Robbery Goes Wrong: The Blanc brothers take more than money from Martin Begnaud.

In 1896, the body of Martin Begnaud, lacerated over fifty times was found in a back room of his shop, bound and gagged. Murder no doubt, and murder for money highly suspected. With thousands of dollars missing from his shop, the hunt was on to find the guilty party. No one in Louisiana expected the conviction to come down on two young French men: Earnest and Alexis Blanc. These two men could be described as handsome and charming and even innocent. How could they have killed a man in cold blood? How could they have taken bound, gagged, and stabbed another person without any regret?

On the night of August 23, 1896, the brothers had lured Begnaud into a state of trust, only to brutally murder him by stabbing him repeatedly in the neck and heart region. Following the murder, the two men fled the scene, only to return months later to retrieve their loot that they had left behind. The people of Louisiana were shocked and outraged when the police finally arrested the brothers. The excruciating trials of the men took place in Lafayette parish and the men were hung before thousands of people.

Today, the murder of Martin Begnaud is captured in William Archeneaux’s book “No Spark of Malice” and the crime committed by two unsuspecting men continues to be commemorated by those who wish to expose the story.