Episode 71 - Helene Jegado
From Horrible Humans in History by The HHH Podcast
March 5, 2026 · 45 min · Season 1 · Episode 71
About this episode
This episode explores the chilling case of Helene Jegado, a 19th-century French domestic servant who poisoned her victims with arsenic.
Helene Jegado was a 19th-century French domestic servant who used her role as a cook to poison the people around her with arsenic. Operating in rural Brittany during a time of limited medical knowledge, she was able to evade suspicion for years as victims died from mysterious illnesses. Eventually, patterns of death led to investigation, exhumation, and arrest. Convicted of multiple murders, she was executed in 1852. Her case remains one of the most disturbing examples of a serial poisoner operating within trusted domestic spaces.
Topics covered
- serial poisoner
- 19th-century crime
- domestic servant
- murder investigation
- arsenic poisoning
Keywords
- Helene Jegado
- poisoning
- arsenic
- murder
- Brittany
- 19th century
- true crime
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Brittany
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