police were reluctant to upset the parents by an exhumation. Jégado's behaviour in court was erratic, changing from humble mutterings to loud pious shouting and occasional violent outbursts against her accusers. She consistently denied she even knew what arsenic was, despite evidence to the contrary. Doctors who had examined her victims had not usually noticed anything suspicious, but when the most recent victims were exhumed, they showed overwhelming evidence of arsenic and possibly antimony. Faustino Malaguti, a chemistry professor from the University of Rennes, was called as an expert at the trial. The defence lawyer, Magloire Dorange, made a remarkable closing speech, arguing that she needed more time than most to repent and could be spared the death penalty since she was dying of cancer anyway. The case attracted little attention at the time, pushed off the front pages by the coup d'état in Paris. Jégado was sentenced to death by guillotine and executed in front of a large crowd of onlookers on the Champ-de-Mars in Rennes on February 26, 1852. See also List of French serial killers References There are few comprehensive accounts in English. Fuller, Horace W. (1889), Green Bag, vol. 1, Boston: The Boston Book Co., Causes Célèbres, Hélène Jégado, pp. 493–497. Gaute, J.H.H. & Odell, Robin (1996), The New Murderer's Who's Who, London: Harrap Books. Griffiths, Arthur (1898), Mysteries of Police and Crime, London. Heppenstall, Rayner (1970), French Crime in the Romantic Age, London: H Hamilton. Meazey, Peter (2012), The Forgotten Poisoner, the life and crimes of Hélène Jégado, Amazon, Kindle. Wraxall, Lascelles (1863), Criminal Celebrities, London. In French: Bouchardon, Pierre (1937), Hélène Jégado, Paris: Albin Michel. Meazey, Peter (1999), La Jégado: Histoire de la célèbre empoisonneuse, Guingamp (22)and paperback (2006). Fictionalized accounts : Teulé, Jean (2013), Fleur de Tonnerre, Paris: Éditions Julliard. English translation (2014), The Poisoning Angel, London: Gallic Books. External links Visuals - contemporary engravings. Site in French with author contact and links 1803 births 1834 murders in France 1835 murders in France 1833 murders in France 1841 murders in France 1851 murders in France 1852 deaths Executed French female serial killers Executed French people Executed French women Executed people from Brittany French domestic workers French female murderers French people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by France People executed by France by guillotine People executed by the Second French Empire People executed for murder People from Lorient Poisoners Sororicides