He then met a young Indian man, Ajay Chowdbury who became his partner in crime. Sobhraj’s charismatic personality drew people to him, and he was able to manipulate them. He linked up with Canadian Marie-Andree Leclerc, and she became his next partner companion and assistant. His first known victim was an American tourist Teresa Knowlton who was found drowned in a tidal pool in Thailand. He used to befriend tourists, then drug them then steal their possessions and kill them. As he was fluent in a number of languages and because he had a charming manner about him, he was able to win the trust of his victims. Most of his victims were young backpackers from western countries who were travelling on what was known as the Asian Hippie Trail. Sobhraj managed to escape, but his brother was deported to Turkey where he was sentenced to 18 years in prison.ĭuring the 1970s and 1980s, it is believed that Charles Sobhraj murdered between 12 and 24 people in South-East Asia. After his brother Andre went to Turkey, they met up and began a life of crime as a duo. Compagnon then left Sobhraj, returning to France with their daughter.Ĭhantal Compagnon then travelled around Eastern Europe and the Middle East. He was arrested once more, feigned illness and escape, returning to India. Sobhraj and his wife once again began robbing tourists on what was known as the Hippie Trail.
At this stage, he had also developed a gambling addiction.Īfter being arrested in 1973 for attempting to rob a jeweller, Sobhraj was arrested, and after his father paid his bail, he jumped bail and went to Kabul. In Mumbai, Charles Sobhraj continued operating in the underworld as a smuggler and car theft operative. They eventually settled in Mumbai where their daughter was born.
They travelled on false passports through Eastern Europe, befriending and robbing tourists. When he was released, he married Chantal Compagnon, and the couple fled France and relocated to Asia (1970). He met a French woman, Chantal Compagnon, and they fell in love, but before they could marry, he was imprisoned for eight months for driving a stolen car and attempting to avoid the police. Sobhraj had the opportunity to mix with Parisian society but continued with his life of crime through conning people and robbery. He met a prison volunteer, Felix d’Escogne, who befriended and allowed him to live in his home upon his release from prison. Charles Sobhraj began anti-social and criminal behaviour as a teenager, and in 1963, he was jailed for burglary in France.
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