A Frenchman who spent 18 years pretending to be a 'doctor' before going on a killing spree has been freed after 26 years in jail.
Jean-Claude Romand, 65, told friends and family he had got a job as a researcher at the World Health Organisation (WHO) after qualifying as a doctor.
In fact the murderer had failed to complete doctor training and spent his days driving to 'work' across the French border to Switzerland, only to sit in the car park of the Geneva-based WHO.
Jean Claude Romand (left) and wife Florence Crolet, who he murdered with a rolling pin in 1993
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Jean Claude Romand, wife Florence and son Antoine, 5, who he shot along with his sister
The fake doctor stole thousands of pounds from relatives, claiming he was investing it in WHO schemes that he had access to as an employee.
Jean Claude Romand, 65, who has been released after 26 years in prison
By 1992 investors began asking for their money, with one family friend discovering that Romand did not work at WHO as he said.
When his lies were close to being uncovered in 1993 Romand went on a killing spree.
First killing his wife, Florence Crolet, with a rolling pin, and then shooting dead his two children Antoine , five, and Caroline, seven, at their home in Prévessin-Moëns, France, near the Swiss border.
Romand then drove 50 miles (80 km) to his parents Aimé and Anne-Marie Romand's house where he shot them both along with their Labrador.
Returning home to his slaughtered family he took sleeping pills and set his home on fire - but was rescued and taken into custody - before being convicted of murder three years later in 1996.
Straight-A student Romand had started at medical school in Lyon, France, in 1974 but failed to turn up to his first year exam.
A picture taken on January 12, 1993 shows the burned house of French citizen Jean-Claude, where he murdered his wife and two children
Jean Claude Romand's parents, Aimé (left) and Anne-Marie Romand, murdered by their son in 1993
He was allowed to repeat the first year exam for the next 12 years but never took the exam.
Eventually the medical student told friends he had qualified as a doctor - and that he had gained a job at the Geneva-based WHO.
He is believed to have stolen branded stationary, after wondering the corridors of the WHO's public information service, in order to establish his lie.
After confessing to his crimes, Romand was sentenced to live in prison in 1996, and has been released on parole 26 years later.
French citizen Jean-Claude Romand arrives for the start of his trial at the courthouse of Bourg-en-Bresse, in June 1996
'He was released last night' from the Saint-Maur prison near the central city of Bourges, lawyer Jean-Louis Abad said Friday.
An appeals court had granted Romand parole on April 25.
The 65-year-old will be under electronic surveillance for two years and must live in an area approved by the judiciary.
Romand is said to have become repentant having turned to religion during his time in prison.
His case has been the subject of fascination in France, notably inspiring the book 'L'adversaire' (The Adversary) by Emmanuel Carrere which was made into a film in 2002 by Nicole Garcia starring prominent French actor Daniel Auteuil.
It also provided the storyline for the 2001 film 'L'emploi du temps' by French director Laurent Cantet, which was very well received.
The appeals court also barred him from contacting the civil parties involved in the case, and from talking to the media 'about the crimes he has been charged with'.
Jean Claude Romand and a court guard in 1996 during his trial in Bourg-en-Bresse, Ain department, eastern France
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