Was this a forgotten crime… or an early newspaper nightmare?
While digging through old newspapers, I came across one of the most disturbing stories I have ever seen in print.
The article was published in 1820 and claimed to be a foreign report from near Confolens, France, by way of London newspapers. According to the report, a young couple was preparing to be married when the bride-to-be was attacked by three men. The details printed in the newspaper were so horrifying that even the editor seemed unsure what to do with it, calling the account “almost incredible.”
And that brings us to the question:
Did this actually happen?
Woman In White Riding A Horse; Dame Im Weissen Reitkleid Zu Pferde, 1910 is a painting by Max Slevogt which was uploaded on January 19th, 2023.
The story was reported, yes. It appeared in newspapers. But so far, I have not found the kind of follow-up I would expect from a crime this shocking — no names, no trial account, no sentence, no solid confirmation.
So what do you think?
Was this crime so revolting that newspapers avoided repeating the details?
Was it a true event that simply slipped into the shadows of history?
Or was it one of those old newspaper horror stories — passed along from paper to paper because it was too shocking not to print?
Old newspapers are wonderful, but they are not always reliable. Sometimes they preserve history. Sometimes they preserve rumor. And sometimes they leave us staring at the page saying, “Surely not.”
I’m putting this one to the Sweet Tea Murders jury.
True crime, exaggerated tale, or total fabrication?
What say y’all?
