THE KILLER OF LITTLE SHEPHERDS The Case of the French Ripper and the Birth of Forensic ScienceThe killer of little shepherds

Hardback. The chilling, untold story of one of the first recorded serial killers and the men that proved his guilt. At the end of the 19th century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher, dubbed "The Killer of Little Shepherds," terrorised the French countryside with a brutal crime spree that claimed at least 11 victims, mostly adolescent farmworkers. The case captured the public's imagination like no other: newspapers whipped the story up into a frenzy, vigilante mobs were formed and innocent people accused. Vacher, a wandering vagrant and onetime soldier, was finally tracked down by prosecutor Emile Fourquet and the case assigned to Dr. Alexander Lacassagne, the era's most brilliant criminologist. The two men typified the Belle Epoque, a period of fervent scientific change and revolutionary thinking. With high drama and stunning detail, the author recounts Vacher's infamous crimes and interweaves the story of how Lacassagne and his colleagues developed forensic science as we know it, pioneering techniques that would form the cornerstone of the case against the killer. Tracing the twists and turns of the celebrated trial we follow Vacher - by now an infamous and internationally reviled figure - on his inevitable journey to the guillotine. Illus. + pictorial pds, Notes, Bibliog. and Index. 301pp. 8vo. h/back. F. in F. dw.