Who is the first wife of Charles Sobhraj?
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Chantal Compagnon, a French woman, was the first wife of Charles Sobhraj, the bikini killer and fraudster.
How did Charles Sobhraj and his first wife, Chantal Compagnon meet?
Charles Sobhraj and Chantal Compagnon met at one of the parties in Paris. Charles had been to the party with his wealthy friend, Felix d’Escogne.
Did Charles and Chantal have a child together?
Chantal and Charles Sobhraj had a daughter named Usha Sobhraj. She was born in 1970 in Mumbai, India.
Chantal Compagnon was the first wife of the infamous bikini killer and fraudster Charles Sobhraj. She was born in 1945, to Mr. and Mrs. Lemaitre, in Paris and belonged to a very conservative Catholic family.
She was inclined towards poetry, culture, art, music, ballet, and traditional aspects throughout her childhood.
She, like her family, took education, culture, and tradition as significant factors to lead a respectable and steady life. This thought process was changed once she met her future husband, Charles Sobhraj.
Charles Sobhraj and his wealthy friend Felix d’Escogne, whom he met in jail in 1963, went to a party in Paris. Chantal was also present at the same party, and they met there for the first time.
Charles Sobhraj was already dating Chantal Desnoyers while he met Chantal Compagnon. Compagnon and Charles started spending time and fell into a severe relationship.
He broke up with Desnoyers to marry and settle with Compagnon. Their love story was one of the most famous love stories in history.
On the other hand, Chantal’s parents’ were against their relationship. They wanted Chantal to stay away from Charles and the crime life.
However, with his charm and display of overall wealth and assets, Charles impressed Chantal’s parents’.
Unfortunately, on the evening of Charles proposing to Compagnon to marry him, he was arrested by the police for theft of a car.
He was sentenced to 8 months times and kept in Evreux jail, France, during which Chantal supported him in every possible way.
Chantal and Charles got married in 1969, 5 months after he was released from prison. To be away from crimes and arrests, they moved to Asia in 1970. Chantal was pregnant with their first daughter, Usha Sobhraj.
However, Charles and Chantal continued robbing tourists, stealing, and smuggling. They robbed the tourists and used their identities, passports, and necessary documents to travel to numerous places.
The couple disguised themselves as businessman and woman and became friends with the tourists. After gaining their trust and loyalty, they drugged them and robbed them.
After the birth of their daughter, Usha, Charles and Chantal planned on leaving behind crimes and living a sober life with their family. However, he could not keep up with his words and got involved in theft again.
He disappeared for some weeks and was arrested for robbing jewels at Asokha Hotel in Mumbai in 1973. But, he did not last long in prison, as Chantal played a vital role in helping him escape the prison.
Chantal helped prove that Charles suffered from Appendicitis and had to be admitted to a hospital. She then drugged the guards while in hospital and managed to escape.
They moved to Kabul after escaping the Tihar jail in India. They had visited Kabul in 1971 and were involved in weapon smuggling. However, in 1973, despite promising to leave the criminal life behind, the couple continued robbing the tourists and traveling with the victims’ passports.
Charles and Chantal were arrested in Kabul, and their daughter, Usha, was taken by the French Embassy and handed over to her grandparents’. However, Charles drugged the correctional officers of Kabul and went to Paris, kidnapping her daughter by drugging his mother-in-law.
He then returned to Kabul and helped Chantal escape the Kabul prison. Charles flew to Iran to evade his arrest, and during that time, Chantal took Usha and flew back to France, never to return to Kabul.
Charles and Chantal were not seen together after that. However, in one of his interviews, Charles stated that Chantal was helping him financially for many years and supported him though they two did not stay together after that.
When he moved to France, Chantal married Leon Harris, a stonemason, in 1975, and he adopted Usha as their daughter.
However, Chantal kept supporting Charles, and in 2003, she filed a case to the European Court of Human Rights against the French government. She mentioned of French government refusing to aid Charles to get out of the double-murders in Nepal. Their methods were somehow inspired by some of the unsolved murders of the 19th Century.
The very famous Netflix series portrays Chantal with the screen name Juliette Voclain and supports Charles throughout his journey, be it inside or outside of prison and after parting ways with Charles.
The book was named Serpentine, written by Thomas Thompson and published in 1979. This book is basically for the backpackers traveling to Asia to be cautious about the situation.
