Seeing how things are turning out with the vaccines and stuff, I thought that a little case taking place in the medical field wouldn't hurt. Good (or bad) news, there is a lot on cases surrounding hospitals in France. The one I chose had people howling a few years ago, but isn't as known today. Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you the case of Christine Malèvre.
Christine Malèvre
A death so early it's suspicious
Mantes-la-Jolie's hospital
This case begins on May 3rd, 1998, in the Mantes-la-Jolie hospital. As I was enjoying my new life as a newborn, 71-year-old Jacques Guitton had just learned that his cancer was terminal and that he had two weeks left max. However, he didn't even get to say goodbye to his loved ones because he died in the same afternoon. This death was way too early, so everybody turned to Christine Malèvre, a nurse who had been saying to everybody that Jacques wouldn't "make it through the afternoon", even though he had been just fine until noon. The neuro-pulmonology ward soon starts thinking that she probably had something to do with it, and the staff went straight to the hospital's director with their doubts. They add to that the fact that a lot more people die when Christine is working.
Who is Christine Malèvre ?
Christine was born January 10th, 1970 in the city of Mantes-la-Jolie, and if you don't pay too much attention, her early life seems ordinary. However, two things are going to have a major impact on her: her little sister, whose health monopolize their parents' attention, and the sexual assault she goes through (by the hand of her teacher) when she is 12. (I'll explain my theory about this all affected later in the article).Seeing her parents take care of her little sister makes her want to become a nurse, and that's exactly what she does. And that's how she is placed in the neuro-pulmonology ward of the Mantes-la-Jolie in 1995.
The first confession
Let's go back to 1998. Christine's colleagues are perplexed by the early death of Jacques Guitton, which Christine predicted in front of everybody as if discretion was suddenly illegal.
On March 6th, the hospital's director calls the DA's office to ask for an investigation. He also confronts Christine, who denies everything. She's not very convincing, so the director moves her to another ward (firing her would have been cool, but okay).Christine reacts by going home, writing a letter claiming her innocence and trying to OD on some meds. She fails because her boyfriend finds her in the bathroom and calls an ambulance. She ends up getting placed in the psych ward of the hospital she works at (and isn't it ironic, don't you think). Despite this sign of mental anguish, the DA starts his investigation (as he should) and Christine's colleagues are interrogated. They quickly reveal that Christine is very "close" to the agonizing patients, always volunteers to prepare the dead bodies for restitution to the family, and even went to the funerals sometimes ! Okay, that's where I draw the line. A nurse can perform the best services for my grandfather, if she shows up at his funeral I'm asking questions. A lot of questions.
Anyway, the investigators compare the list of deaths since Christine entered the ward to her schedule, and a lot of deaths stick to her like a creep on the subway. After this discovery, on May 7th, Christine is interrogated. The nurse has a negative level of street cred, so she breaks almost immediately and confesses to killing around 30 people. The investigators are shocked at her quickness to confess, but continue to do their job and present her to the judge. That's the moment where Christine starts stuttering (and she'll never stop). All of a sudden, it's not killing, it's consensual euthanasia. The thing is, that's illegal in France so she's still indicted for premeditated murder. She's quite dumb, that one. 7 deaths are proven to have been provoked by Christine:
- Raymond Baudet, 64
- Hubert Bruyelle, 75
- Denise Le Maout, 48
- Dominique Kostmann, 47
- Patrick Hauguel, 52
- Patrice Collin, 29
- Jacques Guitton, 71
The media circus
Christine Malèvre on TV
Obviously, the media jumps on this story and thus reignite the debate around euthanasia. Christine is even invited on a talk-show to explain that she simply helped patients who longed for death, and as most French people drink her words as if they are holy water, the victims' families are enraged and press charges.Christine's luck runs out when the journalist Anne-Marie Casteret publishes the article Deadly Compassion, which reveals the real number of potential victims. After that, the media does a 180° like it's Tokyo Drift and finally starts to look at Christine like they should. That doesn't stop the accused murderer from publishing a book called My Confessions (no, I absolutely did not read it).
The mask falls apart
Since the first time she got in front of a judge, Christine has been incapable of keeping her story straight. Now, she is even saying that some of the deaths were accidental, that the syringe slipped ! Slipped !The judge is exasperated, but still has to prove her wrong, so he demands a reconstitution. Surprise, surprise, morphine syringes require a lot of force just to administer the required dose and can't empty themselves in one smooth motion. I'm surprised, you're surprised, the judge is surprised blablabla...Once this lie is proven to be one, the judge changes the indictment. Christine won't be judged for premeditated murder, but for assassination (longer sentences).
The trial
Christine Malèvre's trial begins on January 20th, 2003. The murderous nurse still claims that she helped her victims on their demand, but only two families believe her. The other families claim that their loved one didn't want to die, especially without saying goodbye. That claim being the most logical, Christine Malèvre is found guilty. She is sentenced to 10 years, which is already very light for what she did, but she stills chose to appeal. It quickly backfired, and Paris' Court of Appeal added 2 years to the sentence.The murderous nurse gets out in 2007 for good behavior and just...lives. She married and is now an accountant. Soooo, yay justice ?
My opinion
Warning, I'm not a professional, what follows came straight out of my ass and the first page of my search results. The more I looked at this case, the more I thought about Münchausen by proxy.For those who don't know, Münchausen by proxy is when a person provokes death or illness in another person to gain attention.I mean, think about it: the lack of discretion, the quick confession, the apparitions on TV, the book. Christine was quite the attention whore. Plus, her little sister being tirelessly cared of by her parents while she was getting molested ? She must have felt very neglected. Now, we can just hope that she had therapy and won't get anywhere near a syringe in the next 30 years.
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