In the light of truth lies the murderer's daughter

In the quiet town of Périgord, France, a chilling crime took place in 1941 – the brutal murder of Henri Girard's father, aunt, and nanny. The case remained unsolved for decades, until Henri's confession in later years. However, his daughter, Catherine Girard, delved into judicial and family archives, her father's books, and old family squabbles to reconcile the kind father she knew with the murderer who confessed.

Catherine Girard, born in Algeria in 1962, recently published a book, In Violenta Veritas, a literary investigation report of her quest for truth about her father's confession. Her work explores hereditary violence, family feuds, and the tragic death of Henri's mother due to unpaid medical bills.

Meanwhile, French writer Philippe Jaenada has been contesting certain factual elements of Catherine's book, claiming "lies intended to prove a man's guilt". Jaenada, who won the Femina Prize in 2017 with La serpe, a novel that demonstrated Girard's innocence, supports the hypothesis that René Taulu, the castle guardian's son, was guilty. He maintains that everything Catherine says about crimes supposedly committed by her father is false.

In 1950, under the pseudonym Georges Arnaud, Henri Girard published his first novel, Le salaire de la peur. The book's success was short-lived due to the shocking revelation of his involvement in the murders. However, Henri was acquitted due to the efforts of Maurice Garçon, a renowned Parisian lawyer.

Sadly, both the general director of Publications BLD and Isabelle Vaillancourt, the magazine editor, have passed away. A video related to the case is available for viewing, although the content is not specified in the provided text.

More recently, Marie Larocque, a writer whose book "The Beautiful Escape" sheds light on homelessness, found a place to live at the OSBL Chez Doris. The connection between Larocque's book and the Girard case is not immediately clear.

Tomasz Różycki's novel, "The Light Bulb Thieves", brings to life a submerged slice of Poland from the 1980s, offering a stark contrast to the tragic events of the Girard case. The ongoing debate surrounding the Girard case continues to captivate readers, as the truth about the murders in Périgord remains a mystery.