Guy GEORGES
Birth name: Guy Rampillon
AKA "The Beast of Bastille"
Classification: Serial killer
Characteristics: Rape - "Narcissistic psychopath"
Number of victims: 7
Date of murders: 1991 - 1997
Date of arrest: March 27, 1998
Date of birth: October 15, 1962
Victims profile: Pascale Escarfail, 19 / Catherine Rocher, 27 / Elsa Benady, 22 / Agnes Nijkamp, 33 / Hélène Frinking, 27 / Magalie Sirotti, 19 / Estelle Magd, 25
Method of murder: Stabbing with knife
Location: Paris, France
Status: Sentenced to life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole for 22 years on April 5, 2001
Guy Georges was a French rapist and serial killer who preyed on attractive, young, energetic women, whom he assaulted, tortured, raped and killed between 1976 and 1997. He was dubbed the ‘Beast of Bastille’ due to the fact that several of his attacks occurred in the Bastille quarter, an east Parisian neighbourhood. Following the largest manhunt in French criminal history, Georges was arrested in 1998 and sentenced in 2001 to life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole for 22 years...
Profile
He was born Guy Rampillon, on 15th October 1962 in Angers, France, to an American father and a French mother. His father, George Cartwright, was a soldier who worked as a cook on the NATO bases. Abandoned by his parents when he was very young, Guy was taken in by the DDASS, the French social welfare service.
He was placed with a foster family and at the age of six, to aid in his adoption, was given the surname Georges, after his father. He was adopted by the Morins and grew up in a family of 12 adopted children. The young Georges never really received the love, attention and stability he needed and soon began to show a violent and aggressive streak in his personality.
The Crime
In his first violent attack, at the age of 14, Georges tried to strangle Roselyne D, one of his mentally disabled adoptive sisters, in 1976. Two years later, he attacked another of his adoptive sisters, Christiane D. Concerned for the welfare of her family, Mrs Morin arranged for Georges to return to the authorities.
Placed again in foster care, Georges was unable to control his violent urges and on 6th February 1979 he struck again. He attacked a girl, Pascale C, and tried to strangle her but she managed to escape. He was arrested by police but released after a week. Rejected by his foster family, Georges became increasingly depressed and turned to alcohol for solace.
A year later, the 17-year-old Georges attacked Jocelyne S in May 1980. Later that month he assaulted Roselyne C, stabbing her violently in her face. Both girls survived their attacks and Georges was arrested once more and sent to prison for a year in Angers, in the Loire region. Upon his release from prison, Georges moved to Paris with a friend. Here he lived in squats in the east of the city. No one suspected Georges of being the serial killer he was. He committed petty crimes to survive, drank extensively and befriended young people interested in left-wing politics.
A month after his 19th birthday, Georges committed his first rape. On 16th November 1981 he attacked Nathalie C, a neighbour, as she was returning home. He raped her, stabbed her and left her for dead. Incredibly Nathalie C survived the attack.
Following a five-month prison term for theft, Georges attacked again. On 7th June 1982 in a car park of the 16th arrondissement, he raped, stabbed and strangled Violette K but she managed to escape and went to the police. A few days later, Georges was arrested and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Shortly after his release, Georges attacked Pascale N, 21, in a car park, where he raped and stabbed her in February 1984. She managed to break free and run away. Later that evening, police arrested Georges.
In 1985 he was sentenced at the Court of Assizes of Meurthe-et-Moselle to 10 years imprisonment. Due to good behaviour, towards the end of his sentence, Georges was allowed out of prison during the day but was required to report back each evening to spend the night.
On the evening of 24th January he simply did not report to prison and instead travelled to Paris to commit his first murder. He spotted an attractive young woman walking down the road. It was 19-year-old Pascale Escarfail, a student at the Sorbonne. Following her home, Georges grabbed her as she was opening her front door. Holding a knife to her throat, he forced his way in, tied her up and raped her, before slitting her throat and watching her die. A week after the murder, Georges calmly returned to prison as if nothing was amiss.
Released from prison on 4th April 1992, Georges wasted no time in finding another young female victim. On 22nd April 1992 he attacked Eleonore D, who escaped and reported the incident to the police. Georges was arrested once more.
On 7th January 1994 Georges attacked Catherine Rock, 27, in an underground parking garage, where he raped and murdered her. A mere six days later, Georges struck again. His victim was radio host Annie L, whom he raped and murdered on the patio of her home on 13th January 1994.
Georges’ next attack was on 8th November 1994 in the underground parking garage of 22-year-old Elsa Benady’s home in the 13th arrondissement, where he raped and killed her. A month later, on 10th December 1994, he raped and murdered Dutch architect Agnes Nijkamp, 33, in her home in the 11th arrondissement. The media began to report a ‘Killer in East Paris’.
In June 1995, Georges attacked Elisabeth O and tried to kill her but she made a narrow escape. On 8th July 1995 Georges raped and murdered Helena Frinking, 27, in her apartment after she returned from an evening out. Georges assaulted Melanie B on 25th August 1995 in the Marais quarter.
Some progress was being made in the police investigation into the ‘Killer of East Paris’. However, whilst Elisabeth O had managed to give a vague description of her attacker, when shown a picture of Georges, she failed to identify him. Police did have DNA traces left at two crime scenes by the same individual and a footprint found at the location of the Helena Frinking crime.
In September 1997, Georges attacked and attempted to rape Estelle F but she fought him and escaped. A few days later, on 23rd September 1997, he broke into the apartment of 19-year-old student, Magalie Sirotti, where he raped and stabbed her to death.
Five days later, Georges assaulted Valerie L in the stairwell of her apartment block, on 28th October 1997. Less than a month after that, Georges entered the home of Estelle Magd, 25, where he raped and murdered her on 16th November 1997. This was to be the last victim of ‘The Beast of Bastille’.
The Arrest
Police investigation was finally gaining impetus and investigators knew for certain that several of their unsolved crimes were linked and that they potentially had a serial killer on their hands. The media frenzy surrounding the killings had unleashed a level of panic in the population of Paris. Georges was being dubbed the ‘Beast of Bastille’ due to the fact that several of his attacks had occurred in the Bastille quarter, the famed Revolutionary era Parisian neighbourhood.
It was one of the largest manhunts in French criminal history. Police finally found Georges in Montmartre and arrested him on 27th March 1998 for the rape and murder of Pascale Escarfail, Catherine Rock, Elsa Benady and Agnes Nijkamp. It transpired that Georges’ DNA matched that found at all four crime scenes, as well as at one attempted rape. Confronted whilst in custody with the irrefutable DNA evidence, Georges confessed to these four, as well as three other murders.
Kept in custody, Georges tried to escape in December 2000; a few weeks before his trial was due to begin. He and three cellmates attempted to saw through the bars of their cell but were caught by prison guards. Georges was assessed by psychiatrists and declared legally sane and fit to stand trial.
The Trial
The three-week trial began on Monday 19th March 2001. The 50 witnesses included four women previously attacked and raped by Georges. Amongst those giving evidence were 15 experts; members of the families of some of Georges’ victims; and Georges’ 71-year-old foster mother.
Despite prosecutor Evelyne Lesieur presenting the DNA evidence as well as the confession given after his arrest, Georges pleaded not guilty to all charges at trial. He retracted his confession, claiming the police had tortured and beaten him to obtain it.
Eight days into the proceedings, a defeated Georges broke down in tears and confessed. He admitted to the original four murders, as well as to the rape and murder of Helena Frinking in 1995, Magalie Sirotti in 1997 and Estelle Magd in 1997, asking for forgiveness from the victims’ families.
On Thursday 5th April 2001 Guy Georges, 38, was sentenced to life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole for 22 years, for the rape and murder of seven women between 1991 and 1997.
Citv.com.au
Guy Georges (born Guy Rampillon, October 15, 1962, in Vitry-le-François, France) is a French serial killer, dubbed "The Beast of the Bastille", who was convicted of murdering seven women between 1991 and 1997.
Biography
Born Guy Rampillon to a French mother and an American father (George Cartwright, a soldier) who abandoned him as a small child.
From 1991 to 1997, Guy Georges assaulted, tortured, raped and killed seven women in the neighbourhood of the famed Revolutionary-era Parisian prison the bastille.
Georges was arrested on March 26, 1998 and admitted his guilt to police. Described by psychiatrists as a "narcissistic psychopath", he was sentenced in April 2001 to life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole for 22 years.
Victims
Murders
January 24, 1991 – Pascale Escarfail, 19 (raped and murdered)
January 7, 1994 – Catherine Rocher, 27 (raped and murdered)
November 8, 1994 – Elsa Benady, 22 (raped and murdered)
December 10, 1994 – Agnes Nijkamp, Dutch, 33 (raped and murdered)
July 8, 1995 – Hélène Frinking, 27 (raped and murdered)
September 23, 1997 – Magalie Sirotti, 19 (raped and murdered)
November 16, 1997 – Estelle Magd, 25 (raped and murdered)
Other crimes
1976 – Roselyne (adoptive sister), attempted strangulation
1978 – Christiane (adoptive sister), attempted strangulation
February 1979 – Pascale C., attempted strangulation
May 1980 – Jocelyne S., attacked
May 1980 – Roselyne C., attacked, stabbed in face
November 16, 1981 – Nathalie C., 18, raped, stabbed and left for dead
June 7, 1982 - Violette K., raped, stabbed and strangled but escaped
February 1984 – Pascale N., 21, raped, stabbed but escaped
April 22, 1992 – Éléonore D., assaulted
January 13, 1994 – Annie L., attacked
June 1995 – Élisabeth O., assaulted
August 25, 1995 - Mélanie B., assaulted
October 1997 - Valérie L., assaulted
Wikipedia.org
Life sentence for Paris serial killer
April 5, 2001
A Paris court sentenced the 38-year-old serial killer Guy Georges to life in prison for the rape and murder of seven women in the 1990s.
Georges - who was dubbed the "Beast of the Bastille" - faces a minimun 22 years in jail, but it is possible he will never be released after psychiatrists warned that he could not be cured of his desire to kill.
Following his confession last week, he consistently asked for forgiveness from the victims' families.
Before the verdict was delivered he told the court that, whatever the sentence, he was unlikely to serve it as he was considering suicide.
"You can rest assured, I know that I will never leave prison. But I can assure you that I will never serve my sentence" he said.
And he added: "The sentence that you are going to impose me is nothing, I will inflict a sentence upon myself".
Victims
He started the trial saying he was innocent, but reversed his plea after his lawyer told him it was time to talk.
Georges was arrested in March 1998, and admitted his guilt to police, but later retracted his confession, claiming the police had beaten it out of him.
His seven victims had their throats cut after being raped. All were single, aged between 19 and 27.
Some were attacked in car parks; others were followed to their homes and killed there.
Police said his victims were all attractive women, who appeared energetic and successful.
Georges continues to deny four other sex attacks with which he is charged.
Bungling claims
The trial followed one of France's biggest manhunts, which was beset by claims of police bungling.
Officers failed to match up DNA results for several months, and at least one murder was committed while George was on day release from prison.
Georges, whose father was an American cook working at Nato bases, was raised by a foster family after being abandoned by his parents.
He had previously been jailed for a number of offences, including knifepoint attacks on women committed when he was a teenager.
Paris serial killer finally admits guilt
Tuesday, 27 March, 2001
Georges is accused of a seven-year reign of fear
A Frenchman accused of being the serial killer known as the Beast of Bastille has finally confessed to the crimes in court.
Guy Georges, 38, broke down in tears after asking the victims' families to forgive him.
He had pleaded not guilty to raping and murdering seven young women in Paris's Bastille district in the 1990s.
But more than week into his trial he admitted his guilt, after his lawyer told him it was time to talk.
"I ask forgiveness from my family, from my little sister, from my father, and from God, if there is one". Guy Georges
Georges spoke in a barely audible voice to answer "Yes" as each of the seven murder charges were put to him.
"I ask forgiveness from my family, from my little sister, from my father, and from God, if there is one. I ask forgiveness from myself," said Georges.
Georges now faces a life sentence without becoming eligible for parole for more than 20 years.
Fifty witnesses had been lined up to give evidence against him and the court heard that DNA evidence linked him several of the murders.
"The moment has come to talk about things". George's lawyer Alex Ursulet
Georges was arrested in March 1998, and admitted his guilt to police, but later retracted his confession, claiming the police had beaten it out of him.
His seven victims had their throats cut after being raped. All were single, aged between 19 and 27.
Some were attacked in car parks; others were followed to their homes and killed there.
Georges continues to deny four other sex attacks with which he is charged.
Bungling claims
The trial followed one of France's biggest manhunts, which was beset by claims of police bungling.
Officers failed to match up DNA results for several months, and at least one murder was committed while George was on day release from prison.
Georges, whose father was an American cook working at Nato bases, was raised by a foster family after being abandoned by his parents.
He has previously been jailed for a number of offences, including knifepoint attacks on women committed when he was a teenager.
Man on trial for Paris serial killings
Monday, 19 March, 2001
A Frenchman accused of killing seven women in Paris in the 1990s has gone on trial in Paris.
Guy Georges, 38, is said to have stalked his victims in the city's Bastille district before raping and murdering them.
Prosecutors claim they have DNA evidence and fingerprints linking Georges to at least three of the killings.
After his arrest in 1998, he admitted most of the killings, but his lawyers say he will plead not guilty.
Manhunt
All the women who died were single, aged between 19 and 27. Some were attacked in car parks; others were followed to their homes and killed there.
The trial, which follows one the French police's biggest manhunts, is also on a huge scale. Fifty witnesses and 15 experts are due to give evidence.
The witnesses include four women who were allegedly attacked by Georges but survived.
The women, whose full names have not been released, say they were raped and sexually assaulted at knifepoint.
Foster mother
Families of some of those who died will also testify, along with Georges' 71-year-old foster mother.
The hunt for the "Beast of Bastille" has been beset by claims of police bungling.
Officers failed to match up DNA results for several months, while at least one murder was allegedly committed while George was on day release from prison.
Georges, whose father was a American cook who working at Nato bases, was raised by a foster family after being abandoned by his parents.
He has previously been jailed for a number of offences, including knifepoint attacks on women committed when he was a teenager. He faces life in prison if convicted of the murders.
The trial is expected to last two weeks.
