Luigi Richetto

Gioanni-Luigi Richetto was born on March 22, 1853, in Chianocco, Italy, the son of Luigi Richetto and Maddalena Giai. He was baptized the following day in the church of San Pietro Apostolo.

His father, having spent all of his inheritance in "gambling, wine and debauchery" left for Turin and found a job in the tapestry section of the Royal House, from where he was sent back in 1866 or 1867, for theft of silver lamps in the Chapelle de Saint-Suaire.[4] In May 1872, again detained for theft, he was declared as suffering from mania and dementia and admitted to the Royal Asylum of Aliénes in Turin, where he died on January 14, 1873.[5][6] Richetto's mother would eventually also be admitted to that same asylum on January 11, 1881, diagnosed as suffering from "hysterical madness in a melancholic form", dying there on September 17, 1882.

Richetto followed his father in Turin in 1863, finishing his studies there at the Professional School. After graduating, he found a job at the Railway Company of Upper Italy.

In 1882, he was arrested and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for robbery, serving his sentence at Fossano prison.[7]

On his release in September 1887, he stayed with his mother's family in Bussoleno for several months.[8] After borrowing some money from his sister, Luigi left for France.[9] He first passed through Algeria, then Marseille and finally Lyon, where he settled on December 15, 1887.[10]

In 1888, he found a job as a nurse. When his patient died, his employers brought them to their trading house as a servant. He was fired on December 16, 1893, after he was caught stealing wine from the cellar, but he avoided prosecution for the crime.

Richetto then became an apprentice shoemaker, setting up his own shop in April 1894. In June 1896, he became a concierge in the house of the Camillians, on 96 Route de Francheville.

On January 2, 1900, two packages containing strange meat were found on the Noack property on 116 Route de Francheville.[11] Two days later, in the presence of a rural policeman, a third package was found. A butcher misidentified the meat as veal, and the packages were reburied on site.[12]

On January 5, the property was searched again, and three additional bundles and a severed human torso were discovered.

The following day, in the presence of examining magistrate Alexandre Lacassagne, the property was extensively dug up, uncovering packages containing two human heads.[13] Both of them had been wrapped up in newspapers dated from April to August 1897, and pieces of cloth.

Lacassagne's report from that day described the following:

"1st. the remains of a woman consisting of a skull with hair, a pelvis, a portion of the spine.

a. The skull is that of a woman around 60 to 70 years of age. The lower jaw is missing. The hair is grey; there is a fake braid consisting a bun impregnated with carbonaceous dust.

b. The pelvis is complete: there are two femurs, cut precisely with a saw.

The transformations of muscles and tissues into adipocere shows a stay in water of more than a year.

2nd. Sixteen fragments constitute the almost complete body of a toothless woman of about 60 years of age, weighing about 70 kilograms. This woman was small and very plump: she would have been recognized as a milkmaid from the country who came this morning accompanied by a gardener. The hepatic docimasia test allows us to say this woman died in full digestion.

In addition, a blunt instrument wound to the upper part of the skull on the vertex shows that this woman was knocked out with a blunt instrument such as a hammer.

On the left breast, there are numerous bruises produced in the living or during the agonic period, which seem to indicate strong pressures and as a strangely special mark.[14] On January 8th, Marceline Luce-Catinot recognized the head exhibited in the morgue as that of her mother, Augustine Penet. She stated that in the neighborhood where the body was found, she only knew a certain Louis, who worked as a janitor for a local branch of the Camillians.[15]

Following a quick search of Richetto's home on the next day, the policemen found issues of the newspaper L'Autorité, dating from the same period as the ones used to wrap Mrs. Penet's remains. Having learned that Richetto had served time in Italy, the deputy requested his arrest. During the complete search that followed, many bloodstains were found on the floor between two rooms, women's stocking marked AC, and a receipt signed "Madame Delorme". Behind Richetto's lodge, a large quantity of lime mixed with sawdust was discovered.[16] Other compromising clues were also found: a 34-cm long kitchen knife, stuck in the ground on the Camillian property,[17] a suitcase emitting a foul odor and stained with lime and sawdust.[18] After examining the attic, the authorities found that it had been saturated with blood and human fat.

On January 26, more human remains were found in hedge on Chemin des Graviers, in Saint-Fons.[19]

In the course of the investigation, Luigi Richetto was implicated in the murders of four people:

Due to lack of evidence concerning the murder of Bernaz, Richetto wasn't charged in her death.[31] The human body parts found in the Rhône in 1894 and 1895 couldn't be formally identified as those of Planial, and thusly, Richetto wasn't charged with his death either.

Therefore, he was indicted for the following crimes:

1. in Lyon on December 16, 1893, the fraudulent subtraction of a quantity of wine, to the detriment of Monsieuers Guigue and Jovet;
2. in Lyon on July 21, 1898, the premeditated homicide of Marguerite Long née Delorme, in order to facilitate the fraudulent evasion stated below;
3. in Lyon on July 21, 1898, the fraudulent subtraction of various objects, to the detriment of the aforementioned Marguerite Long née Delorme;
4. in Lyon on December 19, 1899, the premeditated homicide of Augustine Penet née Luce-Catinot, in order to facilitate the fraudulent transaction stated below;
5. in Lyon on December 19, 1899, the fraudulent transaction of various objects, to the detriment of the aforementioned Augustine Penet née Luce-Catinot.

After the trial, the jury found him guilty on a majority of the charges, and Luigi Richetto was sentenced to life imprisonment.[32] His appeal was dismissed on May 10, 1901.[33]

On June 29, 1901, he was sent to the Devil's Island prison colony in the Salvation Islands in French Guiana. He died there on December 14, 1901, aged 48.[34]

Reconstitution of the skeletons of Richetto's victims at the Testut-Latarjet Museum in Rillieux-la-Pape

• Alexandre Lacassagne took a particular interest in Richetto, after meeting him at trial. He would eventually convinced him to write an autobiography.[35] Richetto wrote a 117-page long memoir entitled "The Memoirs of Richetto", done between July 14 and 21, 1901, during his trial.[36]
• The victims' skeletons were reconstructed at the Testut-Latarjet Museum in Rillieux-la-Pape, and remain on display there.[37]

• List of French serial killers

• Stora-Lamarre, Annie (2002). The carnal city of law (in French). Presses Univ. Franche-Comté. p. 156. ISBN 978-2-84627-062-5.
• Artières, Philippe (2000). The Book of Guilty Lives (in French). Albin Michel. p. 432. ISBN 978-2-226-19909-6.

This book takes up and presents the writings of Richetto.

• Artières, Philippe (1995). "Written crimes. The collection of autobiographies of criminals by Professor A. Lacassagne". Genèses (in French) (19): 48–67. doi:10.3406/genes.1995.1291. Retrieved December 21, 2013.

This article discussed the Richetto case.