The fatal brawl in Crépol, a small village in the Drôme, lasted only a few minutes, on the night of November 18 to 19, but twelve months of investigations have not yet allowed the two investigating judges from Valence to to fully establish the facts, and above all to identify the author of the two stabbings which cost the life of Thomas Perotto, a young amateur rugby player, according to the investigations of which RTL has become aware.
The gendarmes from the Valence research section have nevertheless reconstructed the Crépol ball and the final brawl almost minute by minute, but they still come up against the silence of the fourteen indicted, at least eight of whom are in pre-trial detention. All deny not only having carried out the fatal blows, but most claim to have seen nothing and knew nothing of the presence of bladed weapons during the fight, even though they were at the heart of the clashes, sometimes right next to the people. seriously injured.
A significant advance has nevertheless been recorded according to our information: one of the young people from Romans-sur-Isère, aged 18 at the time of the events, confronted with confusing videos showing him making large aggressive gestures towards a group shiny object in his hand, eventually admitted to having held a knife. It’s the only one to date. He claims to have “picked up the bladed weapon from the ground”, and to have waved it “to defend himself” without ever trying to strike. Already known for a series of offenses, living in the city center of Romans-sur-Isère and coming with a friend from the difficult Monnaie district, the young adult is now considered one of the potential perpetrators of Thomas’ murder.
However, he is far from being the only one. According to an analytical summary by the gendarmes carried out using Anacrim software last February, six protagonists in all, including four from La Monnaie, are among the suspects. Since one of them, living in the town center of Roman and only identified on a photographic board because of his long hair, initially designated as being at the top of the list seems not to have been present at the ball and was released under judicial supervision.
The others remain considered as possible perpetrators, either because of their generally very aggressive attitude during the brawl and identified as such on videos of the scene, or recognized on photographic plates by several witnesses. Some admit to throwing barriers, punching and kicking to defend a friend, or getting involved very briefly in the fight but never beyond.
A difficult investigation in the face of the law of silence for the 14 accused
A year later, the hypothesis of a premeditated “anti-white” raid by young people from the Monnaie district, publicly mentioned by certain political leaders after the events, has not been corroborated by the investigations. Around 11 p.m., a group of boys aged 16 to 20 from La Monnaie decided to go to the Crépol ball in three cars. They were warned about the party where there would be “a lot of girls” by a friend they met at the McDonald’s in Romans-sur-Isère in the afternoon. They want to have fun and flirt. Arriving there, they pay entry, are searched like all the guests and place themselves in a corner of the room, mingling more or less with the dancers. From this point on, several witnesses described “insistent” attitudes with certain young women present in the room, who complained, “which could create animosity between the young people from La Monnaie and those from Crépol”, note the police.
Around one o’clock in the morning a second group of Romans arrived in turn, without the investigators being able to establish whether they had been called by the first because of the growing tensions within the ball or to take advantage of the atmosphere. One of them hands a knife to the security guards at the entrance, which he explains he always has with him to “cut drugs”.
Despite the tensions, the ball comes to an end without significant incident. The real trigger for the deadly brawl came just before two o’clock in the morning, when one of the young rugby players touched the long hair of one of the young people from Romans saying “long hair like Nikita”, taking up the words of Jul’s song which is playing at the same time to conclude the party. Altercation, insults, the two drag each other outside, each telling investigators that it was the other who wanted to confront each other outside. In the blink of an eye the evening turns into a general brawl, young people from La Monnaie against rugby players. Knives appear, cries of “it crashes it crashes”, burst forth, in a few minutes four people are seriously injured, Thomas Perotto, who died in the ambulance, the rugby player who came out first, a security guard, and a young man from 27 years old.
The Monnaie group fled in dispersed order, one of its members fired a shot into the air from his car, another violently punched a mother who was coming to pick up her daughter in the face. , which he will recognize while regretting it, the chaos is total. Threats and racist remarks were made by both sides according to witnesses.
To try to identify those who struck with knives, investigators and magistrates must speak out in the face of the law of silence. Not easy, since it is recognized by at least one protagonist that the young people from La Monnaie present at the ball met on Sunday, November 19 to find out what attitude to adopt according to an interview consulted by RTL. Seven of them fled to Toulouse the next day before being caught by the GIGN. Furthermore, the hearings reveal that the majority of those indicted destroyed or made disappear their cell phones and the clothes they wore on the evening of the ball.
The risk, for those indicted, if they do not change their statements, is that many of them will be considered to be co-authors of the murder of Thomas, punishable by life imprisonment.
A “nightmare” for Thomas’ parents
The parents of Thomas Perotto are experiencing a “nightmare” from which they “never escape” declared their lawyer Alexandre Farelli on November 12 to RTL after an information meeting with the investigating judges, who underlined that They “cope despite everything with great courage” thanks in particular to the solidarity of the family.
Contacted by RTL, several lawyers of the suspects did not wish to respond to our requests.
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