Double murder in Montignies-Lez-Le
Miss Mathieu, aged 60, lived on the road from Lens to Montignies, in the hamlet of Bouloir, an isolated villa of fairly rustic construction. She was said to be fairly well off and, even recently, she had taken over the estate of her two brothers.
Mademoiselle Mathieu had in her service only a young servant in her twenties, originally from Brugelette.
Since Thursday, the inhabitants of the hamlet of Bouloir were surprised not to see the shutters of the villa open and had expressed their apprehensions to the local police.
But it was only on Friday morning that the mayor of Montignies Lez Lens, accompanied by the rural guard, came to see what was happening. He entered the villa, the back door of which was wide open. Immediately, visitors noticed a terrible mess. Pursuing their investigations, they entered the kitchen where they suddenly found themselves in the presence of a terrible sight. In a veritable pool of blood lay the corpses of Miss Mathieu and her servant.
Surprised by their assassins, they had been stabbed. The murder weapon was still buried up to the hilt in the pensioner's throat.
The assassins, once their victims were dead, explored the upstairs and downstairs spaces, rummaging through the furniture drawers and hastily breaking open those that were locked.
The Mons public prosecutor's office raided, we cannot assess the amount of the theft. It is likely that the assassins are individuals from outside the region, who have had plenty of time to get away.
Very often, it seems, Mademoiselle Mathieu had been advised to take a strong watchdog and to take greater care of her safety. She invariably replied that she was not afraid.
Additional information: Miss Mathieu's head rested on a half-burnt bale of straw and her clothes were completely soaked in petroleum. The murderers no doubt wanted to remove the traces of their crime by burning.
Investigation
(To be updated)
Below, some press extracts from the time on the assassination as well as on the follow-up to the investigation.