The Pit of Hell

2024-02-08T04:13:10.428Z

Highlights: On February 8, 1949, a storm rose on the beach of Sables d'Olonne. The water boils in the middle of the two rock faults which form “the Pit of Hell’. It was exactly at this moment that the children of a summer camp who were passing by saw a wicker trunk then, with amazement, a lifeless body, at the bottom of the fiery precipice. Investigators then noted tire marks from a car at the end of the path as well as traces of a trunk. The body was undoubtedly dragged inside the trunk, before being thrown into this 'Pit of Hell'

[EUROPE ARCHIVE 1 - The extraordinary stories of Pierre Bellemare] On February 8, 1949, a storm rose on the beach of Sables d'Olonne. The water boils in the middle of the two rock faults which form “the Pit of Hell”. In this immense natural funnel, the waves throw themselves violently against the stone, then retreat. It was exactly at this moment that the children of a summer camp who were passing by saw a wicker trunk then, with amazement, a lifeless body, at the bottom of the fiery precipice. The victim is Robert Thelier, a Parisian in his sixties. His feet and hands are tied and his mouth is gagged: clearly this is a crime. Investigators then noted tire marks from a car at the end of the path as well as traces of a trunk. The body was undoubtedly dragged inside the trunk, before being thrown into this “Pit of Hell”. A few days later, a driver went to the police station. It was he who transported the trunk to Sables d'Olonne and abandoned it in the water. However, he did not commit any crime. Transporting cargo is his job! It turns out that his client is none other than the victim's housekeeper... Her name is Simone. Serving Mr. Thelier for several months, she arrived from Spain. Recently, she published a mysterious ad in a newspaper, to hire someone to carry out “dangerous missions”... What missions are they? Pierre Bellemare tells this incredible story in this episode of the podcast “The extraordinary stories of Pierre Bellemare”, from the Europe 1 archives and produced by Europe 1 Studio.