The system used Andruet's memory, his mathematical prowess, and the card-counting method devised by American player Ken Uston to its advantage.
[1] In his first year of using the martingale, Andruet won a lot of money and played increasingly often in casinos around the world, both out of enjoyment for the game and for the financial opportunities on offer.
This led to the large amount of money won at blackjack rapidly evaporating, and he entered into the vicious cycle of gambling addiction.
He spent more money than he had, took out loans that he could not repay, was banned from holding a bank account (known as interdit bancaire – literally “bank-barred” – in France),[2] became homeless, and his lifestyle became increasingly chaotic and vulnerable.
[6] At around 11 p.m. on 21 August 1995, Gilles Andruet drove his car to a branch of the L’Entrecôte restaurant chain in Paris to meet Yolanda, a friend who worked as a waitress there.
[7] Gilles Andruet's body was discovered by a market trader in the early hours of 22 August 1995, wrapped in a white mattress protector and half submerged in the river Yvette in Saulx-les-Chartreux, in the Essonne département south of Paris.
[16] 18 witnesses were called, many of whom are believed to have been threatened – they displayed unusual memory lapses or submitted medical certificates excusing them from attending court.
The latter's conviction rested on witness statements and mitochondrial DNA extracted from the hair found on the mattress protector.
[18] Joseph Liany appealed against his conviction and was granted a retrial in March 2006 at the Court of Assizes of the Val-de-Marne département.