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'Black Widow' Accused Of French Riviera Deaths

'Black Widow' Accused Of French Riviera Deaths

A woman has been remanded in custody accused of seducing and killing two men and poisoning others on the French Riviera.

Patricia Dagorn, who is in her mid-50s, is already serving a five-year sentence for poisoning, theft, fraud and kidnapping in connection with an 88-year-old widowed teacher, who survived.

After her conviction, the prosecutor opened an inquiry into other potential victims, focusing in particular on two deceased men Dagorn had befriended.

A source in the new investigation told AFP news agency she was taken from prison and formally charged with "poisoning with premeditation" over the death of one man in 2011.

Dagorn, originally from Paris, has also been charged with murder in connection with a second death in the same year in the southern seaside resort of Nice, the source said.

One of her alleged victims died at the age of 85, while the other was 65. Both men were believed to be widowers.

Dagorn, dubbed the Black Widow by French media, is said to have met her suspected victims through dating agencies.

She also faces charges of "administering harmful substances with premeditation to vulnerable people" in two other cases between 2011 and 2012, while a possible fifth case is still being investigated, according to the source.

Two other suspected victims, who live in Frejus and Nice, believe she tried to poison them.

The man from Frejus, aged in his eighties, said he had met Dagorn through a dating agency in January 2012.

But soon afterwards, his hope that he had found new love late in life was shattered when he found Valium in her case and his doctor said he found traces of poisoning in his body.

"I was heading for death without even realising it," he told a local newspaper.

Dagorn's lawyer, Cedric Huissoud, said of his client: "She denies all the accusations against her."

He described his client as "fragile", saying she had been fostered from a young age.

"She says she feels better (more comfortable) with elderly people," Mr Huissoud said.

The case for which Dagorn was jailed in 2013 involved a man known only as Robert.

Police discovered bottles of Valium pills and methadone at the widowed teacher's home and Dagorn was arrested, charged and sentenced to five years in prison.

Robert said at the time: "I almost died for three days of love."