Tommy Recco

For other uses, see Recco.

Tommy Recco
Born	Joseph-Thomas Recco 1934 Propriano, France
Other names	"Tommy" "Geronimo"
Conviction(s)	Murder
Criminal penalty	Life imprisonment
Details
Victims	7 - 10
Span of crimes	1962–1980
Country	France

Joseph-Thomas "Tommy" Recco (born 1934 in Propriano), nicknamed "Geronimo", is a French serial killer. He was sentenced to criminal imprisonment in 1962 for murdering his godfather two years prior. Released in 1977, he killed three cashiers in Béziers in December 1979 and three other people including an 11-year-old in Carqueiranne in January 1980. He was sentenced in 1983 to life imprisonment without parole for these two triple murders. An inmate since 1980, Tommy Recco is one of the oldest detainees in France.

Crimes

Implication assumed in the disappearance of three German tourists

More than half a century ago, the trial on the disappearance at sea of three young German tourists whom he would have walked near the Ajaccian coasts led to nowhere.

First murder

In 1960 in Propriano, Corsica, Tommy and his younger brother Pierre were fishing with dynamite. Suddenly, they were spotted by a marine guard, Casabianca, who happened to be Recco's godfather. For the fear of being caught poaching and fired, Tommy Recco panicked, rushed to the beach and shot his rifle at his godfather; and to make sure he was dead, he beat him several times with the butt of his rifle, taking a big stone and violently hit his head with the latter. Once back to the boat, Tommy refused to explain himself to his younger brother who saw blood on Tommy's hands and on the rifle. Propriano police went to the beach after discovering the body of Tommy Recco's godfather. They found green debris near the corpse, suggesting it came from the butt of a rifle. This green debris could come from a rifle belonging to fishermen or poachers, according to the police. Then a rumour spread around that Tommy had something to do with the murder. The police decided to interrogate him and realized he is the godson of the victim. Recco denied any involvement in the murder. Tommy Recco's family, led by Tommy's mother (already bereaved by the death of one of Tommy's brothers in a car accident and an infant's death), who believed strongly in Tommy's innocence.

But a few months later, Pierre, Tommy's brother, denounces the latter to the police by telling he heard the cries of the godfather on the day of the murder. Tommy was questioned again and denied, but after several hours confessed to being the perpetrator of the murder. He said he did not want to pay a fine because of the dynamite fishing practice and he totally snapped. He rushed to the beach to kill the sea guard.

However, following his confession, Tommy Recco retracted it. His trial however took place on December 8, 1962. Sentenced to death but pardoned by Charles de Gaulle, his sentenced was commuted to life imprisonment. He was released in 1977.

Triple murder of Mammoth cashiers

During his incarceration, Tommy Recco learned that many dramas had affected his family: one of his brothers, Toussaint, was killed in 1973 by his brother-in-law who had a dispute with him, then Pierre, his younger brother, was killed in 1976 by two hooded men while anchoring his boat. One of his sisters, Francine, the wife of Toussaint's murderer, fell down the stairs and died a few months later.

Released on parole in November 1977, Tommy moved to Marseille to start a new life and began working in a shop that sold diving suits. Then, in December 1979, a massacre occurred at the Mammoth shop in Béziers, where three cashiers under the age of 30 were executed in the counting room of the store's recipe. In addition, 700,000 francs were stolen. The investigation proved difficult for police as nobody had seen or heard anything. The police found that the victims had all been shot in the back of the neck and assumed that the killer(s) responsible are not afraid to act. The Béziers police brigade had difficulties finding the culprit of the triple murder, and the investigation was halted.

Triple murder of Carqueiranne

Three weeks later, in January 1980 in Carqueiranne, Var department, an 11-year-old girl heard her father arguing with another man. She decided to call her mother at work (a children's home) but the mother had already left her workplace. The little girl then spoke to the director of the home, who immediately warned the girl's closest neighbours. Mr. Coutrix, a neighbour of the girl, went to see what's going on. Worried about her husband not returning, Ms. Coutrix went to the girl's house where she discovered the body of her husband and the girl on the floor. She warned the gendarmes and once there they discovered, in the basement of the house, the father's corpse. The gendarmes gathered a preponderant clue: the girl reported to her mother's director that her father was arguing with "René's cousin". The gendarmes conducted research to determine who is "René's cousin", discovering that a certain Tommy Recco has a cousin called René and that he knew the girl's father.

Investigation

Immediately arrested, Tommy Recco denied every accusation and gendarme who questioned him were obliged to let him leave. Another gendarme took over and Recco saw his cousin from the gendarmerie brigade. Surprised, he asked the gendarme why his cousin was here and he replied that he was here because of "what you did". Then Recco wanted to tell why he killed the three people at the villa. He said he wanted to buy a gun from the girl's father, whom he knew well. The latter refused, and an argument broke out. Recco saw red, and decided to kill the man. Then he came out of the basement, crossed the garden, met Mr. Coutrix who came to see what was happening, followed him into the house and killed him by shooting him in the neck. But he found himself alone in front of the girl and said that he panicked, killing her so as not to leave any witnesses.

However, following his statements, Recco retracted them.

In addition, the public prosecutor in charge of the Béziers massacre case, had knowledge of the triple murder of Carqueiranne and noted that the three victims were killed by gunfire, like the three cashiers in Mammoth. He teamed up with the prosecutor in charge of the triple murder in the villa, and as a result of expert reports, discovered that the same weapon or the same type of weapon that was used to kill the cashiers and the three others from the Carqueiranne villa. Tommy Recco was therefore questioned about his possible involvement in the triple murder in Béziers but the latter refused. Nevertheless, in May 1980, a retiree arrived at the police station in Toulon and declared that the person responsible for the triple murder in Carqueiranne, whose photo is published in the newspaper, was present at the Mammoth shop on the day of the slaughter. The pensioner said that this person, Tommy Recco, was suspicious and looked around the shop as if he was looking for someone or something. The retiree remembered this person because of his sparkling blue eyes.

Again questioned and confused by a witness, Recco denied having been in the Mammoth shop in December 1979. The pensioner later recognized Tommy Recco during a session of upholstering.

Two reconstructions were organized: one at the Mammoth store and the other in the villa in Carqueiranne, but these reenactments brought nothing concrete insofar as Recco brought no element that can explain why he committed the two triple murders.

However, police learned that Tommy Recco had delivered a diving suit, as part of his work, to the Mammoth store; Recco was then able to take advantage of it to spot the places and come back another day to steal money. The loot has never been found.

While Tommy was awaiting trial, police learned that Antoine Recco, Tommy's father, was involved in the disappearance of two 21-year-old girls. In early 1982, rumour has it that Antoine could be involved in the disappearance of two French tourists in September 1981. The police decided to question him about the two missing girls. Antoine Recco denied it, but the other policeman found on Antoine's boat the swimsuits belonging to the girls; Antoine recounted how well he met these girls, taking them on the boat for a ride. But when he tried to seduce them, the girls resisted his advances. He strangled them, weighted them down and threw their bodies into the sea.

Antoine Recco was sentenced in August 1986 to life imprisonment for these two murders. He was released for medical reasons in May 2010, and to this day continues to live in Corsica.

Trial and imprisonment

Tommy Recco's lawsuit opened on June 6, 1983. Mama Recco, as Tommy's mother is nicknamed, and his wife, Chantal Recco, were the only two who believed in his innocence. During the trial he continued to proclaim his innocence. He was interrogated in particular on the motive for the murder of the girl's father in Carqueiranne. Tommy still recognized his impulsive side that probably led him to kill his godfather 23 years earlier.

Psychiatrists were asked about Tommy Recco's mental state and they said that Recco is completely sane. His boiling and impulsive character led to a flurry of uncontrolled violence that drove him to murder. Paul Lombard was a supporter of Recco. At the end of the trial, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without penalty.

In prison for over thirty years, Tommy Recco is serving his sentence in the detention of Borgo, Haute-Corse, and is one of France's oldest prisoners. After numerous requests for parole and suspesion of sentence for health reasons, all of which were rejected, he filed a new application for release under electronic surveillance in May 2017 but did not obtain it.

See also

TV documentary

• "Tommy Recco, the curse of the Recco" in June 2009 and December 2010 in Get the Accused presented by Christophe Hondelatte on France 2.

Related articles

• List of serial killers by country

Press articles

• "Detained in Borgo, Tommy Recco would like to find freedom", article by Julie Quilici-Orlandi published on December 1, 2012 in Corse-Matin.
• "One of the oldest prisoners in France will apply for his parole", article published on March 26, 2008 in Midi libre.