Miscellaneous facts. This rather unusual collective unearths “cold cases” in Occitanie

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The blood dried a long time ago, the accused, like the victims, are six feet underground or reduced to ashes. And the witnesses have all disappeared. More these various facts marked their time in Occitania. And some want to dig them up to shed a different light on them.

They are not police officers, nor gendarmes, nor lawyers, nor judges… But librarians and archivists. And recently, they dig up “cold cases” in Occitania. They work within a collective called epOcc.

Comic or Cluedo style

This is the acronym for “Occitanie heritage surveys”. Because this is heritage, which these professionals wish to make attractive thanks to their intriguing stories nourished solely by real facts and supported by rare and sometimes exceptional documents.

Under the coordination of the Occitanie Livre & Lecture regional agency, this group of archivists and librarians launched a dedicated website and an Instagram account.

They have already published two investigationsbut others will follow. The first case is that, known as “the fatal pits”. The facts date back to 1779. It was in Narbonne, in Aude. And it was pretty horrible.

“During the digging of a cesspit in a courtyard in Narbonne, seven people died, asphyxiated by mephitic vapors; an eighth victim died the next day following multiple “care” provided by several Narbonnais doctors. What followed was a medical dispute between Parisian scientists and Narbonnais doctors which later allowed scientists to think about mephitism and the prevention of asphyxia,” summarizes epOcc.

It is Yannick Robert, this Bob an illustrator from Montpellier, who has the task of making this curious story attractive.

Who killed Dr Cassan?

The second case dealt with is the Cassan affair, named after the doctor murdered in Albi, in Tarn in 1889. “If the assassination of Dr Cassan has remained in the collective memory, it is largely due to the status of the victim. Germain Cassan was mayor of Albi in 1869 and again in 1874.On May 9, 1889, the day of his assassination, the octogenarian Dr. Cassan was chief physician at the Fondation du Bon Sauveur, an expert in psychiatry. Who could blame this notable, widely appreciated for his social role and his commitment to the city? », asks the site. Before answering a lot of questions…

This time, the case is revisited Cluedo style, with a quiz at the end to see if you have followed correctly!

To read EpOcc’s surveys, click here.

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