Stéphane Bourgoin

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Stephane bourgoin 2011.JPG
OccupationAuthor, film producer, criminologist
LanguageFrench
NationalityFrench
GenreTrue crime
SubjectSerial killers

Stéphane Bourgoin (born 14 March 1953) is a French true crime writer. He presented himself as an expert on serial killers for many years, until 2020 when he admitted that he had lied about many of his claimed experiences.[1] Bourgoin had written 75 books and produced dozens of documentaries,[1] with his books selling thousands of copies in France.[2][3] He was regarded as France's best known serial killer expert. He occasionally lectured police on the subject,[4][5] and critiqued media depictions of serial killers.[6]

Biography[]

Stéphane Bourgoin was born in Paris on 14 March 1953,[7] one of four children of  [fr], a military engineer. He was expelled from high school three times and does not hold any diploma.[8]

Bourgoin claimed to have moved to the United States in the early 1970s, where he allegedly found his then-girlfriend murdered, raped and mutilated by a serial killer in 1976 in Los Angeles. He said that the event led him to try to understand what goes on in the mind of serial killers, but in 2020, Bourgoin confessed that the story was in fact an invention drawn from the case of Susan Bickrest, murdered at age 24 by serial killer Gerald Stano in 1975.[4][2]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Guy, Jack; Berteau, Benjamin; Stuber, Sophie (May 14, 2020). "French serial killer expert admits his career is built on lies". CNN. Archived from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Flood, Alison (May 13, 2020). "French serial-killer expert admits serial lies, including murder of imaginary wife". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  3. ^ Adejobi, Alicia (14 May 2020). "French serial killer author confesses to lying about imaginary wife's murder and admits he needs therapy". Metro. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Stéphane Bourgoin, confessions d'un mythomane en série". Le Parisien. 13 May 2020.
  5. ^ Bremner, Charles (May 13, 2020). "Serial killer expert Stéphane Bourgoin made up his entire life history". The Times. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  6. ^ Degbe, Esther (August 16, 2019). "La série Mindhunter est-elle réaliste? L'expert Stéphane Bourgoin répond" [Is the Mindhunter series realistic? Expert Stéphane Bourgoin answers]. The Huffington Post (in French). Retrieved 2020-05-14.
  7. ^ Devos, Caroline (20 May 2020). "Stéphane Bourgoin, l'homme qui parlait aux serial killers". La Nouvelle République.
  8. ^ Lanez, Émilie. "Stéphane Bourgoin serial menteur ? Dans Match, il passe aux aveux". Paris Match.
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