A Look Into The Disappearance Of Xavier Dupont De Ligonnes

True crime stories are horrific, gripping, and horrifically gripping. There's something about these awful crimes and their perpetrators that keeps readers turning pages and documentary viewers glued to their screens. It's terrifying to think of serial killers who are active right at this very moment, but it's also morbidly fascinating to learn more about them and their grim stories — even, and perhaps especially, a story that is missing a satisfying conclusion.

One murder case that desperately needs more light shed upon it is that of the Dupont de Ligonnés killings. This terrible crime was uncovered in April 2011, in Nantes, France. In the yard of the Dupont de Ligonnés home, several bodies were uncovered: those of Xavier's wife, Agnés Dupont de Ligonnés; their children Arthur Nicolas, Thomas, Anne, and Benoît; and even their two dogs. They had been shot, and the family's seeming sole survivor was patriarch Xavier, who was nowhere to be found. Nobody has yet faced justice for this crime.

Xavier had been born into the aristocracy. His father, Count Bernard-Hubert Dupont de Ligonnès, died just months before the murders. Xavier's sole inheritance, a .22 long rifle, was used often at shooting ranges, a marked change in his behavior. The family were all killed by such a weapon (per France 24), and coupled with the fact that he was known to have purchased a shovel and other tools just prior to the killings, Xavier's guilt seemed certain.

France 24 reports that, shortly before the deaths, he told the children's school that he would be moving to Australia after receiving a job offer, while he told others he was going into witness protection. All that's certain is that he stayed at a hotel in Southern France on April 12 of that year, at another on April 15 (his car remained there), and then vanished.

Supposed sightings led to a fresh search of his last known whereabouts in 2015, where human remains were discovered (France 24 reports). There was also a raid on a French monastery in January 2018, in pursuit of a monk who only looked like him (per Connexion France).

Despite claims that he had begun a new life in Scotland (and even remarried, per the Mirror), the man who was tracked down to an Easyjet flight in Glasgow in 2019 proved not to be him either. Today, the highly elusive Dupont de Ligonnès remains at large. Is he the dangerous criminal many believe him to be?