The Dominici Affair

by Martin Kitchen

  Russell-Young, Gordon. Valley of Silence: The Mystery of the Drummond Murders. London: Robert Hale, 1955.

  Sagnes, Jean. Le midi rouge, mythe et réalitié: Études d’histoire occitane. Paris: Anthropos, 1982.

  Scize, Pierre. Au grand jour des assisses. Paris: Denoël, 1955.

  Sébeille, Edmond. L’affaire Dominici: La vérité sur le crime de Lurs. Paris: PLON, 1970.

  Taylor, A. J. P. English History, 1914–1945. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1965.

  Teyssier, Jean. Mémoires et souvenirs d’un journaliste provincial. Digne-les-Bains: Haute-Provence, 1989.

  Tindall, Gillian. Célestine: Voices from a French Village. New York: Henry Holt, 1997.

  Truche, Pierre. “Rapport au Président de la République de la commission de réflexion sur la justice.” La documentation Française, 1997. http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/rapports-publics/974072100/index.shtml.

  Vincent, Jean-Louis. L’affaire Dominici: La contre-enquête. Paris: Vendémiaire, 2016.

  Wylie, Laurence. A Village in the Vaucluse. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1957.

  Zeldin, Theodore. “The Destruction of the Peasants.” New York Review of Books, Nov. 24, 1977.

  —. France, 1848–1945. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973.

  Index

  Page numbers refer to the print edition.

  Aillaud, Marcel, 247–48

  Albert, Henri: at beginning of investigation, 25, 26, 27; Charles Chenevier on, 243; commenting on length of investigation, 45; communicating with Georges Harzic, 32; Edmond Sébeille and, 34, 45; Émile Pollak on, 263; noticing bullet mark on bridge, 35; ordering crime scene shut off, 89; questioning Yvette Dominici, 64; testifying, 181, 191; wet trousers and, 36–37; on Zézé Perrin, 191

  Algeria, xvii–xviii, 240, 271–72

  Allaincourt, Louis, 248

  Alliance Républicaine Démocratique, 268

  Allied Control Commissions for Germany and Austria, 132

  Allied Post-War Requirements Bureau, 132

  Alliez, Henri, 176

  American Public Health Association, 131

  apricot sale, 12, 218, 295n5

  Araman, Angelin, 200, 229

  Araman, Clotilde: answering questions, 163–64; birth of, 140; in Chenevier inquiry, 225; Gaston Dominici and, 215–16, 229, 241, 262; laundering clothes, 36; testifying, 200–201

  Armée secrète (Secret Army), 19

  Arnaud, Ode, 111

  Arniaud, Louis, 143

  Aron, Raymond, 277

  Around the World with Orson Welles (TV series), 248

  Autheville, Roger, 17, 18, 79, 178

  Automobile Association, 2, 73

  autopsies, 38–42, 60, 112, 117, 175, 286n2

  Auzet, Paul, 248

  Balmonet, Ida, 138, 254

  barking, 151, 152, 157, 180, 188, 189

  Barras, Émile, 27, 33

  Barth, François: Dominici family and, 78, 163, 216; Edmond Sébeille and, 82–83; at Grand’ Terre, 81, 162; letter from Clovis Dominici and, 163, 164, 191; in PCF (Partie Communiste Française), 17; Yvette Dominici staying with, 70

  Barth, Jacky, 80, 81, 92–93, 198–99

  Barth, Louise, 70, 100

  Barthes, Roland, 171–72, 273

  Bartkowski, Wilhelm, 232–38, 265, 280–81

  Bastide, Abel, 99, 175

  Batigne, Jacques, 240, 241–42, 250, 255

  Battestini, Nicolas, 227

  Les Baumettes, 217, 222

  Bazaine, François-Achille, 156, 292n12

  The Beaux’ Stratagem (Farquhar), 279–80

  Becker, Jacques, xviii–xix

  Belin, Jules, 220

  Benedictines, 139

  Bernard, Marcel-Jean, 247

  Bernard-Aubert, Claude, xviii

  Bernier, Commandant, 26, 27, 45, 89, 98

  Bernot, Lucien, 273

  Besnard, Marie, 211

  Beucherie, Gaston, 62–63

  Biochemical Studies of Nutritional Problems (Drummond), 126–27

  Blanc, Marceau, 67–68, 179

  Blanchard, René, 273

  blood at crime scene, 40, 42, 86, 117, 161, 178

  Blum, Léon, 266, 268–69, 298n5

  Bocca, Joseph, 101, 102, 187

  bodies being moved, 30–31, 34, 40, 87, 90, 181

  Bonino (Léon Dominici’s cousin), 202

  Bonnafous, Madame, 257–58

  Bonnaire, Mr. (Noël), 17, 21

  Boot, Jesse, 134

  Boots Pure Drug Company, 1, 55, 132–33

  Bottaï, Raoul, 227, 229, 232, 238, 241

  Bouchier, Raymond, 25–26

  Bourgues, Albert, 25

  Bousquet, Marcel: appearance of, 206; bringing Roger Périès to stand, 196; communication style of, 170, 172; Communist Party meeting and, 184; concluding trial, 206–7; dossier and, 168, 184, 217; Edmond Sébeille and, 186; on Gaston Dominici, 169–70; on Gustave Dominici, 193; looking at Hillman stand-in, 196; loudspeaker incident and, 228; misgivings about, 210, 212, 217; oath issue and, 185, 189, 228; questioning Dominici family, 173–74, 176–77, 188–91, 193–94, 196–98, 200; questioning Zézé Perrin, 191–92; refusing to follow procedure, 197; sentencing Gaston Dominici, 207

  Bové, José, 274, 298n17

  Boyer, Marcel, 15–16, 89–90

  bridge over railway, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 30, 35

  British Empire Cancer Campaign, 134

  British Medical Association, 126

  “British Restaurants” (nonprofit communal organization), 130

  bullets as evidence, 62–63, 92, 178

  bullfight, comic. See charlotade (comic bullfight)

  Burton, J., 238

  Burton, Norman Henry, 74–75

  La Cagoule, 296n7

  Caillat, Augusta: answering questions, 225; as bad-tempered person, 78, 80, 100; birth of, 138; confronting Clovis Dominici, 252; Gaston Dominici and, 207–8, 215, 229, 241, 256; laundering clothes, 36; testifying, 199

  Caillat, Clément, 199

  Caillat, Marie-Claude, 100, 241, 254

  Calas, Jean, 206

  camera, missing, 256

  Cancer Hospital Research Institute, 123

  canvas bucket, 13, 86, 183, 190, 192, 231, 257

  CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), 270–71, 298n10

  carbine: American troops supplying, 99, 102, 110, 161, 175; Clovis Dominici and, 51, 77, 95–97, 151–52, 159, 190, 194–95, 251–52, 255; disposal of, 109, 175; Dr. Morin and, 242–43; as evidence, 44–45, 178–79, 226; Gaston Dominici and, 102, 104–6, 108, 116, 173, 174, 188, 209–10, 253, 289n8; Gustave Dominici and, 93, 99, 111, 114, 151, 155, 157, 159, 160, 161, 162, 187–88, 218, 223; identification of, 42–43; patched, 44, 149–50, 199, 200; splinter of wood from, 173; storage place of, 98, 100, 108, 116, 149–50, 155, 253, 260; uncertain possession of, 44, 119, 164–65, 199, 201, 217; Yvette Dominici and, 153. See also murder weapon

  Carcassonne, Professor, 240–41

  Carrera, Martinez, 232

  Carrias, Pierre: Charles Chenevier and, 231, 241–44, 246–47, 249, 250; Charles Gillard and, 231, 241–44, 246–47; concerns about Dominici case, 260–61; evidence and, 35; personal characteristics of, 231; press and, 231, 260; starting investigation, 240

  Cartier family, 21–22

  Cartland, Jeremy, 281

  cartridges, 34, 63, 92–93, 94, 105, 109, 112, 178, 181, 209, 289n32

  La Cassine, 88, 183, 259

  Castaing, Henry, 241, 260

  Castaing, René-Marcel, 42–43

  Chaillan, Fernand, 82

  Chaillan, Louis, 82

  Chaillan, Marcel, 80, 82

  Chapman, Stanley, 134

  Chapus, Jacques, 222, 262

  Charles-Alfred, Léon, 168, 187, 194, 196, 205, 215–16

  charlotade (comic bullfight), 4, 7, 10, 58, 287n8

  Charrier, Pierre: anticipating Gaston Dominici case, 116; defending Gaston Dominici, 181, 183–84, 188, 205, 207; defending Gustave Dominici, 70, 71; Dominici family and, 119, 245; dossi
er and, 168; frustrated with case, 194; at Grand’ Terre, 80–82; visiting Gaston Dominici in prison, 223–24, 240–41

  Chastel, Henri, 67

  Château-Arnoux (Provence), 8, 284n13

  Chauffeurs de la Drôme, 49

  Chauve, Joseph, 44, 150

  Chemical Defence Experimental Station (Wiltshire, England), 292n17

  chemical factory at Saint-Auban, 8–9, 284n13

  Chenevier, Charles: background and career of, 219–20; Bartkowski case and, 233; beginning inquiry, 221–22; gaining rogatory power, 245, 250; on Gaston Dominici’s trial, 198; Louis Pagè on, 249; Pierre Carrias and, 241–44; questioning Dominici family, 224–26, 250–52, 253–55, 258; reports completed by, 226–27, 259–60

  Chenevier inquiry, 217, 218, 219, 231, 244, 248, 256

  Chirac, Jacques, xiii

  Churchill, Winston, 1, 211

  civil case, 182, 185, 202, 207

  civil law, xiv

  Clemenceau, Georges, 48

  Cluny Abbey, 139

  Cold War, xv, 232, 234, 269, 276, 285n8

  collaborators, xii, 17–18, 19, 271

  Combas, Roger, 210

  Combat (newspaper), 46, 135

  Combat (resistance group), 19

  Commissariat Général du Plan, 269

  Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), 270–71, 298n10

  common law, xiv

  Communist Party, 264–65, 267–70, 276–79. See also PCF (Partie Communiste Française)

  Confédération Générale du Travail, 268

  Conil, Henri, 67, 143

  conspiracy theories, xv–xvi, 211, 220, 265, 279–80. See also Bartkowski, Wilhelm; speculation about crime

  Constant, Fernand: on conspiracy theories, 178; crime scene reconstruction and, 119; Edmond Sébeille and, 68, 83, 84; Gustave Dominici on, 64; making announcements, 63, 67; methods and style of, 69; “Opération Bergerie” and, 80–81, 82; pursuing leads, 71, 80; questioning Gustave Dominici, 63–64; questioning Marie Dominici, 70

  contraband money, 2, 5

  contraband weapons, 24, 44

  Cornox, 134

  corporatism, 266–67

  Coty, René, 214, 262

  Coudouing, Jean-Claude, 62–63

  Council of British Societies for Relief Abroad, 132

  Council of Europe, 276

  courts of appeal, 148, 165–67, 227, 243

  Crespy (gendarme), 27

  crime scene: compromising of, 34; not sealed off, 26, 27; reconstruction of, 63, 89–90, 115–19, 205

  Criminal Investigation Department (CID), 73, 135

  Cullioli, Antoine, 33, 42, 101

  Daily Express, 58, 74, 121

  Daily Mirror, 214

  Daily Telegraph, 214

  Daudet, Alphonse, 167

  Le Dauphiné Libéré, 57, 209–10

  David-Néel, Alexandra, 136

  death penalty, xiv–xv, 207, 208, 210, 231, 288n8, 292n12

  Debeaurain, André, 210

  Degrave, Pierre, 36–37

  Della Serra, Capt., 18, 21, 22

  Deloitte, Paul, 199

  Delorme, Claude, 182–83, 193–94, 202, 203, 295n12

  Depardieu, Gérard, 111, 265

  Deshays, Jean, 213

  Détective (magazine), 220, 247

  “Dig for Victory” campaign, 130

  Digne, France, 3, 136, 212

  Djandoubi, Hamida, 288n8

  Domènech, Gabriel, 57–58, 287n15

  Dominici, Aimé, 37, 42–43, 145, 146, 201, 257–58

  Dominici, Alain, 11, 264–65

  Dominici, Clémence, 135–37

  Dominici, Clotilde. See Araman, Clotilde

  Dominici, Clovis: answering questions, 95–97, 113, 116–17, 149–50, 151–52, 159–60, 251–53; appearance of, 190; birth of, 138; during crime scene visit, 89–90; on day of murder discovery, 15–16; Edmond Sébeille on, 186; Émile Pollak on, 205; in Faustin Roure’s testimony, 180–81; Gaston Dominici and, 84, 145, 156, 255; guns and, 51, 77, 164–65, 199, 230; Gustave Dominici and, 71; in PCF (Partie Communiste Française), 17, 78, 79; relationship with rest of family, 144, 200–201, 226, 229–30, 254; testifying, 190–91, 194–95; writing letter to François Barth, 163, 191, 195

  Dominici, Gaston, xiii, xvi, xviii–xix; accusations by, 102, 107, 164, 182–83, 220–21; alcohol problem of, 113, 143, 146; answering questions, 81, 181, 222–24; apprehending Luigi Gualdi, 142, 163; attempting suicide, 118; behavior during trial, 169–70, 178, 186, 188–89, 195, 208–9; Berthe Léotard and, 145–46; changing attitudes toward, 264–65, 274–75, 281; charged with murder, 119; Chenevier inquiry and, 255–56; childhood and youth of, 135–38; Clovis Dominici and, 95–96, 145; comparing self to important people, 140, 148, 165; confessions of, 101–3, 104–7, 108–12, 114–15; court appeal of, 167, 216–18, 226–28; during court proceedings, 155–56; at crime reconstruction, 116–19; on day of murder discovery, 15–16, 26–27, 31; death of, 263; detained, 98; Edmond Sébeille and, 45–46, 51–52, 55, 58, 67, 70, 75–76, 83–84; fighting Mr. Giraud, 142–43; Gustave Dominici and, 19, 93–94, 192, 197–98, 241; incarceration of, 148; marriage of, 138, 262; “medical knowledge” of, 140; as midwife, 140, 174; overhearing conversation, 218; personal characteristics of, 137, 139–40, 145; as poacher, 139; press and, 120–21, 208, 209–10; in prison, 217; relationship with rest of family, 11–13, 142, 143–44, 146–47; release from prison, 262; representing struggling peasantry, 274; requesting René Floriot’s assistance, 245; Roger Périès and, 107–8; “saving” family honor, 102–3, 107, 115, 198; sentence of, 103, 207, 231, 262; speaking in dialect, 289n31, 290n16; stomach problems of, 240–41; as suspect, 67, 77, 84–85; testifying, 172–74, 224–25, 250–51; verdict, 207; violence of, 143; wedding night of, 138; wood splinter and, 35; writing letters to family, 215–16; Yvette Dominici and, 241, 263; Zézé Perrin and, 164, 174, 182–83, 192, 218, 220, 224, 255–56. See also trial of Gaston Dominici

  Dominici, Gaston (son), 138–39, 159, 225–26, 229, 252–53

  Dominici, Germaine. See Perrin, Germaine

  Dominici, Gilbert, 88, 145

  Dominici, Gustave, xii; alone with another witness, 97; answering Charles Chenevier’s questions, 249, 253; answering Edmond Sébeille’s questions, 52–53, 55–56, 63, 90–92, 93–94, 99, 156; answering Émile Pollack’s questions, 258; answering Fernand Constant’s questions, 63–65, 69; answering Noël Mével’s questions, 63–65; answering Roger Périès’s questions, 82, 92–94, 113–14, 149–50, 151, 155, 157–62; appearance of, 192–93; appendicitis of, 147; aware Elizabeth Drummond still alive, 69, 94; in bed with doctor’s note, 54–55; birth of, 141; Clovis Dominici and, 200–201, 252–53; collapsing during inquest, 156; court appeal of, 215–17; during crime scene visit, 90; on day before murder discovery, 12–13; on day of murder discovery, 25–27, 46–47, 297n10; divorce of, 263; Edmond Sébeille on, 67; Émile Pollak on, 205–6; family’s opinion of, 201–2; at Feast of the Assumption, 59–60; in FTPF (Francs-Tireurs et Partisans Français), 17, 19, 79; Gaston Dominici and, 11–12, 113, 145, 147, 157, 217–18, 241; guns and, 24, 42–43; marriage of, 70, 83–84; mentioned in trial proceedings, 168, 174, 180–81, 183–84, 186, 187–88, 189–91; as outcast, 216; overheard conversation of, 218; personal characteristics of, 162; press and, 65, 120–21; returning home from jail, 78; revealing information, 84, 93–94; sentence of, 103; as suspect, 67, 96–97; testifying, 192–94, 197–98; trial and sentence of, 71–72; trousers and, 36–37; in young adulthood, 146–47. See also trial of Gustave Dominici

  Dominici, Léon (brother), 136–37, 146

  Dominici, Léon (nephew), 146, 201–2, 207, 225, 228–30, 241, 244–45

  Dominici, Marcel (grandson), 207

  Dominici, Marcel (son), 16, 35, 140, 145, 225–26, 229

  Dominici, Marie, 11; answering questions, 54, 70, 76–77, 150, 153, 188–89; during crime scene visit, 90; death of, 263; disliking sister-in-law, 146; Gaston Dominici on, 75–76; Jo and, 80–82; keeping Henri Dragon outside, 31, 221; before marriage, 13
7–38; marriage of, 143; turning off water, 12; wedding night of, 138

  Dominici, Marie (daughter-in-law), 201, 229, 252

  Dominici, Mauricette, 258

  Dominici, Rose, 51, 100, 145, 195

  Dominici, Victoria, 229

  Dominici, Yvette: answering questions, 100–101, 249, 253; appearance of, 189; on carbine, 117; Charles Gillard and, 258; on day of murder discovery, 25, 26–27; divorce of, 263; at Feast of the Assumption, 59; Gaston Dominici and, 263; Gustave Dominici and, 64; Jean Giono on, 295n13; knowing what to say, 76–77; marriage of, 70, 83–84; “Opération Bergerie” and, 82; overheard conversation of, 218; riding bicycle while pregnant, 25, 47, 111; staying at parents, 70–71; testifying, 152–53, 189–90; wet trousers and, 36, 37; in Zézé Perrin’s testimony, 182

  Dominici family, xii, 11; Communist Party helping, 277–78; on day of murder discovery, 46–48; discord among, 78, 148; education of children of, 141; guns of, 164–65; during inquiry, 90; Maillet family and, 78–80, 144–45; normal interval for, 89; and Perrin family, 285n18; reacting to verdict, 207–8; relationships among, 113; violence of, 24

  “Dominici: To Die in Prison” (Chapus), 262

  Dorgères, Henri. See Halluin, Henri d’

  Dormoy, Marx, 219, 296n7

  dossier: in appeal decision, 227; Charles Chenevier and, 220; closing of, 165; in French law, 28; omissions in, 184; Pierre Carrias and, 231, 261; “on trial,” 168, 202, 205, 217, 243, 247

  Drac, Roger, 15

  Dragon, Henri, 30–31, 34, 41, 70, 71, 89, 177–78, 221

  Dreyfus, Alfred, 57, 206

  Drummond, Anne: Claude Delorme on, 202; on holiday, 3, 4; meeting and marrying Jack Drummond, 126; rumors about, 58, 75; stomach contents, 40

  Drummond, Elizabeth: blows to head of, 30, 41–42, 175, 177, 245; Calixte Rozan mentioning, 204; condition of feet of, 30, 41–42, 177, 203, 245; Gaston Dominici and, 118; holiday plans of, 1–2, 3, 4; rigidity of body of, 30, 41, 178; speaking French, 3, 13–14; time of death of, 41, 70–71, 94, 177, 217

  Drummond, Jack: in advisory capacity, 128–32; Biochemical Studies of Nutritional Problems, 126–27; childhood of, 123; C. Lovatt Evans and, 292n17; criticism of, 124–25; The Englishman’s Food, 126, 291n7; estate value of, 135; as father, 10; hand wound of, 38–39, 179; health problems of, 1, 123; holiday plans of, 1–2; honors bestowed upon, 131, 132, 291n2; interests of, 134; legacy of, 133; marrying Anne Drummond, 126; obituary of, 131; passing through German lines, 132; personal characteristics of, 124–25, 133, 134–35, 176; rumors about, xv–xvi, 58–59, 66, 214, 232–33, 262–63, 280–81; salary of, 133, 283n4(ch.1); stomach and bladder contents, 39; traveling, 126, 131–32; work life of, 5, 124–28, 132–33