Reportedly having become very pious during his time in prison, Romand lived under strict conditions with the monks of the abbey, only being allowed to leave the premises for a few hours a day.
[1] Romand has also been suspected to have played a part in the death of his father-in-law, Pierre Crolet, who fell from a staircase on 23 October 1988.
[citation needed] Romand told friends and family that he had passed the first and second year medical examinations in 1975, when in fact he had purposely avoided taking either.
[6][7] For 18 years, Romand posed as a successful medical professional and researcher in the World Health Organization (WHO).
Pierre Crolet had a fatal fall on the stairs of his house a few days after asking for reimbursement of part of his financial investment.
[5] On 9 January 1993, Romand withdrew 2,000 francs (equivalent to €301 in 2022) and borrowed a .22 rifle from his father, for which he purchased a suppressor and gas canisters and asked for them to be gift wrapped.
Pretending that they were lost, he made her get out of the car and attempted to strangle her with a cord, spraying tear gas into her face.
That night, he sat and watched television before he poured petrol around the house, set it on fire, and took an overdose of sleeping pills.
[9] Whether this suicide attempt was genuine is doubtful, since some writers have pointed out that the pills he took were long expired and he had access to more effective barbiturates.
[12] French author Emmanuel Carrère corresponded with Romand during his imprisonment and wrote a book, L'Adversaire (The Adversary), based on the case.
[13] Nicole Garcia directed a movie, L'Adversaire (2002), based on the book; actor Daniel Auteuil played the part of Romand (renamed Jean-Marc Faure in the film).
Philosopher Jean Baudrillard analyzed Romand's case in his book of essays The Intelligence of Evil or the Lucidity Pact.
He describes Romand's secret life not as a dissimulation but as a genuine doubling: "To transfigure insignificance and banality, all that is needed is to turn them into a parallel universe.