Albert Millet
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Albert Pierre Millet (2 July 1929 – 19 November 2007) was a French
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
. Known as The Boar of the Moors (), he killed three people on three separate occasions between 1954 and 2007, each of which was a result of his being released from prison early. He committed suicide shortly after committing his final murder.


Early life

Albert Millet was born on 2 July 1929, in
Hyères Hyères (), Provençal dialect, Provençal Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (département), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Al ...
. He had a tumultuous childhood, as he was frequently beaten by his alcoholic father and was neglected by his mother, who preferred to spend time with her lover than with her family. At the age of 14, Millet dropped out of school and instead spent most of his time in the ruined castle overlooking his hometown, as well as the maquis that surrounded the area. After he started committing thefts, he would usually hide there to avoid arrest. In the early 1950s, he was sent to
Tataouine Tataouine (; ) is a city in southern Tunisia. It is the capital of the Tataouine Governorate. The below-ground "cave dwellings" of the native Berber population, designed for coolness and protection, render the city and the area around it as a to ...
,
French Tunisia The French protectorate of Tunisia (; '), officially the Regency of Tunis () and commonly referred to as simply French Tunisia, was established in 1881, during the French colonial empire era, and lasted until Tunisian independence in 1956. Th ...
as part of his mandatory military service, where he was a sniper. He did not cease committing thefts during his stay there, and acquired additional convictions for assaulting a fellow officer and illegally possessing a weapon of war. On 5 June 1951, he was imprisoned for attempting to shoot at an
Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
n teenager with a rifle.


First murder and imprisonment

By the beginning of 1954, Millet had returned to Hyères and soon met 15-year-old Paulette Dogliotti at a ballroom, with whom he fell madly in love. Dogliotti, who was brought up by her aunt, Élisa Maggiorana, worked as a house servant, and every evening at 9 PM, Millet would wait in front of her employers' house when she was carrying the metal dustbin to put on the sidewalk. While Dogliotti herself had no problem with seeing Millet, her aunt disapproved of their relationship due to his obsession with weaponry, his criminal convictions and her niece's young age. She eventually forbid them from seeing one another, with Dogliotti deciding to respect her decision. In March of that year, Maggiorana was at a bar with her fiancé when Millet suddenly entered and called her out, with the woman warning him to stay away from Paulette. Their conversation eventually erupted into an argument which resulted in Millet being slapped in front of everyone before being thrown out of the establishment by Maggiorana's fiancé. After getting back up, he calmly threatened to kill both her and Dogliotti, before leaving. On 3 April, at about 5 PM, Maggiorana and Dogliotti were sitting near a bus stop in front of the Aux Dames de France store when Millet crossed the street, went straight towards her and shot the former in the head, killing the woman instantly. After this, he fled towards the maquis and hid out until the next day, when authorities caught him near the train station and shot him three times. Despite falling into a
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...
, Millet miraculously survived his injuries and was later charged with murder and attempted murder, for which he potentially faced the
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
. His trial began at the
cour d'assises In France, a ''cour d'assises'', or Court of Assizes or Assize Court, is a Criminal law, criminal trial court with original jurisdiction, original and Appellate jurisdiction, appellate limited jurisdiction to hear cases involving defendants accu ...
in
Draguignan Draguignan (; ) is a commune in the Var department in the administrative region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (formerly Provence), southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department and self-proclaimed "capital of Artillery" an ...
on 30 September 1955, with him being defended by Aymé Perrimond. Millet openly admitted to the killing, but claimed that it was not premeditated, asserting that he had shot at the garbage can to scare Dogliotti, claiming that if he had actually tried to kill her, he would not have missed. Concerning Maggiorana, he claimed that he wanted her to accompany him to the police station so she could withdraw her complaint, but she supposedly started screaming the moment she saw him, which made him panic and shoot her instead. His explanation was not believed, and Millet was subsequently convicted on all counts and sentenced to death. While awaiting execution at
Baumettes Prison Baumettes Prison (also known as the Centre pénitentiaire de Marseille) is a prison in the 9th arrondissement of Marseille. Location The prison is named after the district of Les Baumettes. It is located at 239, chemin de Morgiou, in the 9th ar ...
, he appealed his sentence to the
Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
, which overturned the sentence on a technicality. In March 1956, a new trial began at the cour d'assises in
Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionlife imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
at a penal colony. After being shuffled between various prisons, he was finally transferred to
Clairvaux Prison Clairvaux Prison was a high-security prison in France, on the grounds of the former Clairvaux Abbey. History Clairvaux Abbey was founded in 1115 by Bernard of Clairvaux. In 1789, during the French Revolution, it became property of the State. ...
, then considered one of the harshest facilities in the country. During his time there, he was considered a model prisoner, which greatly contributed to the eventual reduction of his sentence to 20 years imprisonment.


Release and second murder

Whilst in Clairvaux Prison, Millet frequently corresponded with the wife of one of his friends, Fernande "Nande" Valentin, a
nurse's aide Unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) are paraprofessionals who assist individuals with physical disabilities, mental impairments, and other health care needs with their activities of daily living (ADLs). UAPs also provide bedside care—inclu ...
at the San Salvadour Hospital in Hyères who often visited him. Following her divorce, she began a romantic relationship with Millet, who was paroled on 10 July 1973, at the age of 44. In August 1973, as promised, he married Fernande and they moved in together at a house in Hyères. Their marriage was considered relatively happy, with Millet only using firearms when he went out hunting, while Valentin kept the house clean. On his part, Millet had no job and did no chores, but sometimes did gardening and renewed his residence permit once a month. In the evenings, after finishing her shift at the hospital, Valentin would do housework to supplement their income. Over the years, Millet became possessive, suspicious and spied on his wife, as he suspected that she was cheating on him. Valentin herself complained that he pestered her for sex and prevented her from sleeping. On 12 June 1979, Valentin told him that she no longer wanted him to sleep in the bed, but on the couch instead, as she did not want to support a husband who did almost nothing all day. She also said that she planned to give him a cheque for 20,000
franc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th century ...
s so he could start a new life, which made him feel greatly humiliated. On the following morning, Millet stabbed his wife multiple times with a dagger, hitting her twice in the heart. After killing her, he barricaded himself inside the house, got drunk and eventually started firing shots in all directions from the bedroom window. Soon after, the house was surrounded by police, upon which Millet started throwing objects out of the window and shouting that he had killed his wife and wanted to kill himself too. After several hours of negotiations with friends and a priest, Millet surrendered and allowed himself to be taken into custody. While in police custody, Millet stated that after killing his wife, he decided that he would shoot himself and their pet
Dobermann The Dobermann is a German list of dog breeds, breed of medium-large working dog of pinscher type. It was originally bred in Thuringia in about 1890 by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann, Louis Dobermann, a tax collector.furlough A furlough (; from , "leave of absence") is a temporary cessation of paid employment that is intended to address the special needs of a company or employer; these needs may be due to economic conditions that affect a specific employer, or to thos ...
on three occasions, during which he stayed at a small hotel room in Nice. In June 2001, during his fourth furlough, he met a woman named Gisèle, who was 18 years his junior, at the terrace of a café. He confided to her his entire criminal career, but despite this, Gisèle accepted him, revealing that she lived off her disability pension and spent most of her money at a casino, due to which she was in debt. She then invited him to spend the night at her two-room apartment in Hyères, which he accepted. Five days later, he returned to prison.


Release and attempted murder

On 20 December 2001, Millet was paroled from prison and immediately moved into Gisèle's apartment. According to her, he gave her numerous gifts, lots of money and frequently demanded sex, which she appreciated at first, although she was the only one who did the chores. In January 2002, Millet's probation officer became concerned at the rate at which his savings were disappearing and feared that Millet was being swindled. When asked, Millet replied that he was perfectly aware and was doing this by his own volition. He then contacted Thierry Perrimond, the son of his first lawyer, and entrusted his personal fortune to him, which Perrimond placed in a safe at a bank in
Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...
. They did not remain there for long, as Perrimond soon returned them. In February 2002, Millet grew possessive and constantly watched over Gisèle, with her eventually deciding to end their relationship. In an attempt to convince her to stay, he said to her that he had hidden a treasure in the maquis near Hyères consisting of twelve gold bars, which he said he was willing to give away in exchange for her staying with him. Intrigued by his offer, Gisèle said that she first needed to see it for herself. On 12 February, the pair travelled by train to Hyères, with Millet buying an
ice axe An ice axe is a multi-purpose hiking and climbing tool used by mountaineers in both the ascent and descent of routes that involve snow or ice covered (e.g. ice climbing or mixed climbing) conditions. Its use depends on the terrain: in its si ...
along the way. They then travelled by cab to a deserted area and Millet scraped the ground with the axe. While he was doing that, Gisèle realized that he could easily kill her and quickly fled towards the road and hitched a ride. The driver took both of them to the train station, from where they travelled to Nice, where Gisèle ultimately abandoned him. On the following day, Millet contacted Gisèle again, offering her 10,000 francs if they got together again. She accepted, but told him to leave only four days later, which Millet refused to do. On 18 February 1while Gisèle was still in bed, Millet attempted to stab her with a kitchen knife, managing to cut her under the chin. After a brief fight, Millet backed off and left after Gisèle told him to get out, whereupon she called an ambulance and was driven to the Saint-Roch Hospital. An examination proved the injury to be minor. Shortly afterwards, Millet went to the hospital to learn of Gisèle's condition, before turning himself in at the probation officer's office, claiming that the attack was not pre-planned. Regardless of his intentions, Millet was charged with attempted murder. His trial took place the following year, and Millet was convicted and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. He unsuccessfully attempted to appeal the decision, and when the original conviction was upheld, he spent the following years behind bars before he was paroled in August 2007.


Final murder and suicide

Now aged 78 and with 30,000
euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
in savings, Millet moved into a hotel in Hyères, where he soon took notice of a female neighbour named Chantal. After learning that she was depressed and had financial issues, Millet offered to move in with her, pay her rent and even buy her gifts. On one occasion, he offered to take her out to a restaurant, but he quickly became upset at the fact that a male friend of Chantal, 41-year-old Christian Fernandez, visited their shared apartment almost every day. After offering Fernandez a meal, for which Millet had to pay, the pair got into an argument which ended with Millet demanding that she reimburse him for the money he had spent for her, which amounted to several thousands of euros. On 18 November 2007, Millet was spending time at Chantal's apartment, demanding that they be left alone, but Chantal did not listen and invited Fernandez over. Throughout the night, Millet repeatedly went to bed but had to get up multiple times to complain about the noise. During the early hours of the following morning, Millet went downstairs where he was invited to have a drink with Fernandez. Seemingly insulted by the offer, he abruptly left, saying that he would return armed, a threat which Fernandez did not take seriously. Sometime later, Millet returned and calmly knocked on the door, asking to be let in. After Chantal opened the door, he shot her in the thigh, causing Fernandez to run over to assist her, only to be fatally shot three times in turn. Following the shooting, Millet ran towards the maquis in an attempt to hide himself. Apparently realizing that he was too old to be able to escape the police on foot, Millet turned the gun on himself and shot the gun. The shot proved fatal, and the cause of death was ruled as a suicide.


List of known victims


See also

*
List of serial killers by country This is a list of notable serial killers, by the country where most of the killings occurred. Convicted serial killers by country Afghanistan * Abul Djabar: killed 65 men and boys by strangling them with turbans while raping them; suspected o ...


References


Bibliography

* Didier Fabre, ''The bloody trajectory of Albert Millet, the other Pierrot the madman'', Presses du Midi, October 2011


Documentaries

* "Albert Millet, The wild boar of the Moors" on December 11, 2011, and December 16, 2012, in "Get the accused" presented by Frédérique Lantieri on
France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
.


Radio shows

*"Albert Millet, the Boar of the Moors" November 26, 2014 in '' L'Heure du crime'' of Jacques Pradel on
RTL RTL may refer to: Media * RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company *** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels) *** List of RTL Group's radio stations ** RTL Lëtzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...
*"Albert Millet, the boar of the Moors" November 15, 2016 in '' Hondelatte tells'' presented by
Christophe Hondelatte Christophe Hondelatte (born 17 December 1962) is a French television and radio host who has worked for BFMTV since fall 2014.
on
Europe 1 Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Millet, Albert 1929 births 2007 suicides 2007 deaths 20th-century French criminals French male criminals French people convicted of murder French prisoners sentenced to death French prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment French serial killers People convicted of attempted murder People convicted of murder by France People from Hyères Prisoners sentenced to death by France Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by France Suicides by firearm in France Uxoricides Violence against women in France