Case 129: The Dupont de Ligonnès Family

DESCRIPTION
The six-member Dupont de Ligonnès family lived at 55 Robert-Schuman Boulevard, a narrow two-story residence in a wealthy residential area west of the city. Their home was part of a row of matching terraced buildings overlooking a busy thoroughfare, interspersed with patisseries, bars, and other businesses...
CREDITS
Narration - Anonymous Host
Research - Erin Munro
Writing - Elsha McGill
Creative direction - Milly Raso
Production, scoring - Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
A special thank you to Holly Evans Plumelet and Sylvain Plumelet for their assistance with this episode.
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RESOURCES
For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-129-...

[@paulinho543]

Who is here after watching the third episode of Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix?

[@yasminahmed7586]

I came to see if further updates are available

[@razzmatazz1974]

im currently investigating my ancestors in Nantes and by chance found about this case, i will watch the Netflix episode! thanks

[@paulinho543]

@@razzmatazz1974 It's an amazing episode. You will like it for sure.

[@lilybrinez8047]

Me 🤣

[@clarealford6239]

Yep I am

[@scattygirl1]

My take is that he's a narcissist, a fantasist, and someone for whom the final straw was his father dying and not leaving him as much money as he'd hoped. There are many stories of middle aged, financially troubled men killing their families and then themselves, but that's not what happened here. He was careful and methodical (albeit not as good as he thought he was, but then that was also true of his business sense) which doesn't imo point to him doing it in a fit of mental stress. He grew up knowing he had aristocratic lineage and this fed his unrealistic expectations, and instead of taking up an "ordinary" job, he dreamt of being a business tycoon which he was actually quite poor at. He was too proud to reveal this and instead kept up with the outward signs of wealth such as sending 4 children to private school. He kept on thinking that all his bad financial decisions would be covered by what he'd inherit from his parents, and when that didn't happen in the January his father died, three months later the fantasist in him dreamt up a way of running away from it all so he could protect his supposed good name.

[@annnee6818]

Yeah murdering your wife and kids does wonders for your good name😅 this is just a tragedy, whatever his internal reasoning might have been

[@cheeseburgeralltopings7583]

Exactement ce que je pense depuis day one

[@coolguy1127]

My theory is that after his father died he realized the family had no money. Maybe he thought the father had some inheritance to give him. I think it broke him mentality. The lineage of his historic family was going to be tarnished. He then killed his family to destroy any continuation of the lineage. He had almost two weeks before anyone even put the pieces together. He left France and is now in Latin America. He took the photos from the frames with him. A person committing suicide doesn’t usually wait after a massacre like this. Why do all the extra stuff to throw off the cops? The letter, hiding the bodies, it doesn’t add up. He didn’t kill himself he never intended to.

[@popcorn0038]

very true. there was a homicide too around our region where the father first killed his gradeschool and highschool kids then later killed himself all are in the house.

[@richardernsberger5692]

He's the ultimate coward and criminal narcissist. He had other options, of course. He could have simply gotten a job. He was well-connected, and I'm sure one of this friends or associates could have helped him in that regard. But I surmise he was too proud and pampered to think of working like a common man. Or, a more desperate option, if he felt totally humiliated he could have simply fled himself--run off, as he has done, but without killing his family. Why he wouldn't have done that is beyond comprehension. His family might have struggled financially for a time, but they would have gotten on their feet and been ok in the long run--better than OK, I'm sure. Lastly, he could have, in his bad mental state, simply killed himself. To do what he chose to do is hard to believe. I too think there is a better than 50 percent chance he's still alive. If so, let's hope he's discovered and caught.

[@simplyv8430]

Excellent. A comprehensive breakdown of this case in English was sorely lacking on YT.

[@maleficentpangolin4445]

Agreed. I haven't listened yet but I've been hoping Casefile would cover this for a while now. Looking forward to it.

[@Diamond_Coles9]

Yes & the one Netflix is good just not in English.

[@AnastasiaFaye]

Finished Unsolved Mysteries ep3 10 mins ago. Went to Twitter to see what folks were saying about Xavier Dupont de Whatever. Saw a tweet about how good this podcast ep was.... Here I am. 😁

[@tammyallen3813]

hahahahaha de Whatever hahahahahaaa Good One hahahahaahaaaaa

[@lexi6693]

that's where i first heard about this family too. Truly heartbreaking

[@malea2761]

im researching this case after watching the Netflix unsolved episode and wow. this kinda stuff always interests me and this one especially right now, its insane.

[@omgdudeitsnati]

Came here after the Unsolved Mysteries Reddit told me this podcast had more facts than the show. I neeeeed to know more.

[@seoul_mate]

I am French and I think about this case quite often. Thank you so much for covering it and I hope that it is finally solved one day. There was so much hope a few weeks ago but it was short lived.

[@dougroberts9821]

Seoul Mate C’est vraiment triste! 🙁

[@CRICB]

did they find this french kid or is he still missing ? m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3XZloFtgruUjNk

[@Riceordie]

what happened that there was hope? did they think they found him or what happened?

[@seoul_mate]

@@Riceordie For a short while they thought he had been arrested at a Scottish airport. But it was a false alarm.

[@larissacroan7150]

Yeah, I saw that but it was mistaken identity. Pity really.

[@jimmythorpe4368]

Just so you know I used to listen to ycomedic podcasts and one day I ran out of episodes and KZbin Auto played a case file.. I have listened to every case file you have done and some twice... You have the best way of telling a story I've ever listened to.. it is intelligently done and well-researched . At the same time not over "smarty pants" either. You have a very comforting voice that helps make very hard to listen to things easier. Well done

[@CountessGemini]

I appreciate the fact that it's not overly dramatic. The background music creates a sort of spooky atmosphere, but the narrative is calm and natural.

[@nellyxDsmilesz]

This case hurt my heart. How could anyone ever do this to their own children and wife or even pets. Breaks me to know his own son was buried apart. This man hid his true self and that’s scary.

[@ellam3659]

My uncle murdered both my cousins then himself over a divorce . He had been planning it for months and none of us knew. Their names were Kelsey and Hayley Byrne. I still ask how and why to this day (that was 2004)

[@nellyxDsmilesz]

Ella M I’m so sorry to hear that! My thoughts and prayers for your cousins 🖤 and may you find closure 🙏

[@Ethan-xf4or]

Because he’s a psychopath. They have no empathy. Someone you think is normal Could be one for all you know.

[@billblaski9523]

List Family

[@Virginnia]

Too proud to admit financial incompetence & to get a divorce. Should have thrown himself in front of the truck but I'd pity the driver.

[@matthewsmyth903]

Can someone explain French nobility to me. I read he did this because he had noble blood but his business failed and they were losing everything. Can they not call one of their noble relatives and get a job?

[@marieamar9298]

I am french too. His family (ex : his father in law : 13,000 euros) and some close friends helped him a lot, but he had so many expenses (expensive hotels, travels, fine wines, restaurants, select schools, etc.) and so many debts for many years that it was impossible to continue. The last year, his incomes were 4,000 euros for all the year and his expenses around 10,000 euros monthly ! He couldn't pay old taxes (80,000 euros) for his so-called empty business, the rent of his home or the schools for his children, etc. In a few months, he would have lost the house, the woman wanted her 50.000 euros and lawyers began to send official letters at home. For years, it "worked" because he spent the 300,000 euros of his wife 's inheritage, then he took money from X to give it back to Y, etc. He stole also money to a close friend and to his father and received some financial state helps by frauding. But at that moment, all that stuff was not possible anymore. Very similar to John List 's story. He was travelling in the USA when List was arrested.

[@BrianKeating101]

I'm here because of Netflix MY HEAD IS ABSOLUTELY FUCKED

[@rockirazin8212]

Great job as always!!!

[@loriepaix6391]

Xavier's family are not big believers in Occam's Razor. If someone leaves a note saying "if an accident ever happens to my whole family, don't believe that I did it, no matter how much evidence you find" it can be looked at as exculpatory or evidence of premeditation. He's a narcissist, so he's not going to kill himself or turn himself in to police. Hopefully he can be found soon and spend the rest of his life suffering for his heinous crimes.

[@rmooreg]

Exculpatory? The only one who could possibly believe that statement is the deluded egomaniac that wrote it.

[@dougroberts9821]

Looks like daddy watched too many American spy movies.

[@2davivadiva]

They hate us but secretly love us

[@rcox27cnmedu]

So glad this is an old episode because when he said stress was the leading cause of death in the 21st century I was like I beg your finest pardon? Did covid not happen?

[@OOoKarmaoOO]

Way too much snitching in these letters,that's not how WITSEC works🤦🏾‍♀️

[@Maisiewuppp]

No shit, Sherlock. Totally stating the bloody obvious. He could equally incredibly have said he was going into space for NASA. If you didn’t get he was a fantasist…

[@buffalorick5598]

It took 18 years to catch John List. If the same luck applies to Xavier, he won’t be caught until 2029. Have to wonder if he is still alive? I would think given modern technology it would be more difficult for him to stay free?

[@annnee6818]

It's likely he's dead and threw himself off some cliff. But it's possible he ran of course.

[@Jolenesmart1980]

Can’t believe he hasn’t been found - well I’m not at the end just yet but looking that way

[@Thompson8200]

I don't think there's any doubt about Xazier being the killer, the only real question is where he ended up. His last known movements sound to me like a last tour of his favorite places, I wouldn't be too surprised if he committed suicide at a later point with his body somewhere it won't likely be found.

[@ulalaFrugilega]

I think he's a homeless drunkard now, somewhere. No, actually, I only hope that. I believe that he's sitting pretty somewhere.

[@lauriekrebs4522]

Don't think so. He's a homicidal narcissistic sociopath, he was in financial trouble and his ego was so bruised he just had to abscond. Narcissists don't tend to commit suicide, they think far too highly of themselves. He is probably remarried, has a new family, had plastic surgery and doesn't give much thought to the family he annihilated. Through his incompetence and stupidity he wasted his wife's inheritance, everything was going belly-up and he couldn't take the threat to his ego.

[@c.w.8200]

Narcissists don't commit suicide, he's off somewhere failing at another business most likely.

[@annnee6818]

Yes. Off a cliff and got lucky

[@annnee6818]

​@c.w.8200 We 1) can't know he's a narcissist (I know you think so, but you can't, we feel a need to pathologise every deviant behavior so we can feel distant from it) and 2) it's also not true that narcs never commit suicide. The shame would be the worst for this man and this crime as it purportedly happened. But nothing is certain.

[@ulalaFrugilega]

There has been a murder like this, I dimly recall, man murdered his whole family one by one as they came home from school and shopping, laid them out in the house, put on loud music and made off. He was broke, too, I think. He was caught 30 years later living a new life with a new wife. I wish I remembered his name! By the way: what about those fingerprints of the man with the stolen passport? How can they be Xavier's and then not Xavier's? P.S.: And why did this other suspect flee a casino without his winnings?

[@divinemischief4655]

A. DUBITANTE I think that the guy was John List.

[@isamirella8514]

Yesss I thought about the same thing. Is crazy how the father can murder a whole family just because of money

[@ulalaFrugilega]

Mercedes Rae Williams right! I googled that name and instantly recognized the face. Also remembered he explained the murders as necessary for him to be free, as he couldn't bring himself to leave his family… as if they were better off dead than without his wonderful company. Asshole.

[@lauriekrebs4522]

And the relevant common factors are middle-aged males; incompetent, (blasts through his wife's full inheritance and has nothing to show for it?) not resourceful, and not providing for their families. (What's with the idiotic web sites?). Narcissistic, delusional, highly self-important, and constantly striving to get a better life for themselves regardless of the responsibilities they create. His "background" as "royalty" is not a surprise, he was raised to believe he was a special person, regardless of the fact he was a full-on loser in every way. John List was much the same. Lived in a grand home, was an accountant (Education and home provided by his mother) but the truth of his life was very different. He was not a good accountant and was fired. After draining his mother dry over the course of many years, he got to the end of the money and murdered his entire family and absconded to start his new life. When interviewed many years later, he indicated he "didn't want to put his family through the shame of being broke and poor." Utterly revolting humans.

[@lisabelle7553]

Yes similar but the major difference was that John list did not attempt to cover up his crime the way Xavier did.

[@riskybubble]

It gave me chills to hear about this case after I visited Versailles in France. I don't want to think I might have been near that house. Also horrible to think he might have gotten away with it and could be anywhere

[@riskybubble]

@@jeremyrike7251 Ah ok. Thanks for correcting me! Still, a horrible event

[@annnee6818]

He's very likely dead but of course we can't be sure. If he is alive I do hope they catch him

[@sharonmontano4924]

Privilege is not the same as being noble

[@SHurd-rc2go]

Classic Family Annihilator. Always seem to be major money issues, and narcissism, and a delicate ego,

[@laurabuehler]

Why couldn't he have made himself disappear without harming his family? Why did his family have to die? There are lots of curse words I have right now for this man, but I won't say them on You Tube.

[@LL-jt1xt]

If the family were killed by a hitman why was he allowed to live/get away? Also why if he escaped & was on the run afraid for his life why was he not afraid to be spotted/tracked? As a narcissist he would revel in being talked about long after the event.

[@annnee6818]

Yeah like a hitman would have buried his victims with rosaries. Big nope. Quite right.

[@wasabimami__]

I can't believe he considers himself "balanced and in good moral and physical health." He's a florid narcissist.

[@bulleyes9059]

And according to his sister and mother he shouldn't have been able to dig the grave by himself.

[@maggaveli6764]

@@bulleyes9059 it's possible that he asked his kids to help him dig the hole and obviously lied about the reason for the holes

[@annnee6818]

Probably but who knows

[@annnee6818]

​@maggaveli6764 I would consider this unlikely, he'd be afraid they'd blab plus that's conspicuous af

[@anastoianovici2269]

this just is very much alike Ozark scenario

[@wonkywonkerson]

what does everyone say about the fact that he has severe back pain and couldn't bend over, dig, or lift heavy things? that and the fact that the house was wiped so professionally of all prints and blood makes me think he hired help for doing this horrific thing.

[@c.w.8200]

Everyone can clean, even a man, if need be and he might have asked his sons to help him dig under the pretense of home improvements.

[@neverforever4787]

He had two very close friends who died in the years after this all happened - one committed suicide and the other basically drank himself to death. I think he had these two friends (unbeknownst to them) dig the family's graves for him at various points leading up to the murders. The friends didn't tell the police out of fear this would somehow implicate them in the murders, and the guilt led them to their early deaths.

[@Jolenesmart1980]

Omg how embarrassing getting it wrong that it was him

[@ellam3659]

I feel like something is off. He had back problems reportedly but dragged and buried four bodies? Did I miss something?

[@HHUNTEROFTHENORTH14]

Woo hoo first to comment from Ban Na Doem, Thailand!

[@tammyallen3813]

Hi H from Thailand. Sending happy thoughts to you from Washington USA

[@matthewsmyth903]

Has anyone checked Australia ?

[@lacil8895]

His appearance is that like a lot of men. Average features. Have seen people in the street who look very similar. In aus... he could blend in easily. interesting theory..

[@ashimadayal7633]

The mother and sister of this guy are sooooo delusional

[@mistyhelvey9650]

I just read on reddit there was a tip that he was seen in Chicago. They sent in a picture and everything had French accent looked just like Xavier.

[@Adrian-zd4cs]

When you say... "DON'T LOOK OVER THERE!" Everyone will look over there. Narcissism at its peak.

[@scottclark1123]

Do a documentary about the servant girl annihilator

[@lauriekrebs4522]

Wasn't that the one in Austin, Texas, way way back?

[@lisabelle7553]

There's a good one on the "serial killers" podcast.

[@jakenorthbriz]

A master of mystery, it must be simple for him to blend into society, he must have friends in the right places, but why would you help someone who murdered their family? It makes no sense that he murdered them all, there is a flipside to every coin, I wouldn't make assumptions just yet for all we know he could be getting framed and because he fled someone turned their vengeance on his family.

[@rmooreg]

He fled AFTER his family was killed. It was he who wrote all the "goodbye" letters, he who cleared out his sons' school residences, he who purchased all the tools and the lime used in the burying of the bodies, he who tried to create a smokescreen of excuses to delay friends and family becoming suspicious. It defies all reason to view him as anything other than the prime suspect in this case in which the number of other viable, realistic suspects is zero. There is no other creditable theory, nor any solid evidence to support such, than familicide perpetrated by Xavier du blahblah

[@christrinder1255]

Th,is is very interesting and reminds me of the disappearance of Lord Luken after the murder and attempted he inadvertently brutally murdered his children’s nanny followed up immediately by the attempted murder of his wife, never to be seen or heard of (that we know of) again. Like the DuPont family, his offspring never believed he was guilty.

[@annnee6818]

Yeah don't you hate it when you "inadvertently" murder someone brutally.

[@Purple_haze81000]

I don’t think he’s alive. Killing his family, he knew this would be the biggest news in Europe because of his aristocratic roots, his “perfect” family appearance, his clean record, and most unusual crime. He knew this crime would be the biggest thing. He would never be able to forgive himself alive for his crime. I think his motive was that he couldn’t stand failure, bankruptcy that would hurt his aristocratic roots. All his friends and family have said he was obsessed with his aristocratic roots. Of course, his obsession he took to a dangerous level. In Europe, it is the worst thing to lose everything and more embarrassing if you are aristocratic and lose everything. You have an image to uphold and in his mind that was everything. If he lost that, death even to his family was the only way. In his mind, he didn’t want his family to live with the shame. At the same time, he never wanted them to know the truth….even if he was dead. He felt in some way them being alive he would be leaving them in a bad state and he really didn’t want them to ever know his finance issues. Even if it meant killing them. It was like nobody should be alive.

[@sarahwatterson5706]

I mean... for starters, witness protection is not something you enter and exit within a few years. It’s not as if after the investigation has concluded and the witness has given evidence you’re free to go back to your old life and old identities. For someone to be offered witness protection, along with a family of 5, in the first place, you’d have to be in almost immediately and considerable danger as well as offering extremely valuable information to a DEA investigation. Whether or not the cases built with a witness are successful or not, those targeted have networks and associates and families and if a witness wasn’t safe prior to the trials they testified at, you can guarantee that they’ll be just that much more unsafe after they’ve acted as a witness. Now, I know that the letters that the patriarch (forgive me, have forgotten his name at the moment) sent to family were just a ruse, that it was all BS, but I can’t believe that any of the recipients of the letter would have believed it for a second.

[@sagefaribole]

Great content! The robot kind of voice is too bad though. Thank you for this episode!

[@chriswaight2762]

I reckon the voice is what makes me listen.

[@WhiteChocolate74]

Yeah he has a good voice, unlike Criminally Listed 😥

[@goodkopbadkop9054]

1:20 to get past the Ad.

[@crazybirdladieslaura5647]

built in ads are annoying

[@anastoianovici2269]

I think this is a mafia related crime and is a very small chance that the patriarch of this family is still alive

[@pierluigilagalante9469]

Cynthia Baker not really , never say never , like every rule some break them

[@scrappedlives]

Arrested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmfdaWV3g8SimLM

[@jeffdoolin4314]

Ppf

[@nightwatchnetwork]

Hello, We have been creating a podcast series dedicated to various solved/unsolved mysteries. We would greatly appreciate anyone checking our work out, Thank you

[@annabe9892]

Terrible

[@janstolk486]

Well , at least he was a devout Catholic !

[@LL-jt1xt]

Well if he truly was & did kill himself then at least he might be burning in hell 😂

[@MyFaithfulSword]

zjjohn- vi- ev

[@chels3707]

Going to Mass every week doesn't make you "extremely pious" it makes you a Bare Minimum believer....and if you think it's ok to have affairs and get divorced, you are NOT "devout", you are evil.

[@HandOfThemis]

Getting divorced makes someone evil? That's moronic. Though I do agree that people should try working things out, and thinking ahead before getting married, the idea that getting a divorce makes someone evil is retarded.

[@chels3707]

@@HandOfThemis it's against Gods Law, so no, the idea is not retarded, and yes, divorce means you are or makes you evil.

[@gurnoorpuri2078]

@@chels3707 God's Law? There is no much thing, Law and Order is created by man. If you really believe in God, you'd not judge others for their choices but here you are, spreading hate, something your so called "God" despises. Divorce cannot be stopped, if two people cannot remain together then they can't, there's nothing wrong in moving on with someone else. If God really cares about divorce, he can come down from heaven and tell us who to marry since he's "all-powerful". Also, your definition of 'evil' is flawed, you need a reality check. There's a million Gods, one cannot be proven any more real than the others. Teachings also differ. What is evil for you is acceptable for others. It's a social construction. And you strike me a conservative, devout, religious individual who thinks he/she is following God but actually you're following Satan. You spread hate like Satan, you judge non-believers and question their faith based upon no information. You're sick.The universe is so vast it would blow your restricted stupid mind, aliens are way more real than God. Good luck on Judgment Day, tell him all about your hate and dumb-ass comments. That's only if he's real. If not him then Satan would be more than happy to to take you in, i'm sure. Hail Satan.

[@chels3707]

@@gurnoorpuri2078 Hahahahahahaha OK Neckbeard

[@christiegroves]

@@chels3707 I am Catholic and while Divorce is not recommended it is accepted, cheating is not it's against the ten commandments but I think now a day's people accept it as being human, I am from a home where both parents cheated and divorced it was awful, they are not evil just selfish and immature. There is no law of God, just the ten commandments.

[@aquimusicacalentana]

The narrators voice sucks, can’t understand some things he says, his Australian or British accent is so strong that it makes it difficult to distinguish some words

[@annegiorgio5602]

It’s Australian and I pity you that you can’t understand English

[@scrappedlives]

It's not an unsolved mystery. The target is arrested in 2019 in Scotland. He had plastic surgery and lived in Scotland since murdering his family under a false name.

[@anticommiecop8681]

I hate podcast!