It’s been five decades since the chilling murders committed by French serial killer Charles Sobhraj and his girlfriend Marie-Andree Leclerc gripped the globe – and now, they’ve become the focus of a new Channel 4 docuseries.
The new three-part series, The Real Serpent: Investigating a Serial Killer, is set to air on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm and will provide an ‘unparalleled insight’ into the life and crimes of the murderer, which took eight years in total to make.
Sobhaj, 79, preyed on Western tourists on the hippie trail of South Asia in the 1970s and lured them to their death – with his ‘snake-like ability’ to seduce and avoid detection by authorities earning him the notorious nickname The Serpent.
The killer returned home to Paris, France, in December 2022 to start a new life after he was released from prison in Nepal, where he served 19 years for his murderous crimes.
His life of crime and links to more than 20 killings were dramatised in the eight-part BBC miniseries ‘The Serpent’ – which later prompted the killer to threaten to sue the broadcaster, as well as Netflix, over the release of the ‘falsified’ TV drama.
The hit show also shed light on the combined efforts of his lover Marie-Andrée Leclerc, also known as Monique, who was played by Jenna Coleman, and accomplice Ajay Chowdhury, who helped in manipulating Sobhaj’s victims.
But what did the pair do and where are they now?
Charles Sobhaj (L), 79, preyed on Western tourists in South Asia in the 1970s and lured them to their death, with the help of lover Marie-Andrée Leclerc (L) and accomplice Ajay Chowdhury
Sobhraj (pictured) returned home to Paris, France, in December 2022 to start a new life after he was released from prison in Nepal, where he served 19 years for his murderous crimes
Who were Marie-Andrée Leclerc and Ajay Chowdhury?
In the Spring of 1975, Sobhraj met Marie-Andrée Leclerc, also known as Monique, a medical secretary from Quebec travelling India when he acted as her guide of the country.
Sobhraj had been financing his lifestyle by posing as either a salesman or drug dealer to impress tourists, who he then drugged, robbed and often murdered.
While he claimed that murders were often accidental drug overdoses, it was later alleged by investigators that Sobhraj’s motive for murder was silencing victims who threatened to expose him.
At this point the killer had been joined by Ajay Chowdhury, a young Indian man whom Sobhraj had met in a New Delhi park in 1975.
Soon after, Sobhraj offered him a job as a handyman that would lead to him being drawn into a web of theft and murder.
Three months after their initial meeting, Leclerc later flew to Bangkok to meet him after months of him seducing her with love letters – turning a blind eye to his philandering with local women.
In the Spring of 1975, Sobhraj met Marie-Andrée Leclerc (pictured), also known as Monique, a medical secretary from Quebec travelling India when he acted as her guide of the country
At this point the killer had been joined by Ajay Chowdhury (pictured), a young Indian man whom Sobhraj had met in a New Delhi park in 1975
How were Marie-Andrée Leclerc and Ajay Chowdery involved in Charles Sobhraj’s crimes?
Besotted, Leclerc became entwined in Sobhraj’s vicious crime spree, and would help him drug tourists to steal their passports and money.
Sobhraj and Leclerc first made a living by carrying out scams, and would initially target their victims by ‘helping’ them out of so-called difficult situations.
On one occasion, the pair provided shelter to a Frenchman, Dominique Renelleau, who appeared to be suffering from dysentery – in reality, he had been poisoned by the couple.
Ajay Chowdhury, meanwhile, became Sobhaj’s second-in-command, who would help him scam tourists by helping them out of situations he had caused, for example providing shelter to victims he had poisoned.
Years on, Nepal police revealed they were searching for him in connection with a series of murders, thefts and robberies, and that he is also suspected of burning victims’ bodies in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The three went on to commit their first known murders in 1975, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 20 Western tourists in South and South East Asia.
Some of the victims had spent some time with the pair before their deaths and were, according to investigators, recruited by Sobhraj and Chowdhury to join them in their crimes.
Although Sobhraj claimed that most of his murders were accidental drug overdoses, investigators determined that the victims had threatened to expose Sobhraj, which was his motive for murder.
Jenna Coleman (pictured) as Sobhraj’s lover Leclerc in the 2021 BBC drama The Serpent
Amesh Edireweera (pictured) as Sobhraj’s accomplice Ajay Chowdhury in BBC’s The Serpent
Leclerc became entwined in Sobhraj’s vicious crime spree, and would help him drug tourists to steal their passports and money, while Chowdhury became his second-in-command . Above: Jenna Coleman as Marie-Andrée Leclerc in the Netflix drama version of the story
What happened to Marie-Andrée Leclerc and Ajay Chowdhury?
In 1976, Sobhraj attempted to drug a group of 60 French students on holiday in New Delhi in an attempt to rob them of passports and cash by giving them sleeping pills disguised as antibiotics.
But, this time, it backfired when the poison began working a lot faster than he expected. When the first few students began falling where they stood, the others became alarmed and called the police.
Sobhraj was arrested in India, and ultimately spent 21 years in jail until his release in 2022, with a brief break in 1986 when he escaped and was caught again in the coastal state of Goa.
Meanwhile, Marie-Andrée Leclerc was incarcerated in Tihar prison and faced accusations of complicity in the murders of Jean-Luc Salomon and Avoni Jacob in India.
In 1980, both Leclerc and Sobhraj were convicted of the murder of Avoni Jacob. While Leclerc decided to appeal the judgment, her release from prison was approved with the condition that she could not leave the country.
In July 1983, Leclerc was diagnosed with a gynaelogical cancer and was granted permission to return to Canada, so long as she continued to report to the Indian High Commission in Ottawa every three months.
Leclerc died at Hôtel-Dieu in Lévis of her cancer at the age of 38 on 20 April 1984.
However, what happened to Ajay Chowdhury is disputedly one of the greatest mysteries of the Sobhraj case.
While unconfirmed, Ajay Chowdhury is suspected to have died after being sent on an trip for Sobhraj around Malaysia in 1976 and was never seen again.
There was one rumoured sighting of him in Germany in late 1976, but this claim has never been proven.
Though he has not been spotted in over 40 years, Nepal police were still searching for Chowdhury as recently in 2006.
The Real Serpent: Investigating a Serial Killer, airs on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm.
In 1980, both Leclerc and Sobhraj were convicted of the murder of Avoni Jacob, with Leclerc later released from prison with the condition that she could not leave India. Above: Netflix drama The Serpent
Sobhraj was arrested in India in 1976 and jailed in 1977 (pictured), and ultimately spent 21 years in jail until his release in 2022. Leclerc died of cancer in 1984 and Chowdhury was last sighted in 1976
