Château de Bitremont (B)
This castle, dating from the 13th century, is known worldwide for the first nicotine-murder. In 1851 the Count Hippolyte Visart de Bocarmé and the Countess were charged with the murder of the Countess’s brother Gustave Fougnies.
The couple had been accused of murder by their servants who had witnessed a horrific night in the Chateau Bitremont.
Gustave, who had spent the day with the couple was found dead in the dining room, his face terribly contorted and burnt a ghastly black.
Cries had been heard in the chateau after dinner, and the Countess had rushed around the chateau shutting all the doors.
The Count and Countess then called upon their servants to wash the dead man all over with vinegar and help to scrub the floor.
They were told that he’d had a stroke, but they suspected something else.
Unluckily for the Bocarmes, a Belgian scientist, Jean Stas, was at the forefront of research into detecting alkaloids in human remains.
With pioneering experiments on Gustave’s organs he discovered that he had been murdered by nicotine.
A corrosive extract of pure nicotine that had been poured down his throat.
The Count, but interestingly not the Countess, was found guilty of the murder and guillotined in 1851.
Based on this event, Pierre Bouchardon wrote a book: "Le crime du chateau de Bitremont".
