Jean de Koven
Jean de Koven | |
---|---|
Born | 1915 Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
Died | 23 July, 1937 (aged 22) Paris, France |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | ballet dancer, classical dance tutor |
Known for | Homicide victim of serial killer Eugen Weidmann |
Jean de Koven (1915 - 23 July, 1937) was an American
She had been staying with her aunt, Ida Sackheim, in a hotel on the Left Bank,[1] where she disappeared on the afternoon of 23 July.
Her body was discovered beneath the front porch of a villa at La Celle-Saint-Cloud on 8 December, 1937. De Koven was the first of six victims of German-born serial killer Eugen Weidmann, also known as "Karrer", a gang leader who confessed to his crimes and had as many as nine accomplices.
Resolution of crime
De Koven, resided in
Sackheim received a letter requesting $500 for her niece's safe return, which police investigated.[1] Later ransom notes arrived and she received mysterious telephone calls. Police could not locate the contact man even though he advertised frequently in the Paris edition of an American newspaper. By September, Sackheim offered a reward requesting information which would lead to the finding of De Koven's presumed abductors.
Police found De Koven's body doubled up in a shallow grave under a porch. Weidmann's other victims were
Killer's profile
Weidmann murdered De Koven in July 1937. A native of
Weidmann and his helpers preyed on people who appeared wealthy, mainly American and English tourists. It is thought that he met De Koven while he was working as an
Funeral
A funeral service was held for De Koven in the West End Funeral Chapel, 200 West 91st Street, in New York City, on December 31, 1937. Rabbi I. Mortimer Bloom, minister at
Book about the murder of Jean de Koven
Beaux Ténèbres, la Pulsion du Mal d'Eugène Weidmann by Michel Ferracci-Porri, 412 p.(Ed. Normant, 2008 France) Archived 2009-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
Comments on Cain by F. Tennyson Jesse (New York: Collier Books; London: Collier-Macmillan, Ltd., 1948, 1964), 158p., p. 99-158, Eugen Weidmann: A Study in Brouhaha. There is a drawing of Weidmann at the front of the book.