Depardieu detention, Antarctica a-holes, and Weinstein revelations
the true crime that's worth your time
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Welcome to May, friends! Best Evidence readers know that the end of the month isn’t just when you pay the light bill. It’s also when we clear out the document we keep of true-crime news, longreads, and press releases — all stuff that we think we might want to tackle at some point, either in an article or on our podcast, The Docket (which is back, are you listening?) Here’s the most intriguing, exciting, and worthwhile true crime news from April, 2024.
Why now?: 75-year-old French actor Gérard Depardieu has been the subject of creep-or-worse rumors since...well, as long as I can recall. In a 1991 Washington Post report headlined "How do we handle the rapist turned heartthrob?," Judy Mann references a 1978 interview in which he admits to participating in a rape at age 9, and says that over the course of his life, there were "too many [rapes] too count . . . . There was nothing wrong with it. The girls wanted to be raped. I mean, there's no such thing as rape. It's only a matter of a girl putting herself in a situation where she wants to be."
All that to say that everyone has known that this guy is an admitted rapist for nearly 50 years, and yet he continued to work without incident, cast by US directors including Peter Weir, Ridley Scott, and Wayne Wang. Two alleged sexual assaults in 2021 might end his streak of luck, however: he will stand trial for those allegations, NPR reports, after police questioned him over rape allegations regarding incidents that stretch back to 2014, the BBC notes.
The Paris public prosecutor says in a statement that "He will be judged in October 2024 for sexual assaults allegedly committed in September 2021 against two victims, during the filming of the movie 'Les volets verts' (The Green Shutters)." France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, is vocally defending Depardieu, and said in a televised interview reported on by the NYT that he “makes France proud." Depardieu has denied past allegations against him, saying in an open letter last year that "Never, ever have I abused a woman."
Paging Elon Green: I am not linking to this video because of issues with the late Charlie Daniels (though his politics were extremely not great, especially when it comes to marriage equality, race, and rights for women), but because the headline of this great longread, "The Devil Went Down To Georgia," will put his greatest hit firmly in your head and I wanted to save you a trip. It does seem fitting, however, this this Doodler-evoking story about an attacker who stalked Atlanta's gay community is now wedded to Daniels' brand.
This piece about "the handcuff man," as he was known, is a sweeping piece of research and reporting from Hallie Lieberman, a historian with an expertise in the subject of sex work. That niche knowledge allows her to tackle an arguably sensational and sex-based topic with a level of understanding and confidence we rarely see in true crime (Green's Last Call is an exception). Set this one aside and read it when you have your full attention to give.
Cold comfort: Here's another longread, this time one that pairs well with the most recent season of True Detective, perhaps. Wired reporter David Kushner spoke with Stanford geologist Jane Willenbring, among others, about researchers in Antarctica who allegedly preyed on the female students and advanced degree candidates (among others) who came to the base.
Something that interested me about this story, in addition to the usual truth to power/sunlight on gender-based crime stuff, is that I recently moderated a panel on a documentary called Canary, which is also about ice-based research. There's not a single true crime connection, so don't get excited — the filmmakers and move subject, Ohio prof Lonnie Thompson, all seem like perfectly fine guys. But there's an interesting subdiscussion on how researchers in Antarctica basically shut Thompson out, seemingly because it was a somewhat competitive boys' club with a closed, clubby mindset. (My perception, not Thompson's words.) Studying the doc, which is great, gave me an additional layer of context to the Wired item. There's something here about how cliques help grow misconduct, but you folks are adults and have probably seen this in action for yourself.
So into this: This $30 million Easter Sunday heist in LA is another of my "today's daily blotter is tomorrow's big property" obsessions. The theft from a San Fernando Valley money storage facility is one of the region's biggest cash thefts ever, involving entry via the roof that went undetected. The LA Times is calling it "The perfect heist." I love this story and want to know everything about it.
Not into this, but am into this: Contrary to what that toxic male on public transit, at your communal restaurant table, etc says, Harvey Weinstein's conviction was not overturned because the women he assaulted were making it up, nor was the evidence in his trial deemed unconvincing. This Vox explainer gives you everything you need to grapple with the procedural issues that prompted the York State Court of Appeals to issue this decision. The TL;DR is that the original judge probably fucked up in how he allowed prosecutors to present some of the multitudes of accusations against him. It's infuriating, but as explained here makes a certain amount of sense.
Four more stories, then I'll let you go:
‘Unlocked: A Jail Experiment’: Arkansas County Refuses $60,000 Check From Producers of Netflix Doc Amid Ongoing Legal Battle [Variety] The issue appears to be who is allowed to enter into contracts on behalf of the county, but it also sounds like the local sheriff went a little bit rogue?
The fall of the Queen of Airbnb [Business Insider] This is a mental health story as much as it is a "there are some real problems with the short-term-rental biz" one.
Jeffrey Epstein’s Island Visitors Exposed by Data Broker [Wired] At least, a data leak we can all get behind.
Rare Editions of Pushkin Are Vanishing From Libraries Around Europe [NY Times] While the Babysitters Club books lead the stolen from high school library theft rankings, and another researcher says the Guinness Book of World Records is most likely to be lifted from our public lenders, the collectability of Russian rare books has prompted a wave of thefts and forgeries at libraries overseas.