Charles Sobhraj is a French serial killer, fraudster, and thief. During the 1970s, he preyed on Western tourists travelling through South Asia on the hippie trail.
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Charles Sobhraj was captured in July 1976 in New Delhi as he and his accomplices had set out to drug a large group of over 20 French tourists in a hotel lobby.
He was released in 1997 after the Thai arrest warrant expired and went to Paris, where he lived as a free man and celebrity criminal, giving press interviews and charging fans for lunch.
Charles Sobhraj returned to Nepal in 2003, one of the few countries where he could still be arrested and where authorities were still looking for him.
Charles Sobhraj was spotted in a casino in Kathmandu by a journalist for The Himalayan Times on September 1, 2003.
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The journalist followed him for two weeks and published a photo report in The Himalayan Times. When Nepalese police learned of the report, they raided the casino and arrested Sobhraj, who was still gambling there.
The police reopened the 1975 double murder case. On August 20, 2004, the Kathmandu district court sentenced Sobhraj to life in prison for the 1975 murder of Connie Jo Bronzich.
After serving 19 of the 20-year sentence, the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered his release from prison on December 21, 2022, citing his advanced age. He was released and deported to France on December 23 2022.
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