Summary
Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 3, “House of Terror” puts forward an unexpected and tragic story of the Dupont de Ligonnès family.
This recap of Netflix series Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 3, “House of Terror” contains information on the Dupont de Ligonnès murders.
How does Unsolved Mysteries, season 1, episode 3, “House of Terror” open?
“They seemed like a normal family” is one of the opening statements of episode 3. Anne-Sophie Martin, a journalist, discusses how big Nantes, France is and how a portion of the city is peaceful. And then there was the Dupont de Ligonnès murders. The story perplexes everyone. People called it the “House of Terror” where the family were living.
A Golden family
The family was four children and the parents — seemingly a golden family. On April 11, 2011, a neighbor noticed their shutters were closed and she knew something was up — they were never closed so after a while, she rang the police. Everything in the house was in place — “All seems totally normal”. Several letters arrived for the parents Xavier and Agnès, which claimed they were transferred to America under protection to help bring down an international drug ring — essentially DEA spies. But it didn’t add up. Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 3, “House of Terror” very quickly presents that something is not right with this story.
The bodies
When the police investigate again, they find nothing suspicious until the 6th visit — they find plastic bags under a terrace. Bodies were discovered all wrapped in duvets and blankets — there’s a small religious object next to each body like it was a religious burial. Even their dogs were buried. But there was one body missing — the father Xavier, and he immediately became the prime suspect. Many friends of the family could not imagine Xavier doing this, plus he had terrible back pain and could not have dug the holes under the terrace — this part of the documentary shows friends clearly clutching straws.
Methodical executions
Each victim had died with two bullets in the head each — methodical executions, but the mystery is, there was no trace of blood anywhere; zero blood, five victims. There was also no DNA or fingerprints. The police couldn’t even implicate the father Xavier at first.
Financial trouble
Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 3, “House of Terror” turns its attention fully to the father. Xavier was in plenty of trouble financially and his companies were not doing well and they would have had to move house and he’d be seen as someone who is unsuccessful. When his father died, he learned his father had nothing left which profoundly resonated in him; his father also left a rifle. In February 2012, Xavier obtained a firearms license and went to shooting ranges, which included testing out silencers.
Not caring about his movements
As part of the timeline, one of Xavier’s sons was killed a couple of days later — Xavier must have hesitated. The police put out an extensive search and put together a reconstruction of the timeline and Xavier’s movements. He doesn’t seem to care about his movements despite the clever executions of his family members — the theory is that he was on a pilgrimage to remember his family by visiting several locations, including where he met his wife.
How does Unsolved Mysteries, season 1, episode 3, “House of Terror” end?
One of the CCTV images shows him walking away with a rifle in a bag and he heads to the mountains in the wilderness. The police head to the wilderness as they have assumed Xavier has killed himself. No body was found. Xavier planned all this meticulously to escape. No travel was paid for in his name, including planes. He’s still not found today. He physically looks normal with no obvious features which makes it even more difficult to find him. One of his friends says it is still a huge mystery today as to why he did this because he loved his children — he was a very active father. Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 3, “House of Terror” puts forward an unexpected and tragic story of the Dupont de Ligonnès family.
