Roberto Succo
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Roberto Succo also known as Roberto Zucco, (April 3, 1962 – May 23, 1988) was an Italian serial killer who murdered several people in Europe in 1987 and 1988.
[edit] Murders
Succo committed his first known murders on April 9, 1981 when he fatally stabbed his parents; they had refused to lend him their car. The same night he also killed a police officer. After Succo was caught, he was judged mentally ill and he was sentenced to 10 years in a psychiatric prison in Reggio Emilia. While in the facility, he studied and earned a degree in political science.
On May 15, 1986, after serving five years of his sentence, Succo escaped from the psychiatric hospital. He evaded police and left the country to travel to France by rail. In the next few years, Succo committed numerous crimes ranging from burglary to rape to murder.
He kidnapped, hijacked, and terrorized people across at least four European countries. He killed at least two police officers on different occasions and wounded others. He was considered Public Enemy number one by France, Italy and Swiss Confederation.
On February 28, 1988, he was caught in his hometown of Mestre (a district of Venice). On March 1, 1988, during the course of an escape attempt he fell off the roof of the prison in which he was detained. He committed suicide in his cell on May 23, 1988.
[edit] Biographies
In 1988, Bernard-Marie Koltès wrote a play (Roberto Zucco) inspired by Succo's life and crimes. At the same time, French journalist Pascale Froment was working on a non-fiction book entitled Je te tue. Histoire vraie de Roberto Succo assassin sans raison (1991) about Succo's life, and she and Koltès corresponded on the subject[1]. Je te tue later became the basis for the film Roberto Succo, directed by Cédric Kahn. In the wake of the film, Froment's book was reissued in 2001 under the title Roberto Succo.
Kahn's movie tells the story of Succo's life without judging his actions. This neutral point of view was criticized by the French police.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Note by Froment in Bernard-Marie Koltès, Roberto Zucco, translated by Martin Crimp, Methuen 1991
- ^ http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/features/article178982.ece
- Roberto Succo Biography, from Affaires Criminelles. URL accessed January 5, 2006.
