Marie Alexandrine Becker
Marie Alexandrine Becker | |
|---|---|
_photographi%C3%A9e_en_1905.jpg) Marie Becker in 1905 (26 years old) | |
| Born | Marie Alexandrine Petitjean 14 July 1879 |
| Died | 11 June 1942 (aged 62) |
| Other names | "The Black Widow" "The Belgian Borgia" |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 11 |
Span of crimes | 1933–1936 |
| Country | Belgium |
Date apprehended | 16 October 1936 |
Marie Alexandrine Becker (née Petitjean; 14 July 1879 – 11 June 1942), nicknamed The Black Widow, was a
Biography
Marie Petitjean was born in the rural village of Waasmont, Landen municipality. She rarely attended school, having to help her parents in the fields, but nevertheless asked the village priest to teach her writing, reading and arithmetic. At the age of sixteen, she left her family to live with an aunt who ran a rope shop on Saint-Pholien Street in Liège; she often used peket to retain the male clientele. At the age of 17, on 15 August 1896, she met her first lover, a man named Yann, at the Marian feasts in the Outremeuse district. This was the first of a very long series of marriages. In 1900, when she was 21 years old, she began work for a sewing shop. Marie was very passionate about her job and excelled at it. She was considered to be a pretty, lively and joyful woman who pleased the men.[1][2][3]
"She offered us something to drink and if we wanted to go further, she never said no. And for no money!"
— Elisabeth Lange, The first serial killer, 3rd Edition, 2011
In 1905, at the
She married Charles Becker Sr. in 1906, and the couple soon moved into the house adjoined to the family sawmill, where Mr. Becker and his two sons, Charles Jr. and Gustave, worked. Marie, however, did not get on well with the family, and frequently argued with Léontine, Gustave's wife. Angered, the father threatened Charles Jr. to dismiss his daughter-in-law who was a charcuterie in Bressoux. Unbeknownst to the family, the trade was rapidly collapsing. Marie then started to cheat on her husband more often, explaining in her trial that "it is not given to all women to resist the advances of men."[1][3]
In 1912, Charles Sr. died, which allowed Charles Jr. to resume his duties in the family business. Marie then opened a sewing workshop in one of the rooms of the house, bringing in a growing number of customers. She was heavily inspired by the models of Paul Poiret, even copying some of them.[1][3]
During the
In October 1932, Charles Becker Jr. died as a result of a
The Becker Affair
 | This article is missing information about the actual crimes. (November 2022) |
Marie was arrested on 16 October 1936 as she was preparing her 17th poison of
See also
- List of serial killers by country
- List of serial killers by number of victims
- List of serial killers with the nickname “Borgia”
References
- ^ ISBN 9782812915949.
- ^ a b c d e f René Haquin and Pierre Stephany (2005). The major criminal records in Belgium. Vol. 1 (Lannoo ed.). p. 342.
- ^ ISBN 9782390090762.
Literature
- Michael Newton: Die große Enzyklopädie der Serienmörder. Sammler Vlg., 2002, ISBN 3-85365-189-5, S. 32.
- Peter & Julia Mirakami: Murakami, Peter; Murakami, Julia (2000). Lexikon der Serienmörder. 10. Auflage. ISBN 978-3-548-35935-9.
- Elisabeth Lange, Marie-Alexandrine Petitjean. Veuve Becker (Belgique, 1879-1942), Éditions Jourdan, 2006
- Albert Bouckaert: Marie Becker the Poisoner, Brussels-Paris, 1938
- Elisabeth Lange, The first serial killer, 3rd Edition, 2011
External links
- Becker auf dunkletage.de
- Marie Becker on a website dedicated to serial killers
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