Random French Maids Snapped And Brutally Killed Their Boss's Family (11 items)

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  (#2) When Their Alcoholic Father And Neglectful Mother Split Up, They Were Sent Away

  When the marriage ended, Clémence sent Léa to live with her great uncle. Emilia was at the orphanage and she soon placed Christine there as well. Christine had been raised by her aunt before entering the orphanage and, once there, she and Emilia became quite close.

  Details and the timeline are unclear, but by some accounts, Christine and Léa both spent time in psychiatric institutions after their parents' divorce.
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  (#11) The Papin Sisters' Crimes Were A National Sensation And An Intellectual Firestorm

  The "Papin Affair" was a phenomenon. The crowds at their trial had to be restrained by police. Psychiatrists and psychologists theorized about the relationship that the girls had with each other and the possible mental illnesses that could be at issue. 

  Intellectuals around France saw their crimes as an act of class warfare, claiming the Papins had simply snapped in response to their social and economic status. Jean Genet wrote a play called Les Bonnes about the girls, the first of many literary, cultural, and visual representations of their actions. Fictional works about the Papin sisters and their actions were used to discuss and bring attention to issues related to sexuality, class struggle, and mental health.
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  (#9) The Papin Sisters Admitted Guilt But Claimed Mental Illness

  Christine and Léa admitted to killing the Lancelin women immediately. They were taken to prison and separated, which incensed them both.

  Christine experienced a "fit" of some kind shortly after being imprisoned and tried to gouge her own eyes out. She later claimed that she had a similar experience on the day of the murders and that she was suffering from a mental illness.
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  (#8) The Papin Sisters Were Found Curled Up In Bed Together

  After discovering the bodies, Monsieur Lancelin looked for the girls and found them wrapped in each other's arms in bed.

  They were clean and in nightgowns and one of their weapons - a hammer - was nearby.
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  (#10) Christine Was Sentenced To Execution And Léa Was Given 10 Years Of Hard Labor

  Multiple doctors examined Christine and Léa to determine the nature of their relationship and their mental health. Medical experts testified at the Papin sisters' trial that Christine was the dominant sister and that Léa looked up to her but both girls were sane and should be held accountable for their crimes equally.

  The trial began in September 1933 and lasted only 13 hours. The jury took 40 minutes to find both girls guilty, but they were given different sentences. Léa was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor because they believed she had been so heavily influenced by her sister. Christine, on the other hand, was given the death penalty. Her sentence was later commuted to life in prison.

  Christine immediately showed signs of mental decline in prison. She was depressed and stopped eating. She was moved to a psychiatric institution and passed of cachexia - essentially wasting away - in 1937. Léa was released from prison in 1941 after serving eight years. She lived with her mother and may have worked as a maid. She passed in either 1982 or 2001, depending on the source.
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  (#6) On February 2, 1933, The Lancelin Women Returned Home Unexpectedly From A Shopping Trip

  On February 2, 1933, Léonie and Geneviève Lancelin went shopping. They were supposed to meet René Lancelin for dinner that evening at the home of Léonie's brother. It's unclear why, but in the early evening, the two women returned home to find that the house had lost power. Christine and Léa had been home all day, carrying out their usual tasks, but had blown a fuse using a faulty iron. This same thing had happened several days prior and the iron had been fixed - at the girls' expense.

  According to the Papins, Madame Lancelin was irate when she saw that the power was out. Christine tried to explain what had happened but the fight escalated and she hit Madame Lancelin over the head. Geneviève came to her mother's rescue and began to fight with Christine, at which point Léa joined in the scuffle.

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