Charles Gurumukh Sobhraj Hotchand Bhawnani, a French serial killer, con artist, and burglar who preyed on Western tourists visiting South Asia on the 1970s hippie trail, was born on April 6, 1944. Several of his victims were dressed in bikinis, and he was also referred to as “the Splitting Killer” and “the Serpent” because of “his snake-like skill to avoid identification by police.”
At least 20 tourists, including 14 in Thailand, are believed to have been murdered by Sobhraj in South and Southeast Asia. From 1976 through 1997, he was imprisoned and found guilty in India.
After being freed, he retired and continued to publicize his notoriety in Paris. In 2003, Sobhraj made his way back to Nepal, where he was detained, tried, and sentenced to life in prison. After serving his 19-year sentence in prison, on December 21, 2022, the Supreme Court of Nepal authorized his release due to his advanced age. He was liberated on December 23 and sent to France.
He was dubbed “handsome, charismatic, and completely without scruples,” and he made use of his good looks and shrewdness to promote his criminal career and become famous. He took pleasure in his notoriety. In addition to four biographies, three documentaries, the Indian film Main Aur Charles, and the eight-part BBC/Netflix drama series The Serpent from 2021, Sobhraj has been profiled.
Marie-Andrée Leclerc cause of death: What happened to Charles Sobhraj partner?
Marie-Andrée Leclerc was a nurse in Canada. She was the lover and co-conspirator of the serial killer, Charles Sobhraj.
According to Cosmopolitan Leclerc, a French-Canadian medical secretary who had been to India in the spring of 1975 and had met Sobhraj, was formally accused of participating in two killings that were allegedly committed by Sobhraj in 1976. In 1980, she was acquitted on one accusation but convicted on the other. She was eventually released, but only under the restriction that she not leave India.
Leclerc was given permission to return to Canada for treatment after receiving an ovarian cancer diagnosis in 1983. She passed away there in April 1984 at the age of 38 from cancer.
It’s impossible to know how much Leclerc truly knew or what motivated her to stay with a man she knew was a thief and conman at best, and a murderer at worst. However, it’s plausible that she feared for her life if she refused to assist Sobhraj in his illicit activities.
