[The death of Helene Althusser: a case of altruistic homicide reported by the melancholic person].

Authors suggest to read carefully the text written by Louis Althusser concerning the murder of his wife, Hélène. In place of hypothetical psychopathological elaborations they propose to take into account the narration of his personal story, and his illness leading to a delusional and confusional depression. The precision in the written report by Althusser on his painful manic depression demonstrates that there is no place for hypothesis too different from an ordinary reality.