October 31, 2025 • 27 mins
Less than 3 months after Jacqueline disappeared, another young woman, Natalie Godart, vanishes from a busy area near the Mons train station. At the time, the two disappearances aren't linked. Belgian authorities and the public are completely unaware that a pattern is forming, and beneath the surface, a predator is on the loose.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
The Butcher of Moss is released weekly absolutely free, but
you can binge the entire season now with iHeart True
Crime Plus exclusively on Apple Podcasts. You'll also get ad
free listening and exclusive bonus episodes. So head to Apple
Podcasts search iHeart True Crime Plus and subscribe today.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
The views and opinions expressing this podcast are solely those
of the podcast author or individuals participating in the podcast,
and do not represent those of iHeartMedia, Tenderfoot TV, or
their employees. This podcast also contains subject matter which may
not be suitable for everyone. Listener discretion is advised.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
It was a crisp spring morning in March nineteen ninety
seven in the south of Belgium. Natalie Godard kicked off
her day by visiting the outdoor market near the center
of the small city of Malls. She liked to hit
(01:14):
the market just before clothes, when sellers offered the best
deals or sometimes even gave away whatever fruits and vegetables
they hadn't sold. Natalie needed every break she could get.
At twenty two, she was struggling after a difficult home
life followed by a series of bad choices. She was
(01:36):
an attractive young woman with reputation for being kind, so
people around the market and cafes and bars downtown had
a soft spot for Natalie. But her new boyfriend, Leopold
was a different story. He was anything but nice, but
people respected him and Natalie felt safe when he was around.
(01:56):
They were both free spirits in an on again, off
again relationship, living day by day, and on that day,
March sixteenth, nineteen ninety six, it was the White March
in mass. The White March was a peaceful protest in
solidarity with the families and victims of the d True Affair,
(02:17):
Belgium's most notorious criminal case, involving convicted serial killer Marked
a True and other accomplices. They kidnapped, abused, and murdered
several young girls. This tragedy was the subject of La
Montsless Season one. The White March in Moss was also
(02:37):
the last day Natalie go Dain would be seen alive.
Someone evil was watching her movements that day, waiting for
the opportunity to commit unspeakable crimes, crimes so horrific that
they haunt the citizens of Belgium still to this day.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
A mysteriously.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
The rest of the disappearance of a woman from Mont Jacqueline.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
The condition of the victims was sickening, and the question remains,
where is the killer?
Speaker 1 (03:36):
From Tenderfoot TV and iHeart Podcasts, I'm Your Host Matt
Graves and this is La Monstre Season two, The Butcher
of Moss. It had been less than three months since
Jacqueline Leclair disappeared in the center of Moss. Now another
young woman, Natalie go Dar, had vanished without a trace
(03:59):
from the same small city. There were no eye witnesses
to either of the two disappearances, despite having taken place
in the center of a densely populated Western European city
at the time, no link was established between Jacqueline Leclaire,
who disappeared on December twenty second, nineteen ninety six, and
Natalie Godard, who went missing roughly three months later on
(04:22):
March sixteenth, nineteen ninety seven. Jacqueline and Natalie disappeared at
a time when Belgium was reeling from the the True Affair.
The entire country was in shock and disbelief at the
horrific events leading up to and after the arrest of
Mark d' true and his accomplices. Here's a short clip
from season one of La Manstre.
Speaker 5 (04:45):
Public outrage at the catalog of atrocities attributed to this
man has escalated into nationwide anger at the system which
allowed the True and his accomplices to operate unchecked and
at will for years. Belgian justice is on trial.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
At the time that the True affair was unfolding, another
series of unthinkable crimes was taking place beneath the surface.
Police forces across the country were stretched to the maximum,
and disappearances of adult women in Moss weren't getting the
attention they deserved. I spoke with the journalist Frederic Law
about what it was like to cover these cases at
(05:27):
the time. Frederic is an award winning investigative journalist for
the famous French magazine Paris Match, and he's agreed to
help me with this project.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
I was a young journalist at the time of the
Jutrux affair and this case in Monts. I'm actually from Monts,
I grew up there, so this case was particularly interesting
for me. It was really a crazy time in Belgium.
I mean, the du True affair was blowing up and
(05:59):
stories were breaking every day. There was so much focus
on it that it sort of drawn out everything else.
As a young reporter, I covered everything. But since I
was from most as you know, I started following this
case the story closely. At the time, violence against women
(06:22):
did not attract the attention it does today, especially marginalized
woman like Jacqueline Leclaire and Natalie Godaar, And I would say,
despite the extraordinary work of the police and the judiciary,
it is reasonable to think that in another context, and
(06:43):
if they had a different profile, the resources allocated to
the investigation unit would have been greater.
Speaker 6 (07:00):
So we're here walking next to the train station and
we're in go in front of the last place.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
I'm standing in front of the last place Natali go
Dar was seen. You'll recall from the previous episode that
Xavier and I traveled to Monts to meet with Morgan
van Leerberg. Xavier is a private investigator who I've worked
with on other cases, and Morgan is an author who
wrote an incredible book about this affair. You'll also hear
(07:28):
some other voices in the background who will remain unnamed
given the sensitive nature of this still active case. Certain
federal police officers and judicial authorities aren't happy at all
about our reinvestigation. One of the people we're with explains
that Natalie was last spotted here in front of this
(07:50):
fast food establishment next to the central train station. Technically
it's what's called a fretri or a French fries shop,
a cultural staple in Belgium serving a thick cut, double
cooked French fries. You can pretty much find at least
one free tree in every village in town throughout the country.
(08:18):
On the evening of March sixteenth, nineteen ninety seven, Natalie
and her boyfriend Leopold joined up with friends at an
apartment in the city center after participating in the White
March earlier that day. As usual with this friend group,
there was a lot of drinking, smoking, and probably more.
(08:39):
At around eleven thirty pm, several of them, including Natalie
and Leopold, got the munchies and decided to hit this
free tree next to the train station. It's more of
a takeaway place as opposed to seeded eating, so Natalie
gave Leopold her order and decided to hang outside while
others went in. When they came out, Natalie was gone.
(09:09):
No one was really worried at the time because it
was a busy area with a lot of bars and nightlife.
Natalie was a free spirit, and they thought she just
wandered off and would find them later. One witness on
the other side of the street reported seeing her outside
of the free tree walking in the direction of the
train station, and that was it. No other leads Natalie
(09:36):
had vanished. The last person to see Natalie before she
(09:59):
disappeared here didn't notice anything suspicious. Morgan explains.
Speaker 7 (10:06):
There was a person who was at the free toeri
and then left and crossed the street here, and when
she turned around, she saw Natalie alone taking steps towards
the train station, but without knowing if she was really
walking towards the station or just meanderings of.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
The other side of the street.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
No one knew it at the time, but there was
a connection between Natalie Godard and Jacqueline Leclaire, who disappeared
a few months prior. Both women frequented several of the
same cafes and bars near the train station, and specifically
a small hotel and bar establishment called La Metropol. La
Metropol was and still is a quaint hotel and bar
(10:57):
across the street from the central train station. Despite its
location in this rough and tumble neighborhood, Le Metropold exuded
a higher standard than most of the surrounding establishments. At
the same time, it was a place welcome to all comers,
provided they stuck to the rules laid down by its warm,
yet intransigent owner, Madame ganche She bought the establishment way
(11:20):
back in nineteen seventy eight and can still be found
holding down the bar today, forty six years later. Madame
ganche knew both Jacqueline and Natalie, who were regulars at
Le Metropold Bar. Morgan has spent years building trust with
her to help him learn more about the case. She's
not easy to approach, so when he finally said that
(11:41):
she might speak to me if I showed up the
next day, I jumped on a train to Moss to
give it a shot.
Speaker 6 (11:48):
Here I am again, once more in Moss. I'm walking
into this new train station who was budgeted at thirty
eight million and the ending budget was five hundred million.
It's a national scandal. Here it looks like a space ship,
(12:10):
but I have to admit it's pretty beautiful.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Le Metropole is only about a two minute walk from
the train station and literally directly across the street from
the spot where Natalie Goddard disappeared.
Speaker 6 (12:22):
Oh well, here goes nothing. It was kind of shown
up at the Hotel Metropols. I think Monique is actually sick,
so uh, we'll see Monsieur.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Matt true deform. Monique was at her post running the bar.
It was pretty much empty at this relatively early hour.
She initially looked at me with a jaundiced eye, but
then warmed up when I mentioned that I was Morgan's friend.
I lucked out and she agreed to speak, and we
found a spot near the back. I started out by
(13:03):
asking if she could describe her memories of Jacqueline Leclaire,
the first woman who went missing in December nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 8 (13:11):
Jacquelin Jacqueline was very beautiful. She attracted people towards her.
She was really the contrary of the other women who
tried to do themselves up and attract gallantries left and right.
Maqui she didn't use makeup, and she wore blue jeans
(13:35):
or something like that, so she didn't try to make
herself beautiful because she didn't have to. She talked to
me about her children. She liked to connect and talk.
She needed someone to confide in, but she didn't go
too deep. She told me that she was separated and
(13:57):
that her husband had the children.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Tissed Saint Plumont.
Speaker 8 (14:02):
She was sad because she didn't have her children. She
was nice and agreeable. I never saw her have negative
conversations with others. She wasn't looking for anyone. She'd come
in to say hi to me because we knew each other.
She had a good head on her shoulders and wouldn't
get involved with someone she didn't know. It surprises me.
(14:25):
I think she knew the person who harmed her.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
I also asked Monique about the second young woman who disappeared,
Natalie go Dar. She was last seen less than one
hundred feet from where we're sitting right now, just under
three months after Jacqueline went missing.
Speaker 9 (14:45):
But Natalillo.
Speaker 8 (14:49):
Natalie was a girl who didn't look like much and
who didn't seem to worry about things. I never had
much conversation with her because she was always talking to
someone else who she knew, or someone just having a drink,
and she also went to the other bars around here
to drink. I often saw her with a former military guy,
a guy who had been in the military and was
(15:11):
missing an eye. She often spoke with him. He was
a beer drinker and so was she. When I heard
that she didn't have a place to live, I thought
it may be a crime of opportunity that whoever it
was who picked her up might have offered her a
night in a hotel. I don't know what he had
(15:33):
going on in his head. He certainly had planned and
organized his work and decided that he'd take her to
a hotel because she didn't have a place to live.
I don't know it could have been as simple as that.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Monique's theory that Natalie could have been offered a place
to stay that night stems from the fact that at
the time she was living on the streets with little
to no money. Well, Natalie and the first victim, Jacqueline,
came from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Both women were struggling at
the time of their disappearances, making them more vulnerable to
(16:08):
a predator. By the age of twenty two, Natalie go
dad had already endured a life of hardship. She grew
up in a dysfunctional, unloving family where affection and stability
(16:28):
were scarce. As a teenager, she sought escape from her
troubled home by spending time on the streets and getting
into unstable relationships. At nineteen, she became pregnant, but the
child's father refused to be involved, leaving her to navigate
an already difficult life alone. Her daughter, Laura, was eventually
(16:50):
placed in an infant orphanage. Here is Laura reflecting on
her early life and her mother's struggles in an interview
with a colleague.
Speaker 9 (17:02):
My mother was living in the streets. In the end,
she was marginalized, but she was above all someone who
was looking for help. She was looking for help, but
there was no one in her life to help her.
I was put into an orphanage. It was mom's decision
to put me there, but it was for my own
(17:24):
security because she knew she couldn't manage alone. She told
people around her that she wanted to get her life
under control so she could get me back. Afterwards, I
was placed with my maternal grandmother. I thought a lot
about my mother because I then understood what it was
(17:46):
like to live with her.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Mother.
Speaker 9 (17:49):
There was a lot of physical violence. Every day, I'd
get hit or insulted, repeated insults. My name was never pronounced.
I was called names, but never my own. She always
addressed me by a different insult. There were also death
(18:10):
threats I was told I'd nned up like my mother,
and I understood her solitude. It's impossible to live that
way without losing your footing at some point.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Natalie's daughter, Laura is an amazing person. Despite what she
went through, Laura found the strength to move forward, build
a life, and start a family of her own. Her
first hand account of what her mother must have endured
as heartbreaking. It's a cruel reminder of life's harsh injustices
and how we shouldn't rush to judge someone who's struggling
(18:47):
without understanding their circumstances. Both Natalie and Jacqueline were living
precarious lives and spending time in the bars and cafes
around the central station. Mons had a population of just
under a one hundred thousand people at the time, and
literally hundreds of bars and cafes spread throughout the city
and neighboring communes. Could it be a coincidence that two
(19:09):
regulars of a small bar went missing within months of
each other Sadly, no one was searching for Natalie because
she left home years prior and had been living rough
or wherever she could find a place to stay. Jacqueline's family,
on the other hand was continuing to search for her.
They knew she wouldn't just run off somewhere. In fact,
(19:30):
just before her disappearance, she'd been more optimistic than in
a long time, and she was looking forward to likely
getting to spend time with her four children over the holidays.
The owner of La Metropol, Madame Ganche, also confirmed this.
Mont Le tr.
Speaker 8 (19:46):
My Guesza. The last time I saw her was in
a supermarket. She came up to me and said, I
have to tell you that I'm so happy because I'm
going to get my children over Christmas and New Years.
They're coming to.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Vien Move that she should thump me down.
Speaker 8 (20:04):
And I said, that's wonderful, and I'm really happy for you.
She had changed her hairstyle, her hair was short, and
she seemed completely changed. The fact that someone is getting
her children back can also change a person. She was
perky and animated because her children were coming home. She said,
(20:25):
I'm getting ready. I'm so happy, I'm so happy. It
was the last time I saw her. It was around Christmas,
and a few days later she disappeared.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Jacqueline's family rapped their brains to try to think if
there was any sign or anyone in her life who
could be involved with her disappearance. According to her sister,
she was so focused on rebuilding her life and getting
shared custody of the children that she wasn't open to
new relationships at the time. There was one detail, however,
that she couldn't shake. These are her words translated into English.
Speaker 10 (21:18):
About a year before her disappearance, she met someone in
the Wauxhall Park in monts She crossed path with him
a few times before, and at one point he approached
her for a conversation. She said it didn't seem to
be trying to charm or flirt with her. It seemed
like a good person, respectful. She had mentioned this mant
(21:43):
to me she found him rather nice, cultured and intelligent,
a pleasure to speak with. After meeting him in the park,
my sister ran into him a few more times. Jacqueline
was surprised by this, and I think that's why she
mentioned it to me. She always seems to bump into
(22:04):
him by chance, but at some point she felt that
dese encounters were probably orchestrated, maybe even calculated.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Who was this man with a habit of fortuitously bumping
into Jacqueline? We know that they cross paths in many
places where Jacqueline's life regularly took her. These include the
Walkshall Park roughly a mile west of her apartment, the
laundromat directly next to her place, and the metropols roughly
a mile east of her apartment. It seems odd that
(22:36):
she'd arbitrarily bump into the same person several times in
these random locations. His demeanor and appearance were distinct. He
seemed to be in his late forties or early fifties,
and he dressed impeccably and spoke articulately in a distinguished manner.
Not the sort of man you'd expect to bump into
it a laundromat in a rough part of town, or
(22:58):
the bars near the train station. Jacqueline's sister spent years
trying to identify this man. Morgan van Leaerberg, the author
who you heard in episode one, has continued the search.
Identifying this man could be the key to unearthing new
information about not only Jacqueline, but also about Natalie's disappearance.
(23:21):
So I'm teaming up with a private investigator Xavier, the
author Morgan, and the investigative journalist Frederic to see if together,
we can find him.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
The police never identified what this man was. If you
think about it, it could be quite important. I mean,
Jacqueline told her sister that she thought the man was
observing her. It's not going to be easy, but we
have to identify this man.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
As nineteen ninety six turned into ninety seven, life and
the city of Mons carried on as usual. The bars
and cafes around the central station rumbled along normally. Some
of the regulars knew that Jacqueline's sister was looking for
her because of the posters, but most of them didn't
(24:15):
even know that Natalie was missing. The disappearances of these
two young women didn't even make the headlines. Apart from
a brief mention about Jacqueline's disappearance on local news. Citizens
of Malls went about their normal business and young women
continued to live their lives uninterrupted. But all of this
(24:39):
was about to change next time. On season two of La.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
Monstre Simfourian Street in Havrey, ne Mon, it's four pm,
but police forces are holding back the press from where
(25:04):
three new trash bags were just discovered containing human remains.
The King's prosecutor explains what seems more and more to
resemble a sordid treasure hunt. I can confirm as well
that on the left forearm of one of the victims
there was removal of roughly five centimeters of flesh.
Speaker 10 (25:23):
I feared that the garbage bags contain my sister's body.
Jacqueline add a tattoo of her hex husband Angelo on
a left fore arm.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
I played.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
After the terrible discoveries of Saturday, investigators made a new
discovery yesterday afternoon of the torso of a woman. Ten
trash bags have been discovered so far. Investigators believe it
is the work of a serial killer. For the moment,
none of the victims have been identified.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Le Monstre is a production of Tenderfoot TV and iHeart Podcasts. Hosted, written,
and executive produced by me Matt Graves, Donald Albright and
Payne Lindsay are executive producers on the behalf of Tenderfoot TV,
with producer make Up and Vanity Set. Matt Frederick and
Trevor Young are executive producers on the behalf of iHeart Podcasts.
(26:20):
Original music by Jay Ragsdale, sound design and master by
Cooper Skinner. Cover design by Byron McCoy and Trevor Eiler.
Lea Monstre includes archival audio from SONYMA RTBF Archives. Special
thanks to Aren Rosenbaum and the team at UTA, the
Nord Group and are Active Investigation Team Morgen van Leerberg,
(26:41):
Frederic Laugh, Xervid Comb and Annan Gardon, as well as
the teams at iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV. Find us
on social media at Monster Underscore pod. For more podcasts
like Lea Monstre, search Tenderfoot TV in your podcast app
or visit Tenderfoot TV. Ready to keep listening, remember you
(27:10):
can benge the rest of the season right now with
an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription available exclusively on Apple
Podcasts Plus. You'll get exclusive bonus episodes and add free listening.
So head to Apple Podcasts search iHeart True Crime Plus
and subscribe today
The Butcher of Moss is released weekly absolutely free, but
you can binge the entire season now with iHeart True
Crime Plus exclusively on Apple Podcasts. You'll also get ad
free listening and exclusive bonus episodes. So head to Apple
Podcasts search iHeart True Crime Plus and subscribe today.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
The views and opinions expressing this podcast are solely those
of the podcast author or individuals participating in the podcast,
and do not represent those of iHeartMedia, Tenderfoot TV, or
their employees. This podcast also contains subject matter which may
not be suitable for everyone. Listener discretion is advised.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
It was a crisp spring morning in March nineteen ninety
seven in the south of Belgium. Natalie Godard kicked off
her day by visiting the outdoor market near the center
of the small city of Malls. She liked to hit
(01:14):
the market just before clothes, when sellers offered the best
deals or sometimes even gave away whatever fruits and vegetables
they hadn't sold. Natalie needed every break she could get.
At twenty two, she was struggling after a difficult home
life followed by a series of bad choices. She was
(01:36):
an attractive young woman with reputation for being kind, so
people around the market and cafes and bars downtown had
a soft spot for Natalie. But her new boyfriend, Leopold
was a different story. He was anything but nice, but
people respected him and Natalie felt safe when he was around.
(01:56):
They were both free spirits in an on again, off
again relationship, living day by day, and on that day,
March sixteenth, nineteen ninety six, it was the White March
in mass. The White March was a peaceful protest in
solidarity with the families and victims of the d True Affair,
(02:17):
Belgium's most notorious criminal case, involving convicted serial killer Marked
a True and other accomplices. They kidnapped, abused, and murdered
several young girls. This tragedy was the subject of La
Montsless Season one. The White March in Moss was also
(02:37):
the last day Natalie go Dain would be seen alive.
Someone evil was watching her movements that day, waiting for
the opportunity to commit unspeakable crimes, crimes so horrific that
they haunt the citizens of Belgium still to this day.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
A mysteriously.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
The rest of the disappearance of a woman from Mont Jacqueline.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
The condition of the victims was sickening, and the question remains,
where is the killer?
Speaker 1 (03:36):
From Tenderfoot TV and iHeart Podcasts, I'm Your Host Matt
Graves and this is La Monstre Season two, The Butcher
of Moss. It had been less than three months since
Jacqueline Leclair disappeared in the center of Moss. Now another
young woman, Natalie go Dar, had vanished without a trace
(03:59):
from the same small city. There were no eye witnesses
to either of the two disappearances, despite having taken place
in the center of a densely populated Western European city
at the time, no link was established between Jacqueline Leclaire,
who disappeared on December twenty second, nineteen ninety six, and
Natalie Godard, who went missing roughly three months later on
(04:22):
March sixteenth, nineteen ninety seven. Jacqueline and Natalie disappeared at
a time when Belgium was reeling from the the True Affair.
The entire country was in shock and disbelief at the
horrific events leading up to and after the arrest of
Mark d' true and his accomplices. Here's a short clip
from season one of La Manstre.
Speaker 5 (04:45):
Public outrage at the catalog of atrocities attributed to this
man has escalated into nationwide anger at the system which
allowed the True and his accomplices to operate unchecked and
at will for years. Belgian justice is on trial.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
At the time that the True affair was unfolding, another
series of unthinkable crimes was taking place beneath the surface.
Police forces across the country were stretched to the maximum,
and disappearances of adult women in Moss weren't getting the
attention they deserved. I spoke with the journalist Frederic Law
about what it was like to cover these cases at
(05:27):
the time. Frederic is an award winning investigative journalist for
the famous French magazine Paris Match, and he's agreed to
help me with this project.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
I was a young journalist at the time of the
Jutrux affair and this case in Monts. I'm actually from Monts,
I grew up there, so this case was particularly interesting
for me. It was really a crazy time in Belgium.
I mean, the du True affair was blowing up and
(05:59):
stories were breaking every day. There was so much focus
on it that it sort of drawn out everything else.
As a young reporter, I covered everything. But since I
was from most as you know, I started following this
case the story closely. At the time, violence against women
(06:22):
did not attract the attention it does today, especially marginalized
woman like Jacqueline Leclaire and Natalie Godaar, And I would say,
despite the extraordinary work of the police and the judiciary,
it is reasonable to think that in another context, and
(06:43):
if they had a different profile, the resources allocated to
the investigation unit would have been greater.
Speaker 6 (07:00):
So we're here walking next to the train station and
we're in go in front of the last place.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
I'm standing in front of the last place Natali go
Dar was seen. You'll recall from the previous episode that
Xavier and I traveled to Monts to meet with Morgan
van Leerberg. Xavier is a private investigator who I've worked
with on other cases, and Morgan is an author who
wrote an incredible book about this affair. You'll also hear
(07:28):
some other voices in the background who will remain unnamed
given the sensitive nature of this still active case. Certain
federal police officers and judicial authorities aren't happy at all
about our reinvestigation. One of the people we're with explains
that Natalie was last spotted here in front of this
(07:50):
fast food establishment next to the central train station. Technically
it's what's called a fretri or a French fries shop,
a cultural staple in Belgium serving a thick cut, double
cooked French fries. You can pretty much find at least
one free tree in every village in town throughout the country.
(08:18):
On the evening of March sixteenth, nineteen ninety seven, Natalie
and her boyfriend Leopold joined up with friends at an
apartment in the city center after participating in the White
March earlier that day. As usual with this friend group,
there was a lot of drinking, smoking, and probably more.
(08:39):
At around eleven thirty pm, several of them, including Natalie
and Leopold, got the munchies and decided to hit this
free tree next to the train station. It's more of
a takeaway place as opposed to seeded eating, so Natalie
gave Leopold her order and decided to hang outside while
others went in. When they came out, Natalie was gone.
(09:09):
No one was really worried at the time because it
was a busy area with a lot of bars and nightlife.
Natalie was a free spirit, and they thought she just
wandered off and would find them later. One witness on
the other side of the street reported seeing her outside
of the free tree walking in the direction of the
train station, and that was it. No other leads Natalie
(09:36):
had vanished. The last person to see Natalie before she
(09:59):
disappeared here didn't notice anything suspicious. Morgan explains.
Speaker 7 (10:06):
There was a person who was at the free toeri
and then left and crossed the street here, and when
she turned around, she saw Natalie alone taking steps towards
the train station, but without knowing if she was really
walking towards the station or just meanderings of.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
The other side of the street.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
No one knew it at the time, but there was
a connection between Natalie Godard and Jacqueline Leclaire, who disappeared
a few months prior. Both women frequented several of the
same cafes and bars near the train station, and specifically
a small hotel and bar establishment called La Metropol. La
Metropol was and still is a quaint hotel and bar
(10:57):
across the street from the central train station. Despite its
location in this rough and tumble neighborhood, Le Metropold exuded
a higher standard than most of the surrounding establishments. At
the same time, it was a place welcome to all comers,
provided they stuck to the rules laid down by its warm,
yet intransigent owner, Madame ganche She bought the establishment way
(11:20):
back in nineteen seventy eight and can still be found
holding down the bar today, forty six years later. Madame
ganche knew both Jacqueline and Natalie, who were regulars at
Le Metropold Bar. Morgan has spent years building trust with
her to help him learn more about the case. She's
not easy to approach, so when he finally said that
(11:41):
she might speak to me if I showed up the
next day, I jumped on a train to Moss to
give it a shot.
Speaker 6 (11:48):
Here I am again, once more in Moss. I'm walking
into this new train station who was budgeted at thirty
eight million and the ending budget was five hundred million.
It's a national scandal. Here it looks like a space ship,
(12:10):
but I have to admit it's pretty beautiful.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Le Metropole is only about a two minute walk from
the train station and literally directly across the street from
the spot where Natalie Goddard disappeared.
Speaker 6 (12:22):
Oh well, here goes nothing. It was kind of shown
up at the Hotel Metropols. I think Monique is actually sick,
so uh, we'll see Monsieur.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Matt true deform. Monique was at her post running the bar.
It was pretty much empty at this relatively early hour.
She initially looked at me with a jaundiced eye, but
then warmed up when I mentioned that I was Morgan's friend.
I lucked out and she agreed to speak, and we
found a spot near the back. I started out by
(13:03):
asking if she could describe her memories of Jacqueline Leclaire,
the first woman who went missing in December nineteen ninety six.
Speaker 8 (13:11):
Jacquelin Jacqueline was very beautiful. She attracted people towards her.
She was really the contrary of the other women who
tried to do themselves up and attract gallantries left and right.
Maqui she didn't use makeup, and she wore blue jeans
(13:35):
or something like that, so she didn't try to make
herself beautiful because she didn't have to. She talked to
me about her children. She liked to connect and talk.
She needed someone to confide in, but she didn't go
too deep. She told me that she was separated and
(13:57):
that her husband had the children.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Tissed Saint Plumont.
Speaker 8 (14:02):
She was sad because she didn't have her children. She
was nice and agreeable. I never saw her have negative
conversations with others. She wasn't looking for anyone. She'd come
in to say hi to me because we knew each other.
She had a good head on her shoulders and wouldn't
get involved with someone she didn't know. It surprises me.
(14:25):
I think she knew the person who harmed her.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
I also asked Monique about the second young woman who disappeared,
Natalie go Dar. She was last seen less than one
hundred feet from where we're sitting right now, just under
three months after Jacqueline went missing.
Speaker 9 (14:45):
But Natalillo.
Speaker 8 (14:49):
Natalie was a girl who didn't look like much and
who didn't seem to worry about things. I never had
much conversation with her because she was always talking to
someone else who she knew, or someone just having a drink,
and she also went to the other bars around here
to drink. I often saw her with a former military guy,
a guy who had been in the military and was
(15:11):
missing an eye. She often spoke with him. He was
a beer drinker and so was she. When I heard
that she didn't have a place to live, I thought
it may be a crime of opportunity that whoever it
was who picked her up might have offered her a
night in a hotel. I don't know what he had
(15:33):
going on in his head. He certainly had planned and
organized his work and decided that he'd take her to
a hotel because she didn't have a place to live.
I don't know it could have been as simple as that.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Monique's theory that Natalie could have been offered a place
to stay that night stems from the fact that at
the time she was living on the streets with little
to no money. Well, Natalie and the first victim, Jacqueline,
came from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Both women were struggling at
the time of their disappearances, making them more vulnerable to
(16:08):
a predator. By the age of twenty two, Natalie go
dad had already endured a life of hardship. She grew
up in a dysfunctional, unloving family where affection and stability
(16:28):
were scarce. As a teenager, she sought escape from her
troubled home by spending time on the streets and getting
into unstable relationships. At nineteen, she became pregnant, but the
child's father refused to be involved, leaving her to navigate
an already difficult life alone. Her daughter, Laura, was eventually
(16:50):
placed in an infant orphanage. Here is Laura reflecting on
her early life and her mother's struggles in an interview
with a colleague.
Speaker 9 (17:02):
My mother was living in the streets. In the end,
she was marginalized, but she was above all someone who
was looking for help. She was looking for help, but
there was no one in her life to help her.
I was put into an orphanage. It was mom's decision
to put me there, but it was for my own
(17:24):
security because she knew she couldn't manage alone. She told
people around her that she wanted to get her life
under control so she could get me back. Afterwards, I
was placed with my maternal grandmother. I thought a lot
about my mother because I then understood what it was
(17:46):
like to live with her.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Mother.
Speaker 9 (17:49):
There was a lot of physical violence. Every day, I'd
get hit or insulted, repeated insults. My name was never pronounced.
I was called names, but never my own. She always
addressed me by a different insult. There were also death
(18:10):
threats I was told I'd nned up like my mother,
and I understood her solitude. It's impossible to live that
way without losing your footing at some point.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Natalie's daughter, Laura is an amazing person. Despite what she
went through, Laura found the strength to move forward, build
a life, and start a family of her own. Her
first hand account of what her mother must have endured
as heartbreaking. It's a cruel reminder of life's harsh injustices
and how we shouldn't rush to judge someone who's struggling
(18:47):
without understanding their circumstances. Both Natalie and Jacqueline were living
precarious lives and spending time in the bars and cafes
around the central station. Mons had a population of just
under a one hundred thousand people at the time, and
literally hundreds of bars and cafes spread throughout the city
and neighboring communes. Could it be a coincidence that two
(19:09):
regulars of a small bar went missing within months of
each other Sadly, no one was searching for Natalie because
she left home years prior and had been living rough
or wherever she could find a place to stay. Jacqueline's family,
on the other hand was continuing to search for her.
They knew she wouldn't just run off somewhere. In fact,
(19:30):
just before her disappearance, she'd been more optimistic than in
a long time, and she was looking forward to likely
getting to spend time with her four children over the holidays.
The owner of La Metropol, Madame Ganche, also confirmed this.
Mont Le tr.
Speaker 8 (19:46):
My Guesza. The last time I saw her was in
a supermarket. She came up to me and said, I
have to tell you that I'm so happy because I'm
going to get my children over Christmas and New Years.
They're coming to.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
Vien Move that she should thump me down.
Speaker 8 (20:04):
And I said, that's wonderful, and I'm really happy for you.
She had changed her hairstyle, her hair was short, and
she seemed completely changed. The fact that someone is getting
her children back can also change a person. She was
perky and animated because her children were coming home. She said,
(20:25):
I'm getting ready. I'm so happy, I'm so happy. It
was the last time I saw her. It was around Christmas,
and a few days later she disappeared.
Speaker 1 (20:49):
Jacqueline's family rapped their brains to try to think if
there was any sign or anyone in her life who
could be involved with her disappearance. According to her sister,
she was so focused on rebuilding her life and getting
shared custody of the children that she wasn't open to
new relationships at the time. There was one detail, however,
that she couldn't shake. These are her words translated into English.
Speaker 10 (21:18):
About a year before her disappearance, she met someone in
the Wauxhall Park in monts She crossed path with him
a few times before, and at one point he approached
her for a conversation. She said it didn't seem to
be trying to charm or flirt with her. It seemed
like a good person, respectful. She had mentioned this mant
(21:43):
to me she found him rather nice, cultured and intelligent,
a pleasure to speak with. After meeting him in the park,
my sister ran into him a few more times. Jacqueline
was surprised by this, and I think that's why she
mentioned it to me. She always seems to bump into
(22:04):
him by chance, but at some point she felt that
dese encounters were probably orchestrated, maybe even calculated.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
Who was this man with a habit of fortuitously bumping
into Jacqueline? We know that they cross paths in many
places where Jacqueline's life regularly took her. These include the
Walkshall Park roughly a mile west of her apartment, the
laundromat directly next to her place, and the metropols roughly
a mile east of her apartment. It seems odd that
(22:36):
she'd arbitrarily bump into the same person several times in
these random locations. His demeanor and appearance were distinct. He
seemed to be in his late forties or early fifties,
and he dressed impeccably and spoke articulately in a distinguished manner.
Not the sort of man you'd expect to bump into
it a laundromat in a rough part of town, or
(22:58):
the bars near the train station. Jacqueline's sister spent years
trying to identify this man. Morgan van Leaerberg, the author
who you heard in episode one, has continued the search.
Identifying this man could be the key to unearthing new
information about not only Jacqueline, but also about Natalie's disappearance.
(23:21):
So I'm teaming up with a private investigator Xavier, the
author Morgan, and the investigative journalist Frederic to see if together,
we can find him.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
The police never identified what this man was. If you
think about it, it could be quite important. I mean,
Jacqueline told her sister that she thought the man was
observing her. It's not going to be easy, but we
have to identify this man.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
As nineteen ninety six turned into ninety seven, life and
the city of Mons carried on as usual. The bars
and cafes around the central station rumbled along normally. Some
of the regulars knew that Jacqueline's sister was looking for
her because of the posters, but most of them didn't
(24:15):
even know that Natalie was missing. The disappearances of these
two young women didn't even make the headlines. Apart from
a brief mention about Jacqueline's disappearance on local news. Citizens
of Malls went about their normal business and young women
continued to live their lives uninterrupted. But all of this
(24:39):
was about to change next time. On season two of La.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
Monstre Simfourian Street in Havrey, ne Mon, it's four pm,
but police forces are holding back the press from where
(25:04):
three new trash bags were just discovered containing human remains.
The King's prosecutor explains what seems more and more to
resemble a sordid treasure hunt. I can confirm as well
that on the left forearm of one of the victims
there was removal of roughly five centimeters of flesh.
Speaker 10 (25:23):
I feared that the garbage bags contain my sister's body.
Jacqueline add a tattoo of her hex husband Angelo on
a left fore arm.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
I played.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
After the terrible discoveries of Saturday, investigators made a new
discovery yesterday afternoon of the torso of a woman. Ten
trash bags have been discovered so far. Investigators believe it
is the work of a serial killer. For the moment,
none of the victims have been identified.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Le Monstre is a production of Tenderfoot TV and iHeart Podcasts. Hosted, written,
and executive produced by me Matt Graves, Donald Albright and
Payne Lindsay are executive producers on the behalf of Tenderfoot TV,
with producer make Up and Vanity Set. Matt Frederick and
Trevor Young are executive producers on the behalf of iHeart Podcasts.
(26:20):
Original music by Jay Ragsdale, sound design and master by
Cooper Skinner. Cover design by Byron McCoy and Trevor Eiler.
Lea Monstre includes archival audio from SONYMA RTBF Archives. Special
thanks to Aren Rosenbaum and the team at UTA, the
Nord Group and are Active Investigation Team Morgen van Leerberg,
(26:41):
Frederic Laugh, Xervid Comb and Annan Gardon, as well as
the teams at iHeart Podcasts and Tenderfoot TV. Find us
on social media at Monster Underscore pod. For more podcasts
like Lea Monstre, search Tenderfoot TV in your podcast app
or visit Tenderfoot TV. Ready to keep listening, remember you
(27:10):
can benge the rest of the season right now with
an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription available exclusively on Apple
Podcasts Plus. You'll get exclusive bonus episodes and add free listening.
So head to Apple Podcasts search iHeart True Crime Plus
and subscribe today
Host
Matt Graves
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