Incredible story of 19th century socialite who was kept prisoner for 25 years by her mother for wanting to marry the wrong man

Blanche Monnier was just like every other 25-year-old in 1876 France, trying to settle down before she ran out of time. She met and fell in love with an older broke lawyer who her aristocratic mother didn't approve of. One day Blanche vanished without a trace, her mother and brother went through the motions, mourned for her and carried on with life. But they held a terrible secret, Blanche was locked up in the attic, living in her own filth.

On may 23rd 1901, the office of The Attorney General of Paris received an anonymous letter which read : 'Monsieur Attorney General: I have the honor to inform you of an exceptionally serious occurrence. I speak of a spinster who is locked up in Madame Monnier's house, half starved, and living on a putrid litter for the past twenty-five years – in a word, in her own filth'.

Shocked by the letter, police decided to investigate the estate despite Monnier's family sterling reputation. A group of officers broke into the house, searched the premises and upstairs noticed a padlocked door. When they removed the lock, a horrifying smell filled their noses. 

They were met by a most astonishing sight, a malnourished woman weighing just 55 pounds, covered in bits of food and faeces squinted at them as she beheld the light and humans she had not set eyes on for 25 years.

A witness described the gruesome discovery: 

'The unfortunate woman was lying completely naked on a rotten straw mattress. All around her was formed a sort of crust made from excrement, fragments of meat, vegetables, fish, and rotten bread.'

'We also saw oyster shells and bugs running across Mademoiselle Monnier's bed,' he went on. 'The air was so unbreathable, the odor given off by the room was so rank, that it was impossible for us to stay any longer to proceed with our investigation.' 

Madame Monnier, who had won an award from the Committee of Good Works for her generous contributions to the city, was immediately arrested. 

She died 15 days later after admitting the crime to police.

When her daughter refused to back down on her relationship with the lawyer, Madame Monnier locked her up in a tiny room until she gave in. 

For 25 years, Blanche only ate scraps from her mother's meals. Her punishment continued even after the death of her lover in 1885.

Blanche's brother Marcel stood trial for helping her mother in the ordeal and was initially sentenced to 15 months in prison. He was later acquitted on claims that Blanche could have left at any time, but chose not to. He walked free to the horror of the crowd in the courtroom. 

Blanche Monnier, also known in France as La Séquestrée de Poitiers, died in 1913 in a sanitarium in Bois.

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Eva Caneiro drags Mourihno and Chelsea Fc to court.

Dr Carneiro's lawyers have named Mourinho as a respondent in the ongoing legal wrangle. The news suggests that Carneiro holds Mourinho responsible in part or in full for her departure from Stamford Bridge. Details of the claim have been lodged with the Employment Tribunal and Chelsea are now aware of the details in the claim. It means the Portuguese manager will have to appear in person at an employment tribunal unless the case is settled out of court beforehand. Under employment law, an individual can be personally liable for damages if victimization or discrimination can be proved.

Chelsea responded on Monday evening with a statement reading: "As the matter is subject to legal proceedings it would not be appropriate to comment at this time." Helen Brooks, an employment lawyer, explained on SSNHQ how Mourinho could end up in court with news that the Chelsea boss had been named as a respondent. Brooks said: "It looks like there may be a claim that's been brought for sex discrimination as well as constructive unfair dismissal. "With discrimination claims in the UK, an individual can be named as a respondent. Which means Jose Mourinho could well be named in those proceedings. For a constructive unfair dismissal claim it would be the club that's the respondent." 

Regarding the timeline of any case with the Employment Tribunal, Brooks believes it could be within five to six months. She added that emails, texts and "any documents relevant to the issues in dispute" would be called upon as evidence, with any witnesses expected to give evidence in person. Part of the case will focus on the events back in August and the final moments of Chelsea's 2-2 draw against Swansea.

The two sides could well settle before the claims and counter-claims are aired in public at a tribunal, but Monday's developments - and the naming of Mourinho as a main respondent - will do little to ease the pressure on the beleaguered Chelsea boss. Mourinho has seen his side lose six out of 11 matches in the Premier League so far to leave the reigning champions in 15th spot in the table.

BVN: No deactivation of customer's accounts as CBN extends date for customers in Diaspora.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the timeline for Nigerian bank customers in the Diaspora to enroll for their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) to January 31, 2016. This is contained in statement by the Bank’s Director, Corporate Communications, Mr Ibrahim Mu’azu, on Monday in Abuja. It explained that the extension was to enable the customers in Diaspora to complete the enrollment as well as link the BVN to their respective accounts. It stated that the extension was only for customers in the Diaspora and advised Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) to ensure that the exemption was utilized by the targeted group only.

“The CBN has also expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the implementation of the BVN project, especially for accounts operated by residents of Nigeria. “However, with the expiration of the Oct. 31 enrollment deadline, the CBN has directed that bank accounts of Nigeria residents without the BVN would henceforth be operated as `no customers initiated debit’. “That is until the account holders obtain and attach BVNs to the accounts. This means that a customer may not be allowed to withdraw money from his or her account until the BVN has been acquired and linked to the account,” it stated.

The statement clarified that accounts of Nigeria residents without BVN would continue to receive cash and electronic credit inflows and would neither be deactivated nor confiscated. It therefore advised the deposit money banks to educate their customers accordingly. It also advised the banks to remind their customers of the need to link their BVN with their accounts if they had done the enrollment at another bank. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the CBN had issued a statement that any customer without the BVN by Oct. 31, would be deemed to have inadequate Know Your Customer requirements.

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