Jean de Koven
Encyclopedia
Jean de Koven was a dancer from Boston, Massachusetts who was murdered in Paris, France in 1937. She had been staying
with her aunt, Ida Sackheim, in a hotel on the Left Bank, where she disappeared on the afternoon of July 23. Her body was discovered beneath the front porch of a villa at La Celle-Saint-Cloud
in December 1937. De Koven was the first of five victims of serial killer
Eugene Weidmann, also known as "Karrer", a gang leader who confessed to his crimes and had as many as nine accomplices.
schools. She arrived in Normandy
on July 19. Before vanishing De Koven was corresponding with a man who resided in another hotel in Paris from which he later moved away. On the afternoon of her disappearance she took her camera and told her aunt that she would return by 8pm, in time to go to the opera.
Sackheim received a letter requesting $500 for her niece's safe return, which police investigated. 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. They placed it in a coffin and transferred it to a morgue before burial. Weidmann's other victims were a realtor named Raymond Lesobre, a young theatrical producer named Roger LeBlond, a chauffeur named Joseph Couffy, and private nurse Janine Keller. LeBlond was lured to his car by one of two female "decoys", where he was killed at Neuilly
.
where he joined a gang that robbed a wheat company's paymaster in Saskatchewan
. He was sentenced to a year in prison and was later deported. Weidmann served prison time in Frankfurt for assault and robbery before he was released in December 1936.
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 interpreter
at the Paris Exhibition. He spoke English
and French
fluently. Police traced him to an expensive dance bar, the Pavillon Bleu, in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, about a 15-minute walk from his villa. Weidmann strangled his victims or shot them from behind. He apparently had a fetish
for men's shoes, as the four men he murdered were found shoeless.
, 412 p.(Ed. Normant, 2008 France)
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.
with her aunt, Ida Sackheim, in a hotel on the Left Bank, where she disappeared on the afternoon of July 23. Her body was discovered beneath the front porch of a villa at La Celle-Saint-Cloud
La Celle-Saint-Cloud
La Celle-Saint-Cloud is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center.-Transport:...
in December 1937. De Koven was the first of five victims of serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Eugene 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 Brooklyn, New York before going abroad. She taught classical dancing and had trained ballet students in New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
schools. She arrived in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
on July 19. Before vanishing De Koven was corresponding with a man who resided in another hotel in Paris from which he later moved away. On the afternoon of her disappearance she took her camera and told her aunt that she would return by 8pm, in time to go to the opera.
Sackheim received a letter requesting $500 for her niece's safe return, which police investigated. 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. They placed it in a coffin and transferred it to a morgue before burial. Weidmann's other victims were a realtor named Raymond Lesobre, a young theatrical producer named Roger LeBlond, a chauffeur named Joseph Couffy, and private nurse Janine Keller. LeBlond was lured to his car by one of two female "decoys", where he was killed at Neuilly
Neuilly
Neuilly is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name Nobilis or Novellius:...
.
Killer's profile
Weidmann murdered De Koven in July 1937. A native of Frankfurt, Germany, he came to Paris the previous March to avoid military service. In 1926, at the age of 18, he emigrated to CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
where he joined a gang that robbed a wheat company's paymaster in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. He was sentenced to a year in prison and was later deported. Weidmann served prison time in Frankfurt for assault and robbery before he was released in December 1936.
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 interpreter
at the Paris Exhibition. He spoke English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
fluently. Police traced him to an expensive dance bar, the Pavillon Bleu, in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, about a 15-minute walk from his villa. Weidmann strangled his victims or shot them from behind. He apparently had a fetish
Sexual fetishism
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...
for men's shoes, as the four men he murdered were found shoeless.
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 Temple Oheb Sholom, performed the ceremony. Bloom knew De Koven from her youth and remarked "there was something fine, distinctive, and superior about Jean, even in her childhood."Book about the murder of Jean de Koven
http://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://www.editions-normant.com/beta/carousel/artwork/9782915685343.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.editions-normant.com/search.php%3Fgenre%3Droman%2520historique&h=575&w=375&sz=184&tbnid=lbkyOwcUZ3fG4M:&tbnh=134&tbnw=87&prev=/images%3Fq%3DEug%25C3%25A8ne%2BWeidmann&hl=fr&usg=__znh9G8VEsvw4iJHWTRVzQq4Dw-4=&sa=X&ei=fBMTTIezAqG80gTew7mDCg&ved=0CB8Q9QEwAwBeaux Ténèbres, la Pulsion du Mal d'Eugène Weidmann] by Michel Ferracci-Porri
Michel Ferracci-Porri
Michel Ferracci Porri...
, 412 p.(Ed. Normant, 2008 France)
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.