The Michel Eyraud investigation

Forensics and Michel Eyraud

When Toussaint-Augustin Gouffe was missing on July 27, 1889 in Paris, France authorities did not give much credence to his disappearance, however, when Gouffe still had not shown up three days later, the case was referred to Marie-Francois Garon, who resolved to find out what happened to Gouffe (Owen, 2008, p. 34). Three weeks later, a body was found near Millery, south of Lyon, and a few days after that, snail gatherers found a broken wooden trunk bearing a shipping label from Paris and smelling of death (Starr, 2010). It was only a matter of time before the victim's body would be identified and his killers were brought to justice, but only after a second autopsy was performed.

Gouffe was described as being 49-years-old, standing at 5'8," and having chestnut hair. However, after the initial autopsy, Dr. Paul Bernard concluded that despite the fact that the victim's body was missing the first right upper molar like Gouffe, the similarities ended there. Bernard determined that the body stood at 5'7," had black hair, and was between the ages of 35 and 45 (Starr, 2010). Furthermore, Landry, Gouffe's brother-in-law, could not provide a positive visual identification due to the extensive decomposition of the body (Starr, 2010). Gouffe's case would have been closed had Goron not received an anonymous tip months later. Apparently, Gouffe was last seen at the Brasserie Gutenberg with Michel Eyraud and Gabrielle Bompard, who happened to leave town after Gouffe disappeared. Thus, a second inquest was launched and Goron and Lacassagne were able to positively identify the unknown body as belonging to Gouffe.

Because Bernard had destroyed the body's skull and sternum, Lacassagne was unable to determine cause of death, however, through the use of anthropometrics he was able to successfully identify the body. By examining the sacral and coccyx junctions, hipbones, and teeth/mandible, Lacassagne ascertained the victim was 45 to 50-years-old, not 35 to 45 (Starr, 2010). Additionally, by studying six major bones -- femur, tibia, fibula, humerus, radius, and ulna -- Lacassagne was able to determine the victim was 5'8" and not 5'7," which Bernard had calculated by stretching the body out and adding 4cm to the total height, a standard practice of the time (Starr, 2010). Further examination of the bones also led Lacassagne to correctly determine Gouffe walked with a limp, had an arthritic right knee, and had gout (Starr, 2010). Through a visual comparison of the victim's hair, Lacassagne was able to determine it belonged to Gouffe by comparing it to samples from a brush Goron collected from Gouffe's apartment in Paris. While the victim was believed to have had black hair, after washing the hair sample from the body, it was determined it was originally chestnut in color and had not been chemically dyed. Additionally, by comparing hair samples under a microscope, Lacassagne determined both were 0.13 mm in diameter and thus, concluded the victim was Gouffe based on his findings regarding the victim's age, height, weight, teeth, and other identifying markers (Starr, 2010).