"The Leonardo da Vinci of Mental Manipulation"

A trial still unfolding in Bordeaux, France is already attracting lurid headlines as a man is facing prosecution over his nine-year domination of an aristocratic French family. Thierry Tilly of Oxford, England has been described by prosecutors as the "Leonardo da Vinci of mental manipulation."

The 48-year old Tilly has been charged with kidnapping, premeditated violence, "psychological subjection," fraud and "abuse of the vulnerable." Prosecutors maintain that Tilly and his accomplice Jacques Gonzalez managed to ingratiate themselves with three generations of the Vedrines family and eventually gained complete mental dominance over them. They would eventually defraud them of millions of euros and much of their family property.

How did two confidence artists gain such complete control over an entire family?

To read more, check out my latest post on the Huffington Post site.