Hi everyone, I hope you’re doing well. Today, I’m going to tell you about an insufferable man who manipulated everybody around him, to the point where when he killed two people with his son, some people were still vouching for him.
In this case, the facts are surrounded by an impressive(ly ridiculous) web of lies woven by a man who could have led a totally normal life if he hadn’t been in a perpetual quest to be some kind of alpha leader. If you still aren’t convinced that I hate this man, don’t worry I’ll keep throwing metaphorical rocks at him throughout this article. And without further ado, here’s the Cretello case.

A manipulative and violent patriarch

Charles Cretello was born in Marseille in 1952. His father, who worked in the merchant marine, was rarely around and actually left for good when Charles was six. His mother remarried to a man we know nothing about not long after.
Young Charles was apparently a good son and a good brother who earned the admiration of his younger sister, Marie-Josée. An admiration that, over time, turned into a naive stubbornness but we’ll get to that later.
He had a childhood and adolescence without any known major incidents, but when we get to his 19th birthday, the ordinary little boy seems to have already become the man you’ll learn to hate. Indeed, in 1971 he met Christine, and the couple married a few months later. That same year, Christine gave birth to Christophe, which seems to explain this rather hasty marriage. Despite a frightening succession (remember, the couple was very young) of major events, the family could have had a complicated but overall happy life. All it would have taken was for Charles to die in a tragic accident that would have terribly mutilated him and would have been followed by a very lucrative claim to the best life insurance ever. But anyway, that didn’t happen, and the young mother and her son found themselves having to learn to live with the violence Charles subjected them to on a daily basis. They thus lived in fear for eight years that must have seemed terribly long, and were finally freed from Charles’s yoke in 1979, when the despotic patriarch decided to take the violence outside the family sphere and had to learn that actions have consequences.

In 1979, the body of a young waiter was found in the woods in Niffer, near Mulhouse (Northeastern France), shot dead with a .22 Long Rifle. It didn’t take investigators long, of course, to track down the three men who had killed him over a money dispute. Among them was, of course, Charles Cretello, who at that point finally found in the justice system an adversary he could not subdue. Sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1980, he finally gave his family some respite. Christine took the opportunity to divorce, but she (unfortunately) didn’t completely cut ties with Charles’s family, and Christophe was partly raised by his paternal grandparents along with his cousin Laurence.

The two children were regaled with embellished stories about the murderer, and when he was released in 1989, they welcomed him with open arms. You know what they say: you should never meet your heroes.

Charles must have played the repentant very well, since even Christine agreed to get back together with him. The family was thus reunited and went into the restaurant business. Charles opened establishments in Carcassonne and Aubagne, and Laurence became a waitress for her uncle. Despite what was surely a busy schedule, Charles found time to make his loved ones’ lives a living hell. He hit Christine because old habits die hard, and he also hit Christophe, even insulting him when he wouldn’t hit back. He also threatened Laurence’s unborn child as well as her North African partner. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that he’s racist too, but then again, who here is surprised by that?
We don’t know what became of the restaurants in Carcassonne and Aubagne, but we do know that the Cretello family eventually settled in Roseneau, near Mulhouse, and took over a pizzeria called Le Moulin. It is in this establishment, and in the family apartment located above it, that the family continued to live in submission and fear. It is also there that the carnage would unfold.

A couple united through thick and thin

Alain and Angela Hay met at a nightclub in Le Havre in 1992, when they were 44 and 42 years old respectively, and both divorced with children. They got married the same year they met and became a very close-knit couple despite their very different personalities. In fact, Alain was described as rather stubborn and hot-tempered, while Angela seemed calmer. It may be these differences that allowed them to find a balance.

The couple had barely exchanged their wedding rings when they faced a major setback. Alain, a former dockworker who owned a container repair company, lost a contract and found himself without any clients overnight. Not one to let setbacks get him down, he sued the Havre port authorities and managed to secure 1,800,000 francs in compensation (€432,411 ; 506,810 USD). Once he received the money, he resumed his lavish lifestyle in a rather ostentatious manner, thereby creating animosity within the port community.
He returned to business but left the ports to explore other ventures: a junkyard, a brasserie, a window company… Alain tried to put his hand in everything, but he was clearly no Midas. These businesses failed, and in 1996 he turned to importing and exporting German cars. This venture quickly brought its share of ups and downs, to the point where Alain reported his business partner to the tax authorities before reaching an out-of-court settlement on March 27, 1996.
Throughout all these adventures, Angela stood by her husband’s side, a calm pillar in the storm.

The couple did everything together and traveled frequently between Le Havre, the Alsace region, and the South of France, often with their poodle named Princesse. However, they decided together to settle permanently in Le Havre to be closer to their children. But before that, they had to make one last trip to Alsace to discuss taking over a brasserie with a potential partner. That potential partner? It’s Charles Cretello, unfortunately.

The last trip

On April 2, 1996, the Hay couple leaves Le Havre around 5 a.m. and arrives in Mulhouse around 9 a.m. Alain has withdrawn 500,000 francs (€120,114), as he plans to use the trip to buy a used Ferrari and resell it for a profit. A friend of his who owns a garage has advised him against this highly suspicious transaction, but well, Alain is stubborn. The couple arrives in Mulhouse around 9 a.m. Alain and Angela go to an apartment they share with a couple of friends to drop off their belongings and leave shortly afterward to go to Charles’s pizzeria to discuss business. They plan to return to the apartment in Mulhouse in time for dinner. The couple never returns.

When Alain and Angela’s friends realize that they haven’t heard from them even though Alain usually calls his loved ones several times a day, they call his daughter Céline. Upon learning that her father has left with a briefcase full of cash, she fears the worst.
She goes with the couple’s friends to the newspaper L’Alsace, hoping to get a call for witnesses published, and meets the crime news editor, Jean-Marie Stoerkel. He listens attentively and reacts immediately upon hearing the name Charles Cretello, as he hasn’t forgotten the case of the young waiter found shot dead in the Niffer forest seven years earlier. The police are notified, and the Mulhouse Criminal Investigation Division begins its investigation.

Charles Cretello is an obvious suspect, but the investigators decide to act in good faith and explore all leads before focusing on him. And there is no shortage of leads. The theory of a voluntary disappearance is quickly ruled out, but not the theory of revenge. Alain has enemies in both his personal and professional lives, notably that last business partner, who was surely very upset and with whom he reached an agreement the week before his trip to Alsace. Another lead is that of a cult-related incident, which is on everyone’s mind since at that time the Order of the Solar Temple is sadly making headlines, and which is a possibility given that Alain is passionate about esotericism. Finally, an obvious lead is the purchase of the Ferrari, which could very well have been a ploy to lure the Hay couple and their money away from prying eyes for nefarious purposes.
Appeals for witnesses are issued in France, Germany, and Switzerland, and leads are ruled out one by one, leaving in the end the restaurant owner with a violent past as the only suspect.
During his first interrogation, Charles is calm and affable with the investigators. He explains to them that Alain and Angela did indeed come to his home for lunch on April 2. He welcomed them with his son Christophe, while Christine and Christophe’s wife were out shopping. The Hays left at 2:30 p.m., he says, to make a stop in Germany before returning home. He makes no mention at all of the briefcase full of money, which the couple had with them and couldn’t go unnoticed.
The investigators have to accept this version for the time being, but a few days later, they learn that the couple never made it to Germany.

The brutal discovery

On May 18, 1996, a month and a half after the disappearance, the Neuf-Brisach river patrol makes a gruesome discovery in the Grand Canal d’Alsace in Niffer. The Hay couple’s Mercedes is recovered from a depth of about ten meters. The windows are down, the keys are in the ignition, the gearshift is in neutral, and Angela’s handbag is on the back seat. It is only when the trunk is opened that investigators realize the full extent of the horror.

The bodies of Alain and Angela Hay lie in the trunk, alongside their poodle. All three have been shot multiple times. The autopsy later determines that they died on the day of their disappearance, and that Angela was still alive when the car was driven into the canal.

Charles’s status as the prime suspect is becoming as solid as reinforced concrete. Indeed, not only was the couple found in the town where he shot the poor waiter in 1979, but the waiter, the couple, and the dog were all killed with a .22 long rifle.
Adding to the suspicion, Charles claimed during his initial questioning that he had had little contact with the Hays before their arrival in Roseneau, but phone records show several calls a day before the couple’s trip. He also said that while the Hays were in Roseneau, his wife Christine and Christophe’s wife were out shopping and returned around 8 p.m. However, witnesses declare that they have seen the two women return to the pizzeria around 6 p.m.
When questioned again on May 21, he plays the victim and says 🎻that he is inevitably a suspect because of his past, but that the Hays only came for lunch to propose a partnership to take over a restaurant in Le Havre, he swears he is innocent! 🎻Christophe and Christine confirm his version of events, but this doesn’t make it any more credible.
The noose is tightening, but the evidence is still too weak to guarantee a home run before the investigating judge, so the Cretello family is put under surveillance to reveal the full extent of the poison that is Charles Cretello.

The wiretaps

In addition to his gratuitous and unjustifiable violence, and like any self-respecting mediocre toxic man, Charles is a master liar who cheats on his wife and doesn’t hesitate to promise women the moon and the stars to lure them into his bed. Don’t worry, he’s all instability and violence, but he does have his routine! And as part of that routine, he has a steady mistress with whom he even has a child, who was born at the same time as Christine’s youngest. Like any good narcissist, he named the two children Charlie and Charline.
Despite this indelible bond, he still tries to break the routine a bit and leave his mistress. However, he can’t do it the normal way now that they’ve just had a child, he’d come off as the villain of the story! And so, the investigators have a VIP box for the real-life play that Charles is staging: he asks one of his employees to seduce the mistress so that Charles can catch her in the act of cheating, pull out his violin, and end the relationship by playing the victim. Unfortunately for him, the mistress doesn’t take the bait, and he’s forced to face the music. I don’t know if that’s a good thing for anyone.
The investigators are surely done piecing together the man’s profile when, in October 1997, they finally stumble upon something interesting.
Charles calls his mistress’s brother to propose a business deal worthy of those shady offers you see on Snapchat, the kind that tend to end with a written official invite to the nearest police station.
The brother in question is a chef who’d like to open his own restaurant, so Charles offers an investment of 150,000 francs (€34,605 ; 40,559USD), promising he’ll get double that back once the restaurant opens. The brother takes the bait, and Charles, of course, runs off with the money. What does the poor chef get in return? “Transaction issues” and a wallet that’s side-eyeing him a little. He might have made a different decision if he’d known that Charles isn’t the Gordon Ramsay he claims to be, and that his pizzeria is for sale because it’s not doing well at all.
Meanwhile, investigators are beginning to understand how the Hay couple was lured to the pizzeria.

Once Le Moulin is sold, the family goes their separate ways. Christophe moves with his wife to Marseille, Christine settles in Rians in the Var area, and Charles stays in Alsace with his mistress, regularly visiting his wife in between affairs.
However, everyone barely has time to unpack their bags before the investigators finally spring into action. On June 9, 1998, the Cretello family is arrested: Christophe in Marseille, Christine in Rians, and Charles in Alsace.

The interrogations

You know how Italians are, they can be stubborn. During the first few hours in custody, the Cretellos stand their ground and stick to their version of events. However, once the 24-hour mark passes, the fatigue and pressure become hard to bear, especially for Christine. The investigators bring up her husband’s infidelity and the child born at the same time as hers. They even play her some recordings to drive the point home. Finally, when they tell her that she was seen returning to the pizzeria at 6 p.m. on April 2, she breaks down. She admits she lied and explains that she did return earlier in the afternoon, but that Christophe had gone out and wouldn’t let her into the pizzeria. She could tell from her son’s expression that something was wrong, but when Charles came out in turn and told the women to go for a walk because the two men were busy, she had no choice but to turn back. She also noticed at that moment that the Hay family’s Mercedes was parked on the terrace.

Faced with his mother’s statements, Christophe changes his story as well. He first says that during lunch on April 2, he took the dogs out and found the Hay family’s lifeless bodies when he returned. Then he starts crying and finally admits that he killed Angela.
He explains that lunch had gone well, and that Alain was lying down after finishing the meal. Christophe then reportedly went into the kitchen with his father, who ordered him to kill the guests. Not daring to disobey his father, Christophe allegedly lured Angela into the basement and shot her from behind. He then reportedly went back upstairs without even checking to see if she was dead and handed the gun back to his father, who allegedly shot Alain with it. Once the guests had been killed, the two men reportedly cleaned up the blood in the living room. Christine was allowed to go home around 8 p.m., but she was locked inside the apartment. The two men reportedly put the bodies in the Mercedes, which Charles drove toward the canal while Christophe followed in his own vehicle. Finally, they reportedly pushed the car into the water together before returning home.

Charles, in turn, is confronted with statements that contradict his version of events, and offers a completely new account of what happened. He claims he was the one who killed the two victims, and that his son only helped clean up the crime scene. The motive? Certainly not money! Sure, he spent it, but Charles simply killed the couple because Alain was showing off a little too much for his liking. Yeah, sure…

The investigators don’t try to determine what is true and what is false. After all, that can be done in court. On June 11, 1998, father and son are indicted and incarcerated.

Never trust a liar

In front of the investigating judge, Charles continues to play the role of the devoted family man ready to sacrifice himself. He claims to be the one who spent the Hay family’s money, while Christophe allegedly used only 50,000 francs (€11,535 ; 13,519USD). For the record, Christine didn’t get a single franc, but that’s hardly surprising since she’s barely even a person in her husband’s eyes. She did notice the sudden appearance of wads of new bills though, but chose not to ask any questions.

On March 16, 2000, a reenactment is held at the Roseneau pizzeria. Charles is his usual self, confident and domineering, but Christophe is straight up disassociating. Despite his apathy, he is very precise in his account of the events, while his father becomes very vague when the murder of Angela Hay is brought up. Furthermore, he continues to claim that he dragged the two bodies himself, which is nearly impossible given Alain’s weight. The investigating judge therefore ultimately accepts Christophe’s account of the events of April 2, 1996. But just as he is about to close the case, Charles seems to grow tired of his act as a devoted father and changes sides.

It starts with the prison visitor assigned to provide him with administrative and psychological support. He surely notices that she’s fond of him, and takes the opportunity to play his tune: 🎻He’s innocent; he only confessed to protect his son, but in fact it was his son who committed the murders!🎻
The visitor believes him and even finds him a lawyer who believes him too. To add to this scenario of a misunderstood hero, Charles behaves impeccably in detention and even saves the life of a guard who was being attacked by another inmate.
In the end, the visitor and the new lawyer manage to “convince” him to retract his confession, which he does on October 24, 2000. He tells his new version of events to the investigating judge: 🎻on that fateful day of April 2, he needed some fresh air, so he took the dogs out at around 2:30 p.m. Who could have predicted that when he returned around 4 p.m. (yes, it was a long walk), he would find his son, panicked, telling him he had done “something really stupid.” He claims to have discovered the bodies and initially told his son to fend for himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to let his son deal with all that alone, so he ended up helping him load the bodies into the Mercedes. After all that, he claims he didn’t even touch the money, it was his son who spent it all. He’s innocent, he swears he’s telling the truth this time!🎻
These “revelations” delay the investigation, but the two Cretello men are eventually sent to the Colmar Assize Court for the double murder.

The trials

From the very first day of the trial in June 2003, it’s clear where the two defendants stand. Charles seems remarkably confident for a devoted, heartbroken father, while Christophe looks like a zombie because of the anti-anxiety medication he is taking. As for Christine, she has found her courage. She has filed for divorce and does not hesitate to testify about the terrible marriage she endured.

Charles’s lawyer, for his part, is willing to do anything to clear his client’s name. He even calls in the director of the prison where Charles is incarcerated to testify to his exemplary behavior during his pretrial detention. This somewhat pointless testimony is quickly overshadowed by that of Laurence, who comes forward to describe the hell Charles put his family through.
However, despite her traumatized daughter’s testimony, Marie-Josée, Charles’ little sister, remains convinced of her brother’s innocence. In her view, if he were as violent as people say, Christine wouldn’t have stayed with him for so long, and above all, she certainly wouldn’t have left her daughter with him. So, does she believe that her daughter is a liar?

Since the angle of the “nice dad” saving prison guards didn’t pan out, the defense attorney attacks the expert reports, then claims (without evidence) that because Christophe experienced hallucinations in prison, he must suffer from psychiatric issues and must have killed the Hays in a fit of madness. Here too, the theory is undermined by the expert psychologist who examined Christophe during his pretrial detention. She explains on the stand that he does not suffer from disorders that would make him dangerous enough to commit a double murder, but that he does, however, suffer from excessive submission to his father. Furthermore, he has no criminal history, so the transition from an ordinary life to a heinous double murder seems unlikely.

After four hours of deliberation, Charles and Christophe Cretello are both convicted of the two murders. Charles is sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years, while his son is sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Marie-Josée cries out against the harshness of the sentence handed down to her brother, who tells her after the verdict that 🎻while he certainly deserves prison for helping his son dispose of the bodies, such a sentence is far too excessive.🎻
Despite the “cruelty” of the justice system, Charles refuses to be discouraged and files an appeal. Considering that in this case, one defendant cannot be tried without the other, the prosecutor appeals Christophe’s conviction.
A year later, both appear before the Court of Appeals on charges of kidnapping, fraud, and murder. Christophe seems a bit more confident and directly confronts his father when the latter tries to throw him under the bus. In the end, Charles’s minimum sentence is reduced by one year, and Christophe’s sentence remains the same, with the exception that he is convicted only of Angela’s murder.
Charles attempts to appeal to the Court of Cassation (the French Supreme court), but without success. The Court of Cassation clearly does not care for the violin.

In 2007, the French government is ordered by the European Court of Human Rights to pay Charles Cretello €5,000 for excessive pretrial detention. I have to admit that five years is a bit too long, but you won’t find me crying for him…
Charles probably enjoys this money with his new wife. Indeed, the murderer incarcerated in Ensisheim manages to find love again with his lawyer’s secretary, Viviane. She is convinced of his innocence, which he continues to proclaim from the rooftops until his death on January 21, 2017. Good riddance.

We haven’t heard anything from the rest of the Cretello family or the Hay family. Still, I hope that everyone affected has been able to heal after losing so much because of a man who couldn’t come to terms with his own mediocrity.