A man lied about his college graduation. He carried out an elaborate lie to the point that everyone who knew him thought he was a medical doctor. The lie lasted 18 years, until he killed his entire family to prevent the truth from being revealed.
This man is called Jean-Claude Romand. His family and friends thought he was a successful medical professional and researcher at the World Health Organization (WHO). He managed to give the impression that he was an expert on arteriosclerosis and that he had contacts with political figures.
Actually, he spent the day wandering from one place to another and used the free information services of WHO. Periodically he would go on a supposed business trip, but only traveled to the airport and spent a couple of days in a hotel room. In that room he studied medical journals and a travel guide from Switzerland, the country where everyone thought he worked.
Romand lived on the money he and his wife had made from the sale of an apartment, on his wife's salary, and on the sums of money given to him by various relatives. It offered them guaranteed investments in imaginary investment funds and foreign companies.
The night of the murders.
Jean-Claude Romand
On January 9, 1993, Romand bought a pistol and some gas canisters. That night, beat his wife to death on your double bed with a rolling pin. The next morning, he gave them breakfast and watched cartoons with them. At night he put them to bed and once they had fallen asleep, shot them in the head.
After the murders, the only people who could discover her lie were her parents and her ex-lover, who wanted her to return the 900.000 francs she had lent him as a favor.
The next morning, Romand went to his parents' house, where he joined them for a meal together. Immediately after the meal he shot the two and the family dog several times.
That night she met her ex-lover to supposedly go out to dinner together. When they were going to the restaurant, he pretended that his car had broken down, made her get out of it and He tried to strangle her with a rope while spraying tear gas in her face. She defended herself and managed to flee. Romand returned to his family home, which still contained the dead bodies of his wife and children.
He sat down and watched television. Then he doused the house with gasoline and set it on fire after taking an overdose of sleeping pills and thus create the appearance of a planned suicide. The true veracity of this suicide attempt is still in doubt since the pills were delayed and he had access to more effective barbiturates. Furthermore, the way the fire started and the timing of his taking the pills made his rescue inevitable.
He survived the flames, but refused to speak to the police during subsequent questioning. It was initially believed that he was too traumatized to speak.
Consequences
Romand's trial began on June 25, 1996. On July 06, 1996, Romand was sentenced to life in prison. Romand is reputed to suffer from narcissistic personality disorder.
I have seen the film made in France called THE ADVERSARY, and I have remained speechless, no one, not even someone very intelligent could have suspected the true personality of this character. I was very scared when I saw the film that, as always, the performance of the French actor is superb. I'm going to see the documentary… ..
I have also seen the film acted by the incredible French actor Daniel Auteuil, and one is stunned and terrified that a person can lie so truthfully about his life and no one can even suspect him, exactly what has been done causes a lot of fear for 18 years for this very sad and lost man in life, sick, crazy, full of fear to confront his truth, the case and how it ended is brutal, I recommend the film is really chilling, which on the other hand, presents the facts as they happened in real life, without trying to change course or trying to present even more gruesome facts.
The story without fiction of Jean Claude Romand told here is not the real one: Read the book The Adversary by Emmanuelle Carrere, a French author who, after extensive research, interviews and correspondence with the murderer, writes the reality of the facts.
Why invent lies in a true story!