Just in time for Halloween, Netflix releases new episodes of its Unsolved Mysteries reboot. Here are the spookiest ones, plus our theories about what really happened.
With Halloween nearly upon us, everyone is turning off the lights to watch their favorite slasher and ghost films. We all love a good scare but if you’re looking to really spook yourself this season, turn away from the gore and ghouls and take a look at some real-life terror in Netflix’s two volumes of Unsolved Mysteries.
Unsolved Mysteries is an investigative documentary series that’s been running in some form since 1987, with some long breaks in between. Part of what makes the show so amazing is that, through viewer’s tips over the years, over 25% of the cases they document have been solved by law enforcement (according to producer Terry Dunn Meurer in an interview with Elle). This is what makes watching each episode such an exhilarating and creepy experience. We feel brought into these stories in a very personal way.
For this reason, I also feel I must provide a content warning at the top of this article. These are real crimes and real people with real families who are still suffering and looking for answers. Out of respect for these victims, I think it’s important that we view this show as something beyond just entertainment.
Unsolved Mysteries had been off the air since 2010 before Netflix picked it up and rebooted the show in July of this year. So far they have released two “volumes,” each consisting of six episodes of various lengths. The second volume was released this October, with more mysteries promised to come later. If you’re like me, you love a good brain teaser, and these stories are bound to stay with you until they are hopefully solved. Let’s talk about the six episodes that creeped me out the most from what’s available on Netflix, and what the prevailing theories are as to what happened. If you haven’t watched the show, or the episode in question, I suggest not reading the “Theories” to avoid spoilers.
“House of Terror”
The Story: This one really sticks with me because there are so many strange and off-putting facts about this case. The general story goes as follows: In April of 2011, the Dupont de Ligonnés family mysteriously disappeared from their home in Nantes, France. After weeks of searching, investigators found the bodies of the mother, the three children, and the family dogs buried underneath the terrace of the house. Autopsy reports reveal that each of the children had been drugged with sleeping pills and shot in the head with a .22 caliber rifle fit with a silencer. The family patriarch, Xavier Dupont de Ligonnés, was never found and remains the prime suspect to this day. Xavier was last seen outside of a hotel in Roquebrune-sur-Argens where he waves to the security camera while carrying what is presumed to be the murder weapon.
Theories: This case is particularly vexing because it’s received the most tips since the new volumes aired on Netflix. Many people, including a lot in Chicago, IL, have claimed to see Xavier Dupont de Ligonnés. Investigators explain how difficult he is to catch because he is a perfectly average-looking person. There is nothing significant about the way he looks, and can change his look easily with a haircut or some facial hair.
The bigger mystery, to me, is what drove this seemingly sweet and kind man to such terrible, clearly premeditated murder. A few facts about the case stay with me as I ponder this question. One: the Dupont de Ligonnés family came from nobility, one of the last remaining vestiges of a dying French aristocracy. Xaviers eldest biological son, Thomas, was killed and buried separately from the other members of the family, which some take as a sign of hesitation from Xavier.
Two: On April 11, family and friends of the Duponts received a long letter from Xavier explaining that the family was going away for a long time to work as undercover agents for the United States DEA. You can read the full letter online. One of the weirdest parts is that Xavier leaves instructions for specific people to take care of their belongings.
It’s really difficult to determine what exactly happened in this case, because time of death is uncertain. Reports vary on when Agnes was last seen, but the younger children were not seen in school during the month of April. Was Agnes at all involved? Is there any truth at all to the DEA story?
Some theorists believe that the Dupont family is still alive and living in hiding somewhere, or that this letter led to them being assassinated by US secret operatives. However, the premeditation and ritualistic aspects of the murder seem cut against that, which circles back to the question of why Xavier would do such a horrific thing. Receipts confirm that Xavier had purchased all of the necessary materials for murder in the months leading up to April 2011, and family photos and other belongings had already been removed from the house when investigators began their search.
The third fact that baffles me is somewhat circumstantial: everyone who knew Xavier knew that he constantly complained about back problems. The family was found buried underneath the terrace. Xavier would have had to stay bent over while digging holes, carefully place their bodies, and then fill the holes over and over again.
This leads to my theory: that Xavier did commit these murders, but he had help. Seven years before the murder, Agnes wrote of her and Xavier’s financial troubles on a medical form, saying that Xavier has told her that a group death as a family would not be a catastrophe. I’m not saying Agnes was involved, but it sounds like there’s more to her story specifically.
I also believe that enough financial pressure over a long enough time can eventually make someone snap. Perhaps Xavier had violent tendencies that nobody knew about. Given his financial troubles, perhaps he figured there was no way out for his family other than death.
This would make more sense, however, if he had taken his own life as well. My theory is that Xavier Dupont de Ligonnés was a sociopath. He decided to start a new life and enlisted help from either his wife or a contract killer to get him started. Regardless, he remains at large to this day.