The Papin Sisters

On the night of February 2, 1933, in Le Mans, France, sisters Christine and Léa Papin — domestic servants who had worked in the same household for six years — murdered their employer's wife and daughter in an act of shocking brutality, gouging out their eyes and mutilating their bodies. The case horrified France and captivated intellectuals including Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Christine, the dominant sister, was sentenced to death (later commuted); Léa received ten years. The case has inspired numerous films, plays, and psychological studies.