Christine and Léa Papin better known as the Papin Sisters were born in Le Mans, France in the early 1900's to Clémence Derré and Gustave Papin. From the very start, it seemed as though the sisters were destined to live a life of misery. Even before their births, their family was far from perfect. Their parents, Clémence and Gustave Papin had a troublesome relationship. While dating, there were rumors that Clémence was being unfaithful and had begun a romantic relationship with her boss.
At first, Gustave thought that they were just rumors and he decided to turn a blind eye to the situation, but the more he heard the rumors, the harder it became to ignore the idea. Despite his doubt, when Clémence suddenly discovered she was pregnant, Gustave decided to marry her in order to avoid further negative comments and rumors about their relationship.
Five months after they had married, The Papins gave birth to their first daughter whom they named Emilia. Soon after her birth, the rumors of an affair arose again, leading Gustave to make the decision to take a job in a different city. When he announced his decision to the family, Clémence was not happy and claimed that she would much rather commit suicide than to move away from Le Mans. After this, their marriage quickly fell apart. Gustave turned to alcohol and would drink heavily on a daily basis. When Emilia was 9 or 10 years old, her mother sent her to the Bon Pasteur Catholic Orphanage where it was later discovered that her own father had sexually assaulted her. While there, Emilia turned to God, joined the convent and later became a nun. Though Emilia's story was tragic, this story is not about her. The Papins had two other daughters which would become the center of a horrible crime in the mid 1900's.
Christine Papin was born on March, 8 in 1905 and was quickly given to her aunt and uncle on her father's side. She lived in their home happily until she too, decided to join the convent and become a nun. When her mother heard her plans, she quickly put an end to it and immediately sent Christine out to work. Every single one of Christine's employers always described her as a good worker and a particularly good cook, although insubordinate at times. When her sister, Léa was born in September of 1911, she was given to her maternal uncle with whom she stayed with until his death. Soon after, she too went to the orphanage and stayed until she reached the age of 15 and was legally allowed to work. Unlike her sister, she was described as being quiet and obedient though less intelligent. They both found plenty of work in homes around Le Mans but naturally, they preferred to be placed in a home where they could work together.
In 1926, the Papin sisters were offered a live-in position as maids / care takers in the home of the Lancelin family. They were to tend to the needs of Monsieur René Lancelin, his wife Léonie and their youngest daughter Genevive. At first, things seemed ideal. The sisters were together at last and had a safe place to stay, but unfortunately, things quickly took a turn for the worst. Léonie became depressed and as her mental health declined so did her tolerance for the sisters. She began to take her feelings out on them often becoming physically abusive. It was reported that Léonie would frequently slam both Christine and Léa's heads against the wall as a form of punishment for minor infractions.
On the evening of February 2nd, 1933 Monsieur Lancelin was due to have dinner with his family at a friend's home. Léonie and Genevive had prepared for the occasion with a day of shopping. When they returned home, the lights of the home were all off. The Papin sisters explained that the power outage was caused due to Christine plugging in a faulty iron. Léonie was furious and she began attacking both sisters on the first floor landing. In the middle of the altercation, Christine lunged at Genevive and gouged both of her eyes out. Léa joined in and in an attempt to defend herself and her sister, she too gouged out Léonie's eyes out under her sister's instructions. Strangely, Christine ran into the kitchen where she retrieved a cupcake and a lollipop and then headed back upstairs. The struggle continued and the sisters used whatever was available around them as weapons. They found a heavy pewter and they began to strike both Léonie and Genevive's heads.
When Monsieur Lancelin returned home that evening, he found that all of the lights in the home were off. Thinking that maybe his wife and child had already left to the party, he headed out without actually entering the home. When he arrived at his friend's home, he quickly realized that his family had never made it to the party. He left and returned to his residence with his son-in-law (his older daughter's husband) at around 6:30pm - 7:00pm where they discovered that the home remained dark except for a small light upstairs which seemed to be coming from the Papin sister's room. When they tried to enter the home, the door seemed to have been blocked from the inside. Unable to enter, they began to worry and went to the local police station to ask for help.
The police were able to enter the home by climbing the garden wall. Once inside, they made a gruesome discovery. Both Genevive and Léonie were dead. Neither of them had their eyes and they were both so badly beaten and stabbed to the point of being nearly unrecognizable. Madame Lancelin's eyes were later found in the folds of her scarf while Genevive's eyes were in two different places of the home. One was found under her body, while the other was found by the staircase where the attack had originally began.
Fearing that the Papin sisters had met the same fate, the police headed to their rooms where they found the door locked. They knocked on the door but were met with no answer. They summoned a locksmith which was able to open the door and they found both of the Papin sisters laying naked in bed together with a wild look in their eyes. A bloody hammer with hair still wrapped around it could be seen laying on a chair nearby. When the police questioned the sisters, they immediately confessed to the crime.
Following the murders, the sisters were separated and placed in jail. Christine became distressed and would act out as a result. She would beg to see her sister on a daily basis and after a while, police relented and allowed for their reunion. Upon seeing her sister, it is reported that Christine threw herself at her Léa and began to undress while begging her to "please say yes" leading those present to speculate that the sisters had an incestuous sexual relationship.
In July of 1933, Christine experienced a "fit" in which she tried to gouge her own eyes out as a result of being separated from her sister. Due to this, she was placed in a straitjacket. She later stated that the night of the murders, something similar had occurred and that she had committed the murders as a cause of the manic episode. The sisters were both examined and were administered a psychological evaluation to determine their mental state. All tests concluded that both sisters were sane and showed no signs of pathological mental disorders although medical testimonies in their September trials noted a history of mental illness. One of their uncles had committed suicide and a cousin was living in a mental asylum. They also further examined the sister's relationship and though initially it was thought that they had an incestuous relationship, it was later thought to be nothing more than a strong bond due to family ties. The sisters only had each other and they strongly clung to one another for support.
Since it was believed that Léa acted under the guidance of her sister, she only received 10 years. Christine, on the other hand, was sentenced to death by the guillotine though that sentence was later commuted to life in prison. The separation seemed to be a lot harder on Christine than on Léa and it soon proved far too difficult for her to bare. Christine began experiencing bouts of depression and would often have manic episodes where she refused to eat or drink. They transferred her to a mental institution where it was believed she would have better care, but nothing changed and her health quickly deteriorated. She died of starvation on May 18, 1937 just 4 years after the murders.
Léa was released from prison just 8 years after the murders where she moved to the town of Nantes and was later joined by her mother. She assumed a new identity and was able to find work as a hotel maid. There are two separate accounts regarding the death of Léa as it was originally believed she died in 1982 but later reports state that a woman living in a hospice claiming to be Léa had passed away in 2001.
Due to their tragic lives, many people were not convinced that the sisters were completely sane. Some people in the psychology field still believed that they both suffered from mental illness due to traumas in their younger years. On top of that, both women worked 14 hour days with only half a day off so they were mentally and physically exhausted. This lead to many in their community to empathize with them stating this was a clear case of social class oppression.
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