True Crime Italia

The Victim:
Chiara Poggi, 26 years old.

The Garlasco murder, which took place in Garlasco (northern Italy) on August 13, 2007, involves the death of 26-year-old Chiara Poggi, who was struck by a blunt object in her home. Chiara's boyfriend, Alberto Stasi, initially discovered her body and alerted the authorities. Despite Stasi’s claims of being at home working on his thesis at the time of the crime, evidence pointed to inconsistencies in his alibi. Among the evidence, the most damning was the lack of blood traces on his clothing and shoes, which led investigators to suspect that he may have been involved in the murder itself. The case became one of Italy's most highly publicized criminal cases, with Stasi initially arrested and then released due to insufficient evidence. The Garlasco case remains highly controversial, as many believe that Stasi's conviction was based on circumstantial evidence and that his guilt was not proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

In 2015, the Italian Supreme Court definitively declared Alberto Stasi guilty of the murder, sentencing him to 16 years in prison. However, despite this ruling, the case has continued to stir debate. Critics argue that the evidence against Stasi was not conclusive enough to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, with some even suggesting that the judicial process was flawed. The prosecution’s argument relied on several key points, including the fact that the victim knew her assailant, who entered the house without signs of forced entry. The evidence pointed toward Stasi, including the fact that he was the one to discover the body, as well as new forensic evidence that surfaced during the appeals process. However, the exact motive behind the crime remains unclear, and the case continues to raise questions about the reliability of the evidence and the fairness of the conviction.

The Victim:
Yara Gambirasio, 13 years old.

Yara Gambirasio, a 13-year-old girl from Brembate di Sopra, near Bergamo, disappeared on November 26, 2010, while returning home from her gymnastics training. Her sudden and mysterious disappearance sparked a massive search, but for months, there was no sign of her. Three months later, in February 2011, her body was found in a field near her hometown. The investigation revealed that Yara had been kidnapped, assaulted, and murdered. The case remained unsolved for several years, despite the authorities’ extensive efforts to find a suspect.

In 2014, the case took a dramatic turn when DNA evidence collected from the scene led to the arrest of Massimo Bossetti, a man with no previous criminal record. Bossetti was convicted based on DNA traces found on Yara’s clothing, and he was sentenced to life in prison. However, many questioned the validity of the evidence, claiming it was circumstantial. Critics also pointed out that no clear motive had been established for Bossetti’s involvement. The case continues to be surrounded by debate and doubts, making it one of the most controversial criminal cases in recent Italian history.

The Victim:
Elisa Claps, 16 years old.

Elisa Claps, a 16-year-old girl from Potenza, Italy, disappeared on March 12, 1993, while on her way to church. Her sudden vanishing deeply shocked the local community, and despite initial investigations, the case went cold for many years. Elisa’s family, especially her mother, fought tirelessly for answers, but no substantial progress was made. The mystery surrounding her disappearance continued for nearly two decades, with various theories about her fate, but no concrete leads emerged.

In 2010, seventeen years later, a breakthrough came when Elisa’s body was discovered in the attic of the church she had visited that fateful day. The discovery was chilling, and DNA evidence eventually linked Danilo Restivo, a man with a criminal background, to the murder. Restivo was also implicated in the 1996 murder of a woman in the UK, revealing a disturbing pattern of violent behavior. In 2011, he was convicted of Elisa’s murder, and the case became emblematic of the painful, often prolonged nature of unsolved crimes in Italy. Elisa Claps' case remains one of the most tragic and unresolved mysteries in the country’s criminal history.

The Victim:
Emanuela Orlandi, 15 years old.

Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican citizen, disappeared on June 22, 1983, after leaving her home inside Vatican City to attend a music lesson in Rome. She never returned, and her disappearance quickly became one of Italy’s most enduring mysteries. Over the years, a web of conspiracy theories emerged, suggesting that Emanuela’s case involved the Vatican, the Italian mafia, and even Middle Eastern political interests. Some speculated that she was kidnapped to pressure the Vatican over financial scandals, while others believed her disappearance was linked to the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II.

Despite decades of investigations, official inquiries, and media attention, no one has ever been convicted in connection to Emanuela's disappearance. In recent years, the Vatican reopened the case, even allowing searches within Vatican properties, but no definitive answers have been found. The Orlandi family has continued to fight for the truth, accusing Vatican officials of withholding information. The mystery surrounding Emanuela Orlandi remains one of Italy’s most haunting unsolved cases, symbolizing broader suspicions about secrecy and corruption within powerful institutions.

The Victims:
Raffaella Castagna, Youssef Marzouk, Paola Galli and Valeria Cherubini.

The Erba massacre took place on December 11, 2006, in the small town of Erba, Lombardy, when Raffaella Castagna, her 3-year-old son Youssef Marzouk, her mother-in-law Paola Galli, and a neighbor, Valeria Cherubini, were brutally murdered inside an apartment building. The victims were attacked with knives and a metal bar, and the apartment was set on fire to destroy evidence. The violence and cruelty of the killings horrified Italy. Shortly after the murders, the police arrested Olindo Romano and his wife Rosa Bazzi, a seemingly quiet couple who lived in the same building. Under intense interrogation, both confessed to the crimes, claiming longstanding disputes with their neighbors had escalated into homicidal rage.

However, controversy soon emerged around the investigation and trial. Olindo and Rosa later retracted their confessions, stating they had been coerced and that they only confessed under pressure and exhaustion. Doubts were raised about the lack of clear physical evidence directly linking them to the crime scene, and several inconsistencies in the forensic analysis and witness testimonies fueled suspicions of a miscarriage of justice. Despite this, in 2008 the couple was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Over the years, the Erba massacre has remained a deeply divisive case in Italy, sparking ongoing debates about false confessions, investigative errors, and the true nature of guilt.

The Victims:
Susanna Cassini and Gianluca De Nardo, 41 and 11 years old.

The Novi Ligure murders occurred on February 21, 2001, when 16-year-old Erika De Nardo and her 17-year-old boyfriend Mauro Favaro, known as "Omar," brutally killed Erika’s mother, Susanna Cassini, and her younger brother, Gianluca De Nardo, in their family home in Novi Ligure, Italy. The crime was premeditated and shockingly violent, carried out with knives in a calculated attack. Initially, Erika falsely claimed that the family had been attacked by burglars, a story that quickly unraveled under police scrutiny. The motivations behind the murders seemed to stem from Erika’s desire to free herself from what she perceived as an oppressive family environment, combined with a toxic and obsessive relationship with Omar. The youth of the perpetrators and the savagery of the crime stunned the Italian public and triggered an intense media frenzy.

Following their arrest, Erika and Omar faced a controversial and widely publicized trial. Psychological evaluations suggested a complex mix of immaturity, emotional dependency, and distorted thinking in both teenagers. In the end, Erika was sentenced to life imprisonment, while Omar received a 14-year sentence, later reduced due to his cooperation with authorities. The case ignited national debates on the psychological vulnerability of adolescents, the potential influence of violent media on young minds, and the underlying issues within family dynamics. Over the years, both Erika and Omar have served their sentences, with Erika eventually obtaining partial release measures aimed at rehabilitation. The Novi Ligure murders remain one of Italy’s most infamous examples of youth crime and societal breakdown.

The Victim:
Meredith Kercher, 21 years old.

The Murder of Meredith Kercher refers to the tragic death of a 21-year-old British exchange student in Perugia, Italy, on November 1, 2007. Meredith was found murdered in her apartment, with multiple stab wounds and signs of a violent struggle. Her American roommate, Amanda Knox, and Knox’s Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, quickly became suspects, along with Rudy Guede, a local man with a criminal record. The case gained international media attention, fueled by sensationalist narratives that suggested a sexual motive and depicted Knox in particular in a highly controversial light. The investigation and early trials were plagued by inconsistencies, questionable forensic practices, and heavy media pressure, which many believe distorted public opinion and judicial decisions.

Knox and Sollecito were initially convicted in 2009, while Guede was tried separately and convicted based on DNA evidence found at the scene. Over the next several years, Knox and Sollecito went through a series of appeals, reversals, and retrials, culminating in their final acquittal by Italy’s highest court, the Corte di Cassazione, in 2015. The court found that the evidence against them was insufficient and criticized the prosecution’s conduct. Rudy Guede, however, served a 16-year sentence (reduced for good behavior) and was released early in 2021. The case remains one of the most debated in Italian legal history, symbolizing not only a tragic loss of life but also raising important questions about media influence, police work, and the reliability of the justice system.

The Victim:
Simonetta Cesaroni, 20 years old.

The Delitto di Via Poma refers to the brutal and still unsolved murder of Simonetta Cesaroni, a 20-year-old woman from Rome, Italy, who was found dead on August 7, 1990, in an office on Via Poma where she worked as a secretary. Simonetta had been stabbed 29 times in the neck and chest with a small bladed weapon, but no signs of sexual violence were detected. Her body was discovered hours after she had failed to return home, and the circumstances of the crime scene, including the lack of defensive wounds and the absence of forced entry, baffled investigators. The case quickly captured national attention due to Simonetta’s young age, the apparent senselessness of the crime, and the many irregularities during the investigation.

Early suspects included the janitor of the building, Pietrino Vanacore, who was heavily scrutinized by the media and later found dead by suicide in 2010, just before he was supposed to testify in court. Years later, Simonetta’s ex-boyfriend, Raniero Busco, was indicted based on forensic evidence suggesting his presence at the crime scene. Although initially convicted in 2011, Busco was acquitted on appeal in 2012, as doubts remained about the reliability of the evidence. Over the years, multiple theories emerged — from personal motives to conspiracies involving people connected to the building — but no definitive answers were ever found. Investigative errors, media pressure, and legal complications severely compromised the case. More than thirty years later, the Delitto di Via Poma remains one of Italy’s most infamous unsolved murders, symbolizing the failures of the Italian justice system and leaving a deep mark on public memory.

The Victim:
Sarah Scazzi, 15 years old.

The Delitto di Avetrana refers to the brutal murder of Sarah Scazzi, a 15-year-old girl from the small town of Avetrana, in Puglia, Italy, in 2010. Sarah disappeared on August 26, 2010, after leaving her home to meet a friend, but never arrived. Her body was found on October 8, 2010, in a countryside area near Avetrana, and it was determined she had been strangled and then suffocated. The case shocked Italy due to its gruesome nature and the involvement of Sarah’s own family. Initially, suspicion fell on Sarah's family members, particularly her aunt Cosima Serrano and cousin Sabrina Misseri. Both women, along with Sabrina's father Michele Misseri, were implicated in the murder.

The investigation revealed a complex and disturbing family dynamic. Sabrina, in particular, was later identified as having committed the crime, with Cosima allegedly complicit. Michele Misseri, who initially confessed to the crime, later retracted his statement and suggested Sabrina was the real murderer. The case was further complicated by the bizarre behavior of the accused and the multiple versions of events presented during the investigation and trial. In 2012, Sabrina and Cosima were arrested, while Michele was also charged for his role in the cover-up. The trial was highly publicized, and in 2016, Sabrina and Cosima were both convicted of the murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. The case remains a focal point of public discussion in Italy, with ongoing debates over the family's involvement and the psychological factors behind the crime. The Delitto di Avetrana is one of Italy’s most notorious criminal cases and remains a tragic and chilling example of familial violence.