Antoine François Desrues

He was known as a man of great piety and devotion, and his business was reputed to be a flourishing one, but when, in 1773, he gave up his shop, his finances, owing to personal extravagance, were in a deplorable condition.

Then, having forged a receipt for the purchase money and taken on the aristocratic name "Desrues de Bury," he endeavoured to obtain possession of the property.

[1] But by this time the disappearance of Madame de la Motte and her son had aroused suspicion.

He was originally sentenced to life in prison, but was retried and condemned to be torn asunder alive and burned.

[1] An extended debate ensued after his death, which was seen as a touchstone for understanding both the last years of the Ancien Régime and the early revolutionary period, with Balzac, Hugo, and Dumas among the participants.