Clementine Barnabet

Clementine Barnabet (born c. 1894) was a woman who was convicted of one murder and confessed to many more.

Early life

Clementine Barnabet is believed to have been born around 1894 in St. Martinville, Louisiana to Raymond Barnabet and Nina Porter. She also had one brother named Zepherin. Barnabet's father reportedly abused his family, which moved to Lafayette in 1909.[1]

Killing patterns

Barnabet's killings followed a consistent pattern: she would often murder entire families rather than one person, using an axe for butchering her victims and cutting off their heads.[2]

Investigation

Barnabet's first murder occurred in February 1911. While Raymond Barnabet was awaiting trial, another familicide took place. In November 1911, Norbert and Asima Randall and their four children were murdered in a manner similar to the previous slayings.[1]

Arrest

Eventually Barnabet confessed to 35 murders.[3] She explained her connection to the Church of Sacrifice, an offshoot of a Christ's Sanctified Holy Church congregation in Lake Charles, Louisiana.[1] Clementine claimed that a priestess of the Church of Sacrifice had given her and her friends "conjure bags" (see Hoodoo) that would grant them supernatural powers and make them undetectable to the authorities.[4] This spurred Barnabet into committing her first murder to test whether or not this was true.[1]

Sentencing and disappearance

At only 18 years old,[5] in October 1912, Clementine Barnabet was sentenced to life in prison at Angola State Penitentiary. In July 1913, she tried to escape jail but was caught. However, in August 1923, Barnabet was released from prison, after which no knowledge exists on her whereabouts.[1]

References

Gauthreaux, Alan G.; Hippensteel, D. G. (2015). Dark Bayou: Infamous Louisiana Homicides. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-6295-4.
Zheng, Christina (2018). The Language of Male and Female Serial Killers: A Forensic Linguistic Examination (Thesis). Retrieved November 12, 2019.
Index to Dates of Current Events Occurring Or Reported Jan. 1912-Dec. 1914. R.R. Bowker Company. 1913.
The American library annual 1911/12-1917/18: including list of American libraries of over 5000 volumes : libraries of Latin America : library schools and short courses: library and book-trade periodicals and organizations : book publication statistics, etc. Office of the Publishers' weekly. 1913.
Wimberly, J. Lee (2017-11-14). Louisiana Ghost Stories: Tales of the Supernatural from the Bayou State. Archway Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4808-5317-1.

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[Gauthreaux_2015-1] Gauthreaux, Alan G.; Hippensteel, D. G. (2015). Dark Bayou: Infamous Louisiana Homicides. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-6295-4.

[language-2] Zheng, Christina (2018). The Language of Male and Female Serial Killers: A Forensic Linguistic Examination (Thesis). Retrieved November 12, 2019.

[3] Index to Dates of Current Events Occurring Or Reported Jan. 1912-Dec. 1914. R.R. Bowker Company. 1913.

[4] The American library annual 1911/12-1917/18: including list of American libraries of over 5000 volumes : libraries of Latin America : library schools and short courses: library and book-trade periodicals and organizations : book publication statistics, etc. Office of the Publishers' weekly. 1913.

[5] Wimberly, J. Lee (2017-11-14). Louisiana Ghost Stories: Tales of the Supernatural from the Bayou State. Archway Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4808-5317-1.