] the rest of the family spoke Breton.[2]
Search
editPicard went missing on 6 April 1922 while playing outdoors.[5]
Family, locals, and police searched for Picard to no avail. Three weeks after her disappearance, it was generally assumed she had been killed by a wild boar[2] or kidnapped by gypsies, though none of the latter had been seen around the time of Picard's disappearance.[6]
Suspects
editChristophe Kéramon (born c. 1860s) was an occasional agricultural worker for the Picards,[7] itinerant umbrella peddler, and had previously been imprisoned five years for rape.[4] He had visited the farm on 6 April, and paid particular attention to Pauline Picard before leaving around 1 p.m. Arrested for not carrying his internal passport (carnet anthropométrique), Kéramon served a month in prison before his release on 10 May.[7] Police arrested him on suspicion, but testimony from François Picard placed Keramon six kilometres (3.7 mi) away when Pauline Picard was last seen, and so the traveling salesman was released.[4]
Two others suspects were foreigners seen by a local woman to be loitering and watching the girl.[8]
Foundling
edit
In Cherbourg
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On 6 May 1922,[9] police notified Picard's family that she had possibly been found in Cherbourg, 250 miles (400 km) away.[2] In 1922, Le Matin reported that the girl had been abandoned on Coypel Street;[3] in 1924, L'Ouest-Éclair said she was abandoned at a woman's house on Crespel Street;[10] and in 2017, Ozy described her as being found in the company of "a mysterious woman dressed in rags".[2] The girl was taken to a hospital, never speaking a word.[3]
Le Matin reported that when the girl's photo was shown to Picard's mother, she exclaimed, "'It is really my daughter,' cried she, 'my poor little Pauline! But how is she so far from us?'" (French: «C'est bien ma fille, s'écria-t-elle, ma pauvre petite Pauline ! Mais comment se trouve-t-elle si loin de nous ?») On 7 May, the Picards left for Cherbourg[9] on their first-ever journey by train.[3]
After arriving on 8 May, the Picards immediately traveled to the hospital to see the girl.[5] The parents were sure that the girl was their daughter, albeit thinner than she had been, but didn't understand her mutism,[3] why she didn't recognize them, nor why she did not understand the Breton language.[2] After two hours with the girl, the Picards began to doubt she was their daughter. The public prosecutor urged the family to stay at the hospice for another day, with Le Petit Parisien reporting that the Cherbourgeoise girl was likely not Pauline Picard.[5] On 9 May, by which time the father assured the press it was his daughter, the public prosecutor gave the unspeaking girl to the Picard family, who left Cherbourg the next morning.[11]
Items found with the girl were unidentifiable by the Picards.[11] Other discrepancies between Pauline Picard and the foundling came to be explained as amnesia due to post-traumatic stress disorder, assuming the toddler had been abused by her kidnapper;[2] doctors believed that returning her home would help her recover.[3] There was no explanation for how Picard traveled to Cherbourg.[6]
In Goas-al-Ludu
edit
After arriving in Goas-al-Ludu on 12 May,[4] the girl believed to be Pauline Picard remained temporarily mute.[12][13] Picard's parents, brothers, sisters, and neighbors all recognized the rescued girl,[2] and she cried frightened when taken to the abduction area.[13] The Cherbourg nurses, who had accompanied the family back to Brittany, were convinced that the girl was home.[14]
A local farmer, the 49-year-old Yves Martin,[15] visited the Picard home on 13 May and questioned whether the lost girl was truly home. (French: «Alors», dit-il en breton, «la petite est de retour?» [...] «C'est bien elle?», lit. '"So," he said in Breton, "is the little girl back?" [...] "It's her?"')[4] Martin then made an exclamation (variously reported as "God forgive me. I am guilty.",[16] "God help me, I'm guilty!",[2] and French: «Dieu est juste, c'est moi le coupable !», lit. '"God is right, I'm the culprit!"')[4] before running off "in wild laughter" and being admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Quimper on 14 May.[16]
Corpse
editContemporary reports differ on the specifics, but agree that in late May 1922, the decomposing, mutilated body of a small girl was found near the Picards' farm. Le Matin reported from Brest that, on 25 May 1922, a cyclist found the body 1,000 or 500 metres (3,300 or 1,600 ft) from Goas-al-Ludu;[14][1] Le Petit Parisien—also in Brest—said that it was 26 May when a cyclist found the body 800–900 metres (2,600–3,000 ft) from the family's farm;[15][4] and The New York Times reported from Paris that it was 25 May when a farmer found the corpse one mile (1.6 km) from the village.[6]
Both Le Matin and the Times elaborated that when the Goas-al-Ludu gendarmes were brought to the body, villagers—including the Picards—followed.[14][6] The body was found in a ditch that had been thoroughly searched after Picard's initial disappearance, and government officials from Brasparts and Rennes formally confirmed this;[4] Ozy author Addison Nugent suggested that this means somebody wanted the body found.[2]
The girl's body was completely naked,[14][6] decapitated, and missing its hands and feet. The body was accompanied by the skull of a fully-grown man, suggesting a second victim;[16] the man's head "could not be identified, the face having been partly devoured by foxes."[6] Nearby, a pair of galoshes, socks, and fustian dress[14] were neatly folded and arranged;[15] these bloodstained clothes were identified by the Picard family as being their daughter's, worn the day she disappeared.[7]
By 27 May 1922, Le Petit Parisien was certain that the body found was that of Pauline Picard, as was François Picard when the body was first discovered. Yet later, when questioned (French: «N'est-ce pas votre enfant?», lit. '"Is not this your child?"') by a Rennais commissioner, he vacillated regarding which child was his daughter: "It's her clothes. [...] But, is it her body? [...] Oh! the other is so similar!" (French: «C'est bien ses vêtements. [...] Mais, est-ce son corps? [...] Oh ! l'autre est si ressemblante !») On 27 May 1922, a judge from Châteaulin was expected to arrive and take charge of the investigation,[4] with "the [m]agistrates investigating the case hav[ing] been seriously embarrassed."[17]
A Dr. Pouliquen examined the body, and, finding evidence of wounds, sent it to Châteaulin for closer examination.[15] Dr. Gouriou later studied the body and found a stab-wound in the groin measuring one centimetre (0.39 in) in length, and two centimetres (0.79 in) in depth. Though his preliminary cause of death was violent murder,[4] investigators were leaning towards accidental death due to exposure.[18] An autopsy provided no conclusive evidence for either determination.[19]
Outcome
editPauline Picard
editThe Châteaulinois judge determined the body Pauline Picard's, and her cause of death accidental. She was buried in Saint-Rivoal,[20] in a white, wooden coffin.[18] By June 1922, however, rumors were circulating Brittany that Picard was still alive, having been kidnapped by a wealthy family who left the body of their own ill-fated progeny in her place. Le Petit Parisien predicted that these rumors would prompt a re-opening of the investigation.[20] As of October 2017[update], no genetic testing had been performed on the body, and as such, it had not been conclusively identified as Picard's.[2]
Cherbourgeoise girl
editThe foundling was sent back to a Cherbourg hospice on 13 June 1922 at the request of prosecutors there.[19] Almost two months later, she was speaking complete sentences in the Breton language, prompting Le Petit Parisien to declare her a Breton, and to again suggest she was the real Pauline Picard.[21]
News coverage of the Cherbourgeoise girl, whom they referred to as "the girl with the pretty smile" (French: «la fillette au joli sourire»),[19] led interested families to request to adopt her.[22] She was named Marie-Louise Pauline by the civil court of Cherbourg, and placed in the care of the Franciscan Sisters of Notre-Dame-du-Vœu. Her death there was reported on 2 January 1924, a victim of a measles epidemic.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b "La Lande Tragique de Goas-al-Ludu" [The Tragic Moor of Goas-al-Ludu]. Le Matin (in French). Châteaulin. 27 May 1922.
French: Une enfant disparue... Une enfant retrouvée... Un cadavre d'enfant à tête d'homme; Est-ce Pauline Picard qui a été tuée ou est-ce elle qui a été recueillie par les fermiers bretons ?, lit. 'A missing child... A child found... A child's corpse with a man's head; Was it Pauline Picard who was killed or was it she who was taken in by the Breton farmers?'
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Nugent, Addison (29 October 2017). "The Terrifying Disappearance of Little Pauline Picard". Ozy. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "La Petite Bretonne Disparue" [The Missing Breton Girl]. Le Matin (in French). Cherbourg. 8 May 1922.
French: La fillette de Cherbourg ne reconnait pas ceux qui se croient ses parents, lit. 'The little girl from Cherbourg does not recognize those who think they are her parents'
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Royer, L.C. (27 May 1922). "Le Mystère des Monts D'Arrée[:] Pauline Picard a bien été assassinée" [The Mystery of the Monts d'Arrée[:] Pauline Picard has been murdered]. Le Petit Parisien (in French). Brasparts.
French: Et la 'fillette au joli sourire' n'est pas l'enfant des fermiers de Goas-al-Ludu, lit. 'And the 'little girl with a pretty smile' is not the child of the farmers of Goas-al-Ludu'
- ^ a b c d "La Fillette au Joli Sourire Ne Serait Pas la Petite Pauline Picard" [The Girl with the Pretty Smile Would Not Be Little Pauline Picard]. Le Petit Parisien (in French). Cherbourg. 8 May 1922.
French: Ses parents présumés ne peuvent assurer, en effet, que c'est bien leur enfant, lit. 'Her alleged parents can not assure, indeed, that it is their child'
- ^ a b c d e f "Two Girls, One Slain, Resemble Lost Child" (PDF). The New York Times. Paris: Adolph Ochs (published 27 May 1922). 26 May 1922. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
Finding of Body Puzzles French Parents After Supposed Daughter Returns.
- ^ a b c "Le petit cadavre de Goas-al-Ludu est-il celui de Pauline Picard ?" [Is the little corpse of Goas-al-Ludu that of Pauline Picard?]. Le Matin (in French). Brest. 26 May 1922.
French: On recherche le raccommodeur de parapluies, lit. 'We're looking for the umbrella mender'
- ^ "La Petite Pauline est reconnue par ses frères et sœurs au retour dans le village" [La Petite Pauline is recognized by her brothers and sisters on her return to the village]. Le Matin (in French). Rennes. 11 May 1922.
- ^ a b "Pourquoi ce bébé de deux ans avait-il été volé?" [Why was this two-year-old baby stolen?]. Le Matin (in French). Brest, France. 7 May 1922.
French: On trouve à Cherbourg la petite Pauline Picard qui fut enlevée il y a un mois, dans la cour de la ferme de ses parents en Bretagne, lit. 'In Cherbourg, there is little Pauline Picard, who was abducted a month ago, in the courtyard of her parents' farm in Brittany.'
- ^ a b "La mort d'une fillette dont on a beaucoup parlé" [The much talked about death of a little girl]. L'Ouest-Éclair (in French). 2 January 1924.
- ^ a b "La petite Pauline sera remise aux époux Picard" [Little Pauline will be handed over to the Picard couple]. Le Matin (in French). Cherbourg. 9 May 1922.
French: Ceux-ci persistent à déclarer qu'elle est bien leur fille, lit. 'They persist in declaring that she is indeed their daughter'
- ^ "La petite Pauline Picard est devenue muette" [The little Pauline Picard has become silent]. Le Petit Parisien (in French). Brest, France. Havas. 11 May 1922.
- ^ a b "La Petite Pauline Picard Commence a Recouvrer Ses Sens" [Little Pauline Picard Begins to Recover Her Senses]. Le Petit Parisien (in French). Brest, France. Havas. 13 May 1922.
- ^ a b c d e "La Petite Bretonne Redevient Mystérieuse" [La Petite Bretonne Becomes Mysterious Again]. Le Matin (in French). Brest. 25 May 1922.
French: Près de Goas-al-Ludu on trouve le cadavre mutilé d'une fillette dont les vêtements sont ceux de Pauline Picard; Quelle était donc la petite fille que les époux Picard ont cru reconnaître pour leur enfant?, lit. 'Near Goas-al-Ludu we find the mutilated corpse of a little girl whose clothes are those of Pauline Picard; Who was the little girl that the Picard couple thought they recognized for their child?'
- ^ a b c d "La fillette au joli sourire est-elle bien Pauline Picard?" [Is the girl with the pretty smile Pauline Picard?]. Le Petit Parisien (in French). Brest, France. 26 May 1922.
- ^ a b c "Skull by Girl's Body Is Found to Be Man's" (PDF). The New York Times. Paris (published 28 May 1922). 27 May 1922. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
Mystery Deepens in Slaying of Breton Girl and Return Home of Her Double.
- ^ "A Mother's Dilemma". Mount Ida Chronicle. Vol. XLV, no. XLV. 4 August 1922. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via National Library of New Zealand.
- ^ a b Royer, L.C. (28 May 1922). "Le Mystère de Goas-al-Ludu[:] Perdue dans la lande la petite Picard mourut de froid et de faim" [The Mystery of Goas-al-Ludu [:] Lost in the moor, little Picard died of cold and hunger]. Le Petit Parisien (in French). Saint-Rivoal.
French: Les Renards Déchirèrent Ensuite le Cadavre, lit. 'The Foxes Then Tore Off the Corpse'
- ^ a b c "Le fillette au joli sourire a quitté la ferme de Goas-al-Ludu" [The little girl with a nice smile left the farm of Goas-al-Ludu]. Le Petit Parisien (in French). Brest, France. 13 June 1922.
- ^ a b "Est-ce Bien Pauline Picard Qui Est Enterrée a St-Rivoal?" [Is it Pauline Picard who is buried in St-Rivoal?]. Le Petit Parisien (in French). Morlaix. 26 June 1922.
- ^ "La Fillette « au Joli Sourire » Recouvre la Mémoire" [The Girl "Pretty Smile" Covers Memory]. Le Petit Parisien (in French). Cherbourg. 11 August 1922.
French: De nouveau la question se pose : Est-elle la petite Pauline Picard?, lit. 'Again the question arises: Is she the little Pauline Picard?'
- ^ "Par qui sera recueillie la petite abandonnée de Cherbourg?" [By whom will the little abandoned girl from Cherbourg be taken in?]. Le Matin (in French). Cherbourg. 29 May 1922.