They called him the Serpent. Charles Sobhraj, a man with many pseudonyms, weaved his way across countries, slipping past authorities and ensnaring victims in his web of deception. He was charming, polite and deadly. His life and crimes have inspired books and documentaries. Now the latest drama from Netflix Black warrant brings him back to life on screen.

The series, told from the perspective of young prison guard Sunil Gupta, explores the gritty reality of Delhi’s Tihar Jail, with actor Sidhant Gupta essaying the role of the notorious serial killer.

But who is Charles Sobhraj? How did he become one of the most notorious criminals of the 20th century?

In 1970s Bangkok, two Dutch backpackers, Henk Bintanja and Cornelia Hemker, were enchanted by a gem dealer named Alaian Gautier. Little did they know that Gautier was just one of Charles Sobhraj’s many aliases. Days later, their lifeless bodies – strangled and burned – were discovered on the side of the road near Ayutthaya, about 80 km north of Bangkok.

But by the time authorities solved the crime, Sobhraj had disappeared.

This gruesome episode was just one chapter in a life of crime. Sobhraj was born in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) in 1944. His early years were a patchwork of abandonment. His father left the country when he was a child and his Vietnamese mother later remarried to a Frenchman. As a mixed-race child, Sobhraj faced discrimination and alienation. As a teenager he turned to petty crime.

Over time his criminal ambitions grew.

After several stays in juvenile detention centers and prisons in France, he expanded his activities throughout Europe and Asia, committing robberies, car thefts and smuggling. His ability to manipulate, charm and ultimately disappear made him a dangerous con artist.

During his stay in Paris he met Chantal Compagnon and together they traveled through Europe and South Asia. Even after Compagnon gave birth to their daughter, the couple continued to be involved in illegal activities. Sobhraj’s criminal acts escalated in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he murdered a taxi driver. In Bangkok, he opened a souvenir shop that served as an excuse for thefts by unsuspecting customers.

Even a brief arrest in Delhi while trying to rob a jewelry store didn’t slow him down. He managed to obtain bail and immediately fled to Kabul, leaving behind Compagnon and her daughter, who eventually returned to France. Sobhraj spent the next two years on the run, shuttling between Turkey, Greece and Thailand.

In the 1970s, Sobhraj set his sights on the “Hippie Trail,” a popular route for Western backpackers traveling through South Asia. He was fluent in several languages ​​and had a collection of fake passports. He hunted young travelers. He befriended them and often offered food or drinks laced with poison. Once incapacitated, his victims became easy targets for robbery or murder.

According to his biographers, Sobhraj confessed to at least twelve murders between 1972 and 1976, but later recanted these confessions. Although he admits to drugging and robbing his victims, he now denies being responsible for any murders. The true number of his victims remains uncertain, but he was only convicted of two murders. Many of his victims were reportedly overdosed, strangled, drowned or burned.

Sobhraj returned to India in 1975, where he met two key figures in his life: Marie-Andrée Leclerc, a Canadian who would become his second wife, and Ajay Chowdhury, his accomplice. The trio began a series of murders and thefts.

One of Sobhraj’s first known victims was Teresa Knowlton, a 21-year-old whose body was discovered floating in a bikini in Pattaya. She was followed by Vitali Hakim, whose burned remains were discovered on the side of the road. When Hakim’s girlfriend was looking for him, she also fell victim to Sobhraj, her lifeless body floating eerily in the water, also wearing a bikini.

After killing Dutch couple Henk and Cornelia in Bangkok, Sobhraj and Leclerc used their victims’ passports to enter Nepal, where they murdered two other tourists – Laurent Carrière and Connie Jo Bronzich – before fleeing to Thailand. Disguised as gem dealers, Sobhraj and Leclerc operated with Chowdhury in Malaysia, who soon mysteriously disappeared. Many believe that Sobhraj orchestrated Chowdhury’s murder.

In 1976 Sobhraj returned to India. At this point, there was an international arrest warrant against the “Bikini Murderer.” He made a mistake by miscalculating the dosage while administering drugs to a group of French tourists in Delhi. He was subsequently arrested and imprisoned in Tihar Jail for twelve years. He was also charged with the murder of another French tourist and an Israeli, but this was later done away with.

Even behind bars, his manipulative charm didn’t fade. He bribed guards and lived relatively comfortably. But in 1986, Sobhraj orchestrated a dramatic escape from the 271-acre Tihar Jail. He faked a birthday party, fed prison staff drug food and left prison. Many experts believe the move was aimed at avoiding extradition to Thailand, where he could face the death penalty.

After escaping, he hid in plain sight and was later captured again in Goa.

Two decades after his first arrest, Sobhraj was released. He returned to France and led a quiet life.

But not for long.

Sobhraj came into the spotlight again in 2003 when he inexplicably returned to Nepal, a country where he was still wanted for murder. He was arrested in Kathmandu and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders of Laurent Carrière and Connie Jo Bronzich in 1975. Sobhraj remained behind bars in Nepal for almost two decades.

In 2022, Nepalese authorities released him, citing his advanced age and deteriorating health. On December 23, 2022, the cunning criminal returned to France as a free man. Crime enthusiasts around the world continue to debate unanswered questions and speculate about the full extent of his crimes. However, the real weight of Sobhraj’s story lies in the forever lost lives of his supposed victims. Some remembered, their stories were told, others were nameless, and their fate was probably known only to the snake.