Charles Sobhraj (born Hotchand Bhawnani Gurmukh Sobhraj on 6 April 1944) is a French serial killer, fraudster, and thief, infamous for targeting Western tourists traveling along South Asia’s “hippie trail” during the 1970s. Nicknamed “The Bikini Killer” due to the attire of some of his victims, he was also called “The Splitting Killer” and “The Serpent” for his skill in eluding authorities.
Sobhraj is believed to have murdered at least 20 people across South and Southeast Asia, including 14 in Thailand. He was imprisoned in India from 1976 to 1997. Following his release, he returned to France. In 2003, he traveled to Nepal, where he was arrested, tried, and sentenced to life in prison. On 21 December 2022, after serving 19 years, Nepal’s Supreme Court ordered his release due to old age, and he was deported to France two days later.
Described as “handsome, charming, and utterly without scruple,” Sobhraj leveraged his charisma and cunning for personal gain and notoriety. He has been the subject of four biographies, three documentaries, a Bollywood film (Main Aur Charles), a 2021 BBC/Netflix series (The Serpent), and a 2025 Netflix India series (Black Warrant).
While evading capture, Sobhraj funded his lifestyle by posing as a gem dealer or drug trafficker to befriend and exploit tourists. In India, he met Marie-Andrée Leclerc, a tourist from Québec, who became his devoted accomplice despite his criminal activity and infidelities.
Sobhraj manipulated followers by staging rescues or offering assistance in crises—often ones he himself created. In one instance, he returned stolen passports to two former French policemen. In another, he poisoned a French tourist, Dominique Renelleau, then “rescued” him with care, earning trust. His main accomplice was Ajay Chowdhury, a young Indian man who became his right-hand man.
Their first known murders occurred in 1975. Victims were often individuals who had spent time with the duo and were allegedly recruited into their schemes. Sobhraj later claimed the deaths were accidental overdoses, but investigators believed he killed to silence those who might expose him.
The first known victim was 21-year-old Seattle woman Teresa Knowlton, whose body was found in a tidal pool in the Gulf of Thailand, wearing a flowered bikini. Her death was initially considered accidental, until a post-mortem and forensic evidence revealed otherwise.
Next was Vitali Hakim, a Turkish Sephardic Jew, whose burnt body was found near Pattaya. Dutch couple Henk Bintanja and Cornelia Hemker, who met Sobhraj in Hong Kong, were poisoned and then murdered after recovering. Hakim’s girlfriend, Charmayne Carrou, who arrived in Thailand to investigate, was also killed—drowned and found in a swimsuit similar to Knowlton’s. These murders cemented the “Bikini Killer” label.
On 18 December 1975, the same day Bintanja and Hemker’s bodies were identified, Sobhraj and Leclerc used their victims’ passports to enter Nepal. There, between 21–22 December, they murdered Canadian Laurent Carrière and American Connie Jo Bronzich. Using the victims’ passports, they returned to Thailand before authorities could identify the bodies.
Back in Thailand, Sobhraj’s French companions began to suspect him, having found documents belonging to murdered victims. They fled to Paris and alerted the police.
Sobhraj then traveled to either Varanasi or Calcutta, where he murdered Israeli academic Avoni Jacob to obtain his passport. He used it to travel with Leclerc and Chowdhury to Singapore, then India, and eventually back to Bangkok in March 1976—despite being wanted there. Although interrogated by Thai police, they were released.
Meanwhile, Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg and his wife Angela Kane had been investigating the deaths of Bintanja and Hemker. With help from Sobhraj’s neighbors, Nadine and Remi Gires, Knippenberg uncovered passports, poisons, and evidence linking Sobhraj to the murders. His true identity was finally exposed.
Sobhraj’s next destination was Malaysia, where Chowdhury was last seen delivering stolen gems. It is believed Sobhraj killed him. Chowdhury’s body was never found, and unconfirmed sightings in West Germany later surfaced but were dismissed.
In May 1976, Interpol issued an international arrest warrant for Sobhraj, charging him with four murders in Thailand.
Returning to India, Sobhraj recruited two Western women—Barbara Smith and Mary Ellen Eather—in Bombay. His next known victim was Frenchman Jean-Luc Solomon, whom he fatally poisoned during a robbery meant only to incapacitate him.
In July 1976, Sobhraj and his associates posed as tour guides for a group of French postgraduate students in New Delhi. He gave them pills disguised as anti-dysentery medicine, intending to drug and rob them. However, the drugs took effect too quickly, and three students overpowered him and called the police. Smith and Eather confessed during questioning, and all four were arrested. Sobhraj was charged with Solomon’s murder and imprisoned in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
