LAFARGE MARIE-FORTUNÉE: (1816-1852) Also known as Marie Capelle. French woman convicted of murdering her husband

LAFARGE MARIE-FORTUNÉE: (1816-1852) Also known as Marie Capelle. French woman convicted of murdering her husband

LAFARGE MARIE-FORTUNÉE: (1816-1852) Also known as Marie Capelle. French woman convicted of murdering her husband by arsenic poisoning. First person convicted on forensic toxicological evidence. Rare A.L.S., `Marie Cappelle´, two pages, 8vo, n.p., 30th May 1829, to a young friend, in French. A youth letter by Lafarge referring to her recent illness, and commenting on common friends and about a near future meeting, states in part `..Therefore, I wait for your visit in fifteen days, and I hope that this time you will not miss the meeting, as it will be quite unpleasant, considering that we will have fun all together, I am rejoicing like a mad..´ On a post-scriptum beneath her signature, Marie Cappelle says `I have received today a letter from Jenny. Do not worry, I will not show it to my uncle..´ With address leaf bearing two postmarks. Small professional repair to the verso. Small overall minor age wear. G

Lafarge´s trial became notable in 1840, being the first court case followed daily by the public through newspapers. Her guilt divided French society to such an extent that it is often compared to the Dreyfus affair. Very famous scientists of that time participated as experts in this trial. Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853) known today as the Father of Toxicology, called by the prosecutor, declared having found arsenic in the body of Lafarge. The defence, in order to refute Orfila´s testimony, called François-Vincent Raspail (1794-1878) French chemist and physician. But although Raspail had agreed, he arrived four hours late to court, when the jury had decided that Marie was guilty. She was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. King Louis-Philippe commuted the hard labour. While in prison Marie wrote her memoirs. In 1852, stricken by tuberculosis, she was released by Napoleon III. She died that same year, protesting her innocence to the last.