Aurore Gagnon

Aurore Gagnon (May 31, 1909 - February 12, 1920), was a victim of child abuse in the town of Fortierville, Quebec. She died of exhaustion and blood poisoning from some 52 wounds inflicted by her stepmother, Marie-Anne Houde, and her father, Télesphore Gagnon. The story "l'enfant martyre" received great attention in the media and Aurore became an icon of Quebec sociological and popular culture.

Chronology of events

Aurore Gagnon was the second of four children of Marie-Anne Caron and Télesphore Gagnon, a farmer. After Marie-Anne Caron was hospitalized with tuberculosis in 1916, her cousin, Marie-Anne Houde, a widow with six children, moved in with Télesphore Gagnon. On November 6, 1917, Aurore's younger brother Joseph Gagnon died at the age of two under mysterious circumstances.

A week after the death of his wife in 1918, Télesphore Gagnon married Marie-Anne Houde. Although villagers were suspicious when two of her children subsequently died, there was no investigation. Their abuse of Aurore escalated (Télesphore beat her with an axe handle). In September 1919, the ten-year-old was hosptialized for more than a month at the "Hôtel-Dieu de Québec" due to a severe leg infection caused by a beating. Released back into her parents' care, Aurore was beaten, by Marie-Anne Houde, until her death in 1920. The cause of death was said to be poison, not knowing if her death was because of infected wounds or if Aurore was poisoned to death.

Marie-Anne Houde was sentenced to be hanged for murder, but her sentence was commuted to life in prison. She was paroled for "health reasons" after serving fifteen years, dying of breast and brain cancer in May 1936. Télesphore Gagnon was convicted of manslaughter and was released from prison for "good behaviour" after serving only 5 years. He returned to his home town where he remarried, and died peacefully in 1961.

Legacy

Two notable Quebec films, "" released in 1952 and "Aurore" in 2005, have been based on Aurore Gagnon's life and death. Télesphore Gagnon tried - but failed - to block the release of the 1952 film version. Quebec actress Marianne Fortier portrayed Aurore in the later film.

Numerous books have also been published detailing the life of Aurore Gagnon.

Less than a year after her murder in 1920, the first dramatic production of the story was written by Louis Petitjean, which quickly become his most famous play.

Aurore remains a popular cultural icon in Quebec, with an almost mythical status.

External links

* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=7382 Biography at "the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
* [http://www.canadianmysteries.ca/sites/gagnon/accueil/indexen.html Aurore! The Mystery of the Martyred Child] - Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History