Transcription
[music] [music] Today, we will be looking at a case from the start of the 20th century. So, sit back as we go to France. Martha Eling was born in 1896 in Paris. She was the fourth child born to Mr. Nicholas Eling and his wife, Marie. She had two brothers and two sisters, and her father was an ornamental metal worker employed in a large firm in the eastern area of the city, while her mother worked as a cleaner. By 1907, when Martr was 11 years old, the family lived at 76 Rousanoir, a densely populated, working-class neighborhood filled with workshops, small factories, and tenement buildings. [music]
Life there was tough. The apartments were often overcrowded, with limited access to running water and inadequate sanitation. Although not wealthy, the family were law-abiding and hardworking. And Martr's parents insisted that their children studied hard [music] so they would be able to have better opportunities in the future. Martr attended the municipal school along with her younger sister, named Maria. There, she was known to be a gentle, intelligent, and affectionate child, and although quite lively, she was also said to be cautious and very wary [clears throat] of strangers.
Among those known to the Eling family was Albert Solomon, a 22-year-old young man who worked in a factory making carriage seats. He had been married for 2 years [music] and lived with his wife in an apartment in Ruda Shaon, but often visited the home and was regarded as a family friend. On the 31st of January 1907, Martr did not attend school, and shortly after midday, Alves Solomon arrived at her family apartments. He explained to her mother that his wife, Julianne, had been given two tickets to the afternoon performance at the Bartaclan music hall and wondered if Martr would like to go with her.
Madame Elbering hesitated before she replied. She was concerned that Albear may want to take Martr himself. However, he reassured her that this was not the case and explained that another neighbor had planned to go with her daughter, but now they were unable to attend, so gave the tickets to his wife.
Following Alber's reassurance, Madame Elbering said that Martr could go to the theater. Martr quickly went and changed her dress and seemed very happy about the prospect of attending a theater performance, which was quite an unusual treat for a girl of her age and from her background. She and Alber Solon then left the apartments.
However, Alber's wife did not take the young girl to the theater. She worked in a sewing factory [music], and her employer insisted that she stay to finish an urgent order.
As the afternoon passed into the evening, Martr did not come home. At first, her parents assumed that there had been some delay, but as the hours went by, anxiety set in, and they became concerned about the whereabouts of their daughter. [music]
In the early evening, Alba went to Msure and Madame Elbing's apartment, and he told them a rather bizarre story. He explained that his wife had been unable to take Martr to the theater. So, in order not to disappoint the child, he had taken her himself. [music] He said that during the performance, she had left her seats, telling him that she was going to the bathroom. However, she never came back, and despite [music] hours of searching, he had not been able to find her.
Msure and Madame Eling could hardly believe what they were being told. And, struggling to comprehend that their daughter was missing, they went out to search for her in the places they thought she might be, such as friends' houses and in the park. But by 10 p.m., with no sign of Martr, they went to the local police station to report her disappearance. Alves Solon accompanied them, and when the police questioned him in detail, he repeated the story that he had told the family. He spoke calmly, but like someone who was very concerned that the girl had disappeared. Martr's elder brother was not so convinced by the story. He told his parents that the version of events told by Msie Solomon seemed very strange, and he did not think that he was telling the truth. The police wrote everything down, and the chief of police took up the case. From the outset, he too thought that what Masu Solon was telling them was suspicious. But he dispatched officers across the city to try to find the girl, but without success.
The following morning, the police chief ordered his officers to place Alves Solon under arrest. This was initially done as a precaution while further investigations were made. He was interviewed again and claimed that there would be people at the theater who could confirm his and Martr's presence there.
However, when investigators questioned the theater staff, none were able to identify him or recall seeing him with a child. [music] His description of the program was also very vague and unclear. He told officers that a singer had performed loud songs, but it actually emerged that the singer had been absent that day due to illness. The inconsistencies in his story prompted officers to look more closely at Albear Solon himself, as well as the version of events that he had offered. As the police looked into his past, they discovered that he had previously been convicted of breach of trust after forcing his wife into prostitution, and in 1906, had attempted to take advantage of his sister-in-law [music] while threatening her with a knife. However, despite his previous convictions and the fact that no one could confirm that they had seen him at the theater, Albert continued to claim that his statement was true. And, with no trace of the little girl, the inquiry proceeded quite slowly.
It was not until the 8th of February that the investigation took a turn when an important witness came forwards. A dress maker who lived at 122 Ru the Shaon, which was opposite Msure Solon's home, claimed that she knew him and told officers that she saw him with Marta at 2:20 p.m. in front of a news stand [music] on Bulad Vontter. The witness's name was Madame Leps, and she told officers that she knew the time as she had been returning from running errands. And a few minutes later, when she was back in her apartment, she looked out of her window and saw Albear and a girl talking and laughing. She said that she was very sure that the girl was Marta. The police now had evidence that [music] Albert Solon had not gone to the theater on the 31st of January, and confronted him about the statement that had been made by Madame Leps. When they did, he turned visibly pale and began to tremble. After a brief hesitation, he then declared that he wished to confess.
He admitted that he had not taken Martr to the theater, but instead had brought her to his apartments. There, he [music] said he was seized by violent impulses and lost control of himself. [music] He told the officers that when she cried out, he strangled her in an attempt to silence her, and a few moments later, he realized that she was dead. When officers asked him what he did next, Albert replied that he wrapped Martr's body carefully in packing cloth, binding it tightly so it could be carried without the risk of slipping. And then he left his apartment. He said that he carried the wrapped body through the streets and boarded a tram to travel across the city. Now looking quite solemn, he said that he arrived at Gardest, where he went straight to the left luggage office and deposited the parcel. Police Chief Hamar found this story quite remarkable, and when asked why he did this, Alberta replied that at that moment he thought that it would be the best way to prevent the body from being traced back to him.
Acting on this information, the police were sent to the station accompanied by a medical practitioner who had been called to examine the young girl's body. Upon entering the left luggage office, they were confronted with the scene that matched Albert Solon's accounts. They approached the spot where he claimed to have left the girl, and every detail corresponded to his description. The limbs were drawn tightly, the knees pulled up against the chest as if the body had been compressed into itself. [music] The binding had been expertly secured, leaving no room for movements, and giving the impression of a careful, deliberate arrangement rather than a hasty concealment. Everyone present was horrified by the gruesome scene, but the medical practitioner managed to arrange for the body to be transported to the morttery where an autopsy was to be conducted. When the body arrived, there were journalists already outside trying to get any details they could about the crime. As they did, bystanders protested at the lack of consideration shown to the deceased little girl's grieving parents. Despite this, medical practitioners proceeded with the autopsy, and soon the full extent of the violence inflicted upon Martr was revealed. She had been violated, strangled, and finally, she had been stabbed in the heart. Albe Solomon was then charged with her murder.
In the streets of Paris, people spoke of little else, and a lament for little martyr was sold by street vendors, and its mournful verses were sang throughout the neighborhoods. At a funeral held on the 14th of February at Patan Cemetery, a crowd estimated to be well over 50,000 people followed the coffin. Their emotions: a mixture of grief and anger. Six carts were required to carry the countless bouquets of wreaths sent by anonymous mourers, a visible sign of the widespread shock and sorrow that had swept through the city. Amid the vast crowds, Parisians pressed behind the procession, paying their respects to the child. Martr had been dressed in whites, with white daisies arranged in wreaths resting gently on her foreheads. An ivory crucifix was tied around her neck with a pale blue ribbon. [music] The procession moved slowly through the streets and at 11:00 stopped in front of her home. The streets and neighboring areas were filled [music] with people, particularly women, who had come to witness a funeral, and the scale of the turnout reflected the city's collective grief and the deep impact of Martr's tragic death. At a time when violent crime already filled the newspapers [music], there was now heightened fears for public safety. The case of the murder of Martr Eling had ignited a media storm. [music] Leit Parisen, France's most read newspaper, led the coverage. They reported the story with relentless intensity and captured the attention and the outrage felt by everyone.
The trial began in July 1907, and the proceedings caused a sensation throughout France. The defense attempted to argue that their client had committed the act due to him being insane. However, in the months before the trial, doctors had conducted a thorough examination of his mental states and determined that he was of sound mind. [music] When Alvare Solon was brought into court, he confirmed that he was born on the 3rd of January 1881 in the city of Ne, but now lived in Paris [music] where he worked making carriage seats. His voice was barely audible during questioning, and when a spectator shouted, "Bandits!" he lowered his head and said nothing in reply. In court, he repeated the statement that he had given to the police, telling those present that when the child discovered that his wife was not at home, she began to cry. He claimed that he tried to calm her. But when she continued to cry, he pressed her throat to silence her, but did this too tightly, and she died. When asked about other things he may have done, he denied responsibility for them. And when questioned about the stab wound, he maintained that he had not inflicted it. The judge told him that, in his own interest, he should confess and tell the whole truth. To which Albear replied, "I have just told it."
The first witness to be called was a doctor who had conducted the initial examination of the body, and he provided a detailed account of the injuries the young girl had suffered. He was followed by the physician who had examined the accused and determined that he was not insane. When the defense council questioned the relevance of medical reports on sanity, the doctor explained that "to be mad" is only a general term, and if ever he is asked if a man or woman is mad, he does not answer. But if asked whether a man or woman is mentally ill, he's able to give a professional opinion. The child's mother was also called to the witness stand. Dressed in black, she appeared visibly distressed, her grief apparent to all in the courtroom. She spoke of the kindness of which Albert Solon had previously been treated by her and her husband, and recounted the circumstances under which he had taken Marta. She told how he later returned, claiming that her child had simply disappeared. Her words seemed to have had an effect on all those present, and murmurss of sympathy ran through the gallery. Even the judge and court officials were visibly affected by the mother's anguish. Albe Solon had already confessed to the crime, but the judge wanted to establish the whole truth [music], as all he did was repeat his confession. The judge told him that he had not disclosed all the relevant facts and stated that the evidence from the autopsy suggested acts that he had denied. When the judge said this, Al became visibly upset and at times tearful, insisting that he had told the whole truth as he remembered it. The judge, however, was still not convinced and reminded him of the forensic evidence that showed other injuries to the body and directly contradicted some of his statements. Despite this, Albert continued to deny that he had done anything else to the child. When asked about what he did after the crime, he admitted that he had wrapped Martr's body in a cloth, carried it from his apartments, through the streets, and then onto a tram, and deposited it at the left luggage office at Gard. He told the court that, following this, he destroyed the receipts and discarded her personal items, as his only intention was to remove the body and distance himself from the crime. However, after repeated questioning, he continued to claim that he did not remember other facts [music], including the position in which the body had been found and the injuries revealed by the autopsy. The judge continued to emphasize that these questions were necessary, and that they needed to hear the sequence of events directly from the accused [music], and would give him one last opportunity to clarify everything so they would be able to correct the record. But despite this repeated prompting, Alves Solon continued to say that he did not know anything else, and that even though the forensic evidence suggested that he had missed out part of his story, he still insisted that he was telling the truth. [music]
The trial ended on the 23rd of July 1907, and after deliberating for 20 minutes, Alves Solomon was found guilty and sentenced to death. Even his wife applauded the death sentence, along with most of the spectators in the courtroom. He was then taken back to his cell, but public feeling was still running high, and every night large crowds gathered outside the prison as they feared that his execution might be carried out in the early morning without notice, which had been usual in many previous cases where the perpetrator had been sentenced to death. Two months later, on the 13th of September 1907, the French president, President Falier, commuted Albe's sentence to life imprisonment. The president was a known opponent of capital punishments. Nevertheless, this sparked an immediate storm in the press and provoked widespread public anger. The newspaper Leit Parisen even organized a reader survey, collecting nearly 1.5 million responses, of which 74% were in favor of retaining the death penalty. [music] As a result of the sentence being commuted, Albear was sent to the penal colony of Il Royale, an island off the coast of French Guyana. There, the barbarity of his crime left him socially isolated, and he became the target of attacks from fellow prisoners. After a few years, he became weak due to the harsh conditions and showed signs of madness. He died of tuberculosis in May 1920. Although President Felier had sought to end capital punishment [music], the death penalty continued to exist in France until its abolition in October 1981.
Hello everyone, and thank you so much for listening. As usual, please leave any comments or feedback you may have, and I hope to see you all again in the next brief case.