This Is How Many Victims Clementine Barnabet Actually Had

Though the term "serial killer" has been around since the 1970s, people that have murdered multiple victims have been around a lot longer. Most of the infamous killers we hear about happen to be men, from Jack the Ripper to H.H. Holmes, along with the likes of Jeffery Dahmer and Ted Bundy. This obviously doesn't mean that only men are killers though. History tells us there have been quite a few female serial killers dating back centuries as well. One of these female killers whom you might not have heard of is a woman named Clementine Barnabet, aka the Voodoo Murderess.

The story of Clementine Barnabet is definitely a dark and twisted tale. Beginning in Louisiana in 1911, a series of brutal murders took place involving multiple members of the same family. It wasn't that murder itself was surprising to anyone, but these particular deaths stood out because of the fashion in which they were killed, along with the number of victims. According to Mental Floss, the murders of the Opelousas, Byers, and Anderus families all had one thing in common — they were "brained with an axe." As the police began to put clues together to track a suspect, their investigation led them not to not just Clementine, but the entire Barnabet family, especially her father Raymond.

If the police believed that Raymond Barnabet was responsible for these murders, why is Clementine the one who history tells us is the serial killer? Apparently, while her father was in jail, another murder took place not too far from where Clementine Barnabet lived, Listverse reported. This fact combined with the hysteria around the idea these murders were tied to the Voodoo religion and sacrifices made her a prime suspect. After searching her home and finding damning evidence (clothing with blood and brains on it), Clementine was promptly arrested and jailed along with her father. She was 17 years old.

While in jail, she reportedly confessed to a total of 35 murders. However, there were problems with her confession, including the fact that her story changed every time she told it. Additionally, she even claimed to participate in the murder of the Broussard family, per Listverse, but that happened while she was already incarcerated. Despite the fact that both police and the press admitted that her behavior was strange and didn't really make sense, she was declared legally sane by several doctors. Clementine Barnabet was sentenced to life in prison but was released 10 years later for good behavior. She later disappeared from the historical record.