Alexander Lacassagne

It takes a certain kind of genius and excellence to catch killers as notorious and intelligent as Joseph Vacher. A very select few, even today, would be capable of catching such a criminal. French physician, criminologist, head of the department of illegal medicine at the University of Lyon and native of Cahors, Alexander Lacassange, “got a request from the city prosecutor to help with a particularly nasty case” (Starr 15). Lacassagne with his criminological and forensic genius were often called upon for help in cases such as the gruesome murder that occurred in the city of Lyon. “It was not unusual for Lacassagne to be called in where others had stumbled, for he had established a reputation as a skilled criminologist” (Starr 15). Lacassagne had developed an incredibly sterling reputation as a forensic analyst and was arguably one of the best in the world at that time. “As the author of textbooks, the developer of many new forensic techniques, and the investigator of several celebrated cases, he was first among equals in an international cadre of experts in the new field of legal medicine” (Starr 15). Lacassagne’s first subject autopsy was the body of missing Parisian Toussaint-Augustin Gouffe. Goufee was a bailiff and widower with two daughters and was known as a very prosperous man. 3 weeks later, another body turned up south east of Paris. Lacassagne tried to find similarities between the missing body and the body that turned up but after a description of the body was sent to the medical examiner’s office in Lyon, little was found as far as similarities were concerned. “Everything tied the victim to Goufee --- except for the autopsy. Goron was unconvinced about the bodies being unconnected so he contacted authorities in Lyon and requested that the body be exhumed and reexamined but it was all for naught. Goron would not give up for anything. “But Goron, legendary for his persistence, remained adamant” (Starr 16). “And so the hideous job of conducting an autopsy...