The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the

The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science

A riveting true crime story that vividly recounts the birth of modern forensics.

At the end of the nineteenth century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher, known and feared as â€œThe Killer of Little Shepherds,â€ terrorized the French countryside. He eluded authorities for yearsâ€”until he ran up against prosecutor Emile Fourquet and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the eraâ€™s most renowned criminologist. The two menâ€”intelligent and boldâ€”typified the Belle Ã‰poque, a period of immense scientific achievement and fascination with scienceâ€™s promise to reveal the secrets of the human condition.

With high drama and stunning detail, Douglas Starr revisits Vacherâ€™s infamous crime wave, interweaving the story of how Lacassagne and his colleagues were developing forensic science as we know it. We see one of the earliest uses of criminal profiling, as Fourquet painstakingly collects eyewitness accounts and constructs a map of Vacherâ€™s crimes. We follow the tense and exciting events leading to the murdererâ€™s arrest. And we witness the twists and turns of the trial, celebrated in its day. In an attempt to disprove Vacherâ€™s defense by reason of insanity, Fourquet recruits Lacassagne, who in the previous decades had revolutionized criminal science by refining the use of blood-spatter evidence, systematizing the autopsy, and doing groundbreaking research in psychology. Lacassagneâ€™s efforts lead to a gripping courtroom denouement.

The Killer of Little Shepherds is an important contribution to the history of criminal justice, impressively researched and thrillingly told.
Country USA
Manufacturer Knopf
Binding Hardcover
ReleaseDate 2010-10-05
UnitCount 4
EANs 9780307266194

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Knopf
Binding	Hardcover
ReleaseDate	2010-10-05
UnitCount	4
EANs	9780307266194

The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science

You might also like...