The man who got away: Marcel Petiot, the serial killer who infiltrated the police

Marcel Petiot was a French physician and serial killer who murdered at least 27 people during World War II. He posed as a member of the French Resistance, promising to help Jews and other persecuted individuals escape Nazi-occupied France. However, instead of providing them with safe passage to freedom, Petiot murdered them and disposed of their bodies in his basement.

After his crimes were discovered, Petiot went on the run and began using multiple aliases to evade capture. One of these aliases was “Captain Valeri”, and under this identity, he managed to join the French police force. As “Valeri”, he was even assigned to the case investigating his own murders, and for several months, he was able to continue his killing spree while also hunting for himself.

However, Petiot’s luck eventually ran out, and someone recognized him as the wanted serial killer. He was arrested and brought to trial in 1944, where he was convicted of 26 counts of murder and sentenced to death by guillotine.

Petiot’s story is one of the most shocking and disturbing in the annals of crime, not only for the sheer number of lives he took but also for his ability to manipulate the system and evade justice for so long. His crimes continue to fascinate and horrify to this day.