Jean Lanfray

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Jean Lanfray (b. 1874) was a Swiss laborer convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and two children in a drunken rage on the afternoon of August 28, 1905. He then attempted suicide, but failed. It was later revealed by police that he had drank an excessive amount of wine and hard liquors that morning, along with two glasses of absinthe. However, due to the moral panic against absinthe in Europe at that time, his murders were blamed solely on the influence of absinthe, leading to a petition to ban absinthe in Switzerland shortly after the murders. The petition received 82,000 signatures within a few weeks, and absinthe became illegal in Switzerland. Many other European countries would soon pass similar laws banning absinthe.

1 The murders
2 Trial
3 Public reaction
4 Absinthe bans

[edit] The murders

During lunch on August 28, 1905, Lanfray consumed five litres of wine, six glasses of cognac, one coffee laced with brandy, two crème de menthes, and two glasses of absinthe after eating a sandwich. He returned home extremely drunk and angry, and drank another coffee with brandy. He then asked his wife to polish his shoes for him. When she refused, Lanfray retrieved a rifle and shot her once in the head, killing her instantly. His two children heard the noise and ran into the room, where Lanfray shot and killed both of them as well. He then shot himself in the head.

He was discovered the next day by police after gunfire was reported from Lanfray's house. Lanfray, still conscious, was discovered hunched over the bodies of his wife and children. After being taken to a hospital, Lanfray eventually recovered and was put on trial for murder.

[edit] Trial

The trial started on February 23, 1906. By all accounts, it was a fast trial.

Lanfray was eventually found guilty on all three counts of murder and received a life sentence. Because he was drunk at the time of the murders, he did not face capital punishment. It is unknown when he died.

[edit] Public reaction

The Lanfray case received an astonishing amount of coverage, especially by Europe's temperance movement. It eventually lead to a ban on absinthe in every European country (except the United Kingdom and Spain) as well as the United States. Most of these bans, including the one in the United States, still stand today.

After the petition to ban absinthe in Switzerland received 82,000 signatures, the Vaud Senate decided in March 1906 to pass a bill outlawing absinthe, which went into effect on July 5, 1908.

Originally, France did not ban absinthe. However, after France was invaded by Germany in World War I, the German authorities added an absinthe ban to France's law, which today is still in effect.