Authorities in Nantes, France, are still haunted by a crime that reads like a horror script. In April 2011, five bodies — a mother, her four children, and two dogs — were discovered buried beneath the patio of their suburban home. The father, a well-known aristocrat named Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès, vanished shortly afterward and has never been seen again.
Investigators identified the victims as Agnès Dupont de Ligonnès, 48, and her children Arthur, 21; Thomas, 18; Anne, 16; and Benoît, 13. Each had been sedated, then shot execution-style with a .22-caliber rifle before being wrapped in sheets and buried under lime.
Police later discovered the family’s two Labradors buried alongside them.
Xavier came from noble blood and called himself “Count,” but his finances were collapsing. According to reports from The Guardian, his business ventures had failed, and he was drowning in debt. Despite this, he kept up appearances — paying for private schools, vacations, and a comfortable life he could no longer afford.
Weeks before the murders, he began giving away personal items and sending strange letters. In one message, he claimed he and his family were joining a secret witness-protection program with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Police now believe that story was crafted to explain their sudden disappearance.
Detectives learned that Xavier inherited a .22 rifle from his father and joined a local shooting club shortly before the killings. He was later spotted making cash withdrawals at ATMs while driving through southern France.
Surveillance footage captured his last confirmed sighting at a small hotel in Roquebrune-sur-Argens on April 15, 2011. He paid in cash, checked out quietly the next morning — and vanished without a trace.
The search for the missing aristocrat has spanned continents. Over the years, authorities have received more than 900 tips about possible sightings — in Italy, Thailand, the U.S., and even monasteries in France. None have been confirmed.
In 2015, an AFP journalist received a letter and a photo of the two eldest sons with the chilling message: “I’m still alive.” The note was never authenticated.
Four years later, French police arrested a man in Scotland believed to be Xavier. It turned out to be a false alarm — DNA testing proved it wasn’t him.
Today, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès remains wanted under an international arrest warrant. Authorities still have no proof whether he’s alive or dead, and his case continues to fascinate the world — inspiring documentaries, Reddit theories, and Netflix’s House of Terror.
More than a decade later, the family home in Nantes stands as a grim reminder of a father who may have murdered everyone he loved — and disappeared into legend.
Maybe he is homeless somewhere