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Killing of the Dupont de Ligonnès Family and Disappearance of Its Patriarch
In April 2011, five members of the Dupont de Ligonnès family were killed in Nantes, in western France: a mother and her four children, aged 13 to 20. Their bodies were found buried beneath the patio of the family's home on 21 April, ten days after neighbors raised concerns that the house had been shuttered for more than a week while the mother's car sat untouched on the street outside. Autopsies determined that all five had been drugged and then shot while asleep with a .22-caliber rifle. The family's two dogs had also been killed and buried in the garden.
The household's father disappeared at the same time as the killings and has never been found. In the weeks beforehand, the family's affairs were wound down: the lease on the house was terminated, bank accounts were closed, and a final payment was made to the children's school. Investigators have reconstructed a timeline suggesting the mother and three of the children were killed on the night of 3-4 April, and that the eldest son, who had spent the evening of 5 April at a restaurant with his father, was the last of the five to die. In the days that followed, relatives and school administrators received calls, texts, and letters, purportedly from family members, describing a sudden relocation to Australia. A separate, unsigned letter sent to relatives instead claimed the family had entered a United States federal witness-protection program after covert work for an American drug-enforcement agency; no evidence establishes who wrote it.
Hotel and payment records placed the father in southern France in the two weeks after the killings. He was last captured on hotel surveillance video in Roquebrune-sur-Argens on 14 April, and his car was later found abandoned in the same town. He has not been seen since. French authorities have described him as the case's central suspect, but he has never been charged, and an Interpol notice seeking him as a witness remains outstanding. The Nantes prosecutor's office has said it has not reconsidered his status in the investigation and has leaned toward a theory that he died, possibly by suicide, adding that the case would close only by default if his remains are found and no other suspect emerges.
The search for him has continued for more than a decade without a confirmed result. Police and cave divers searched abandoned mines and forests in southern France in 2013; the effort was fruitless. In 2015, a walker found human bones and camping equipment in a forest near where the father was last seen, but DNA testing determined the remains belonged to an unidentified man. A 2018 raid on a monastery, prompted by reports of a resident monk resembling him, and a 2019 arrest at a Scottish airport based on a stolen passport, both proved to be cases of mistaken identity. A possible sighting was reported in Texas in 2020, and in March 2026 a Texas sheriff's office publicized decades-old photographs of him and appealed to the public for information. More than 800 leads have been logged since 2011, and the case remains unsolved.
Key facts
- Victims
- Agnès Dupont de Ligonnès, Thomas Dupont de Ligonnès, Benoît Dupont de Ligonnès, Anne Dupont de Ligonnès, Arthur Dupont de Ligonnès
- Date
- 2011
- Location
- Boulevard Robert Schuman, Nantes, France
- Case status
- unsolved
Case timeline
2011-02-02
The family's father obtains a firearms licence.
2011-03-12
The father purchases rifle ammunition.
2011-04-01
The eldest son, 20, fails to collect his usual monthly wages from the pizzeria where he worked, a break from routine that surprises his employer.
2011-04-02
The father buys four 10-kilogram bags of lime from different shops around Nantes.
2011-04-03
A neighbor sees the mother for the last time; that evening the family dines out and goes to the cinema together.
2011-04-04
The two youngest children do not attend school, reported as ill; investigators' timeline places the killing of the mother and three of the children on the night of 3-4 April.
2011-04-05
The father dines with his 18-year-old son at a restaurant near Angers; investigators' timeline places this son's killing later the same evening, the last of the five victims to die.
2011-04-08
The last known online activity from the family home's internet connection takes place.
2011-04-11
Typed letters received by relatives and the children's schools, purportedly signed by the parents, describe a relocation to Australia; a separate, unsigned letter sent to relatives instead claims the family entered a United States witness-protection program.
2011-04-14
The father is captured on hotel surveillance video in Roquebrune-sur-Argens in south-eastern France - the last confirmed sighting of him.
2011-04-15
The father checks out of the hotel in Roquebrune-sur-Argens, leaving his car in the car park; he is not seen again.
2011-04-21
The bodies of the mother and four children are found buried beneath the patio of the family home in Nantes.
2011-04-22
Autopsies find that the victims were drugged and shot while asleep with a .22-caliber rifle.
2011-04-28
About 1,400 people attend the family's funeral at a church in Nantes.
2011-04-30
The victims are buried in Noyers-sur-Serein, the region the mother's family was from.
2013-05
About fifty police officers and firefighters search caves and abandoned mines in southern France for the missing father; the search is unsuccessful.
2015-04-28
A walker discovers human bones and camping equipment in a forest near where the father was last seen.
2015-05-01
DNA testing determines the bones found in the forest belong to an unidentified man, not the missing father.
2018-01-09
Police raid a monastery in Roquebrune-sur-Argens after reports that a resident monk resembled the missing father; investigators conclude it is a case of mistaken identity.
2019-10-11
A man is arrested at Glasgow Airport after entering passport details matching a stolen French passport later linked to the case.
2019-10-12
Fingerprint and DNA testing confirm the man arrested in Glasgow is not the missing father; he is released without charge.
2020
A possible sighting of the missing father, accompanied by a black Labrador, is reported in Brewster County, Texas.
2026-03
The Brewster County, Texas, sheriff's office publishes decades-old photographs of the missing father and appeals to the public for information.
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People
Agnès Dupont de Ligonnès
VICTIMMother of four, born Agnès Hodanger on 9 November 1962; worked at a Catholic school in Nantes. Found dead, along with her four children, buried beneath the patio of the family home; investigators' timeline places her death on the night of 3-4 April 2011.
Thomas Dupont de Ligonnès
VICTIMSecond child, born 28 August 1992; a music student at the Catholic University of the West in Angers. 18 years old at the time of his death; investigators believe he was the last of the five family members killed, on the evening of 5 April 2011.
Benoît Dupont de Ligonnès
VICTIMYoungest child, born 29 May 1997; an altar server at Saint-Félix Church in Nantes. 13 years old at the time of his death.
Brigitte Lamy
LAW ENFORCEMENTNantes prosecutor overseeing the investigation; has said she has not reconsidered the missing father's status in the case and leans toward a theory that he died, possibly by suicide.
Anne Dupont de Ligonnès
VICTIMThird child, born 2 August 1994; an 11th-grade student in Nantes. 16 years old at the time of her death.
Robert Tchalian
LAW ENFORCEMENTInvestigating judge who directed the Nantes inquiry; his investigators spent more than two years attempting to locate a woman in Germany with a personal connection to the family's father.
Arthur Dupont de Ligonnès
VICTIMEldest child, born 7 July 1990; studying for an IT diploma and working as a waiter in Nantes. 20 years old at the time of his death; last confirmed alive on 1 April 2011.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- In April 2011, a mother and her four children were found shot to death, buried in the garden of their home in Nantes, France. The family's father disappeared around the same time and has never been located, despite an investigation now in its second decade.
- Where did the killing happen?
- Boulevard Robert Schuman, Nantes, France.
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: unsolved.
Related cases
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Sources
- ENCYCLOPEDICDupont de Ligonnès murders and disappearanceWikipedia · 2026-07-12
- PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The TelegraphThe Telegraph · 2026-07-12
- PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The GuardianThe Guardian · 2026-07-12
Record history
- First published
- JUL 13, 2026