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Delphine LaLaurie

LaLaurie married three times in Louisiana and was twice widowed. She was a very rich woman and though she was a widow she kept her status well in high society, until April 10, 1834.

when rescuers responded to a fire at her Royal Street mansion. They discovered bound slaves in her attic who showed evidence of cruel, violent abuse over a long period. LaLaurie's house was subsequently sacked by an outraged mob of New Orleans citizens.

Accounts of Delphine LaLaurie's treatment of her slaves between 1831 and 1834 vary. As its in the 1800s so records would be limited but a person named Harriet Martineau, wrote in 1838 and recounting tales told to her by New Orleans residents during her 1836 visit, claimed that slaves of LaLaurie were observed to be "singularly haggard and wretched" however, in public appearances LaLaurie was seen to be generally polite to Black people and solicitous of the health of those enslaved.

although the causes of death are not mentioned and infectious diseases could easily have been the cause. There were a woman named Bonnie was killed alongside her kids by the treatment of this woman.

Court records of the time showed that LaLaurie freed two slaves (Jean Louis in 1819 and Devince in 1832).

Martineau wrote that public rumors about LaLaurie's mistreatment of slaves on her property were sufficiently widespread that a local lawyer was dispatched to Royal Street to remind LaLaurie of the laws for the upkeep of slaves. During this visit, the lawyer found no evidence of wrongdoing or mistreatment of slaves by LaLaurie. (A/N: which is wtf?)

There were other tales of LaLaurie's cruelty that were current among New Orleans residents in about 1836. She said that, subsequent to the visit of the lawyer, one of LaLaurie's neighbors saw an eight-year-old slave girl fall to her death from the roof of the Royal Street mansion while trying to avoid punishment from a whip-wielding LaLaurie.

According to Martineau, this incident led to an investigation of the LaLauries, in which they were found guilty of illegal cruelty and forced to forfeit nine slaves of their household. These nine enslaved people were bought back by the LaLauries through an intermediary relative, and returned to the Royal Street residence.

On April 10, 1834, a fire broke out in the LaLaurie residence on Royal Street starting in the kitchen. When the police and fire marshals got there, they found the cook, a 70-year-old woman, chained to the stove by her ankle. She later said that she had set the fire as a suicide attempt because she feared being punished.

bystanders responding to the fire attempted to enter the quarters of those enslaved to ensure that everyone had been evacuated. Upon being refused the keys by the LaLauries, the bystanders broke down the doors to the quarters and found

"seven slaves, horribly mutilated, and suspended by the neck, with their limbs apparently stretched and torn from one extremity to the other",

When the discovery of the abused slaves became widely known, a mob of local citizens attacked the LaLaurie residence and "demolished and destroyed everything upon which they could lay their hands".

She did escape from any punishment and fled to france but she self imposed exile which is a shock, but also it was a complete different time back then,

She died on December 7, 1849 but the cause of death she completely unknown

#true crume #true crime commentary #true crime content #tc community #tcc #Delphine LaLaurie

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