6. Despite a Track Record of Violent Psychosis That Hinted at the Evil to Come, Marcel Petiot Managed to Become a Doctor
It is remarkable that Marcel Petiot managed to become a doctor in the first place, considering that he was certifiably crazy. Indeed, there were multiple psychiatric diagnoses that declared him to be a violent psychopath. However, beneath the nuttiness, the man was actually pretty intelligent. Especially when it came to book smarts. After WWI ended, he joined an accelerated educational program intended to benefit veterans who had spent a significant chunk of their youth in the trenches instead of in university lecture halls.
Petiot ended up completing medical school in eight months, did an internship and residency in a psychiatric hospital of all places, and in 1921, received his medical degree and license. He moved to and opened up a practice in the small town of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, in Burgundy. From the start, Petiot was a sketchy MD. He gained a reputation for supplying illegal drugs – he was himself an addict – and performing illegal abortions. When he was not keeping office hours, Dr. Petiot kept himself occupied with things like petty thefts.