ould ensue from the legal proceedings taken against him.
He produced the declarations made by Mademoiselle de Guerchi and the
commander, and had the body exhumed. Extraordinary and improbable as his
defence appeared at first to be, the exhumation proved the truth of his
assertions. These revelations, however, drew the eye of justice again
on Perregaud and his partner in crime, and this time their guilt was
brought home to them. They were condemned by parliamentary decree to "be
hanged by the neck till they were dead, on a gallows erected for that
purpose at the cross roads of the Croix-du-Trahoir; their bodies to
remain there for twenty-four hours, then to be cut down and brought back
to Paris, where they were to be exposed an a gibbet," etc., etc.

It was proved that they had amassed immense fortunes in the exercise of
their infamous calling. The entries in the books seized at their house,
though sparse, would have led, if made public, to scandals, involving
many in high places; it was therefore judged best to limit the
accusation to the two deaths by blood-poisoning of Angelique de Querchi
and Charlotte Boullenois.