A little about Florence, Italy.
- It is the Capital of Tuscany, in Central Italy. Built on both sides of the Arno river.
- Florence was Founded as a roman military colony in the first century bce.
- Florence’s vernacular became the italian language
- Noteworthy celebrities that flourished here were Leonardo da Vinci, Filipp Brunelleschi, Niccolò Machiavelli, Michelangelo, Dante, and Galileo.
- Some famous buildings that reside here are the Baptistery of St. John, the Gothic Duomo, and the Uffizi Gallery.
- Economy is largely based around tourism… duh duh duuuuuuuuun.
What happened
- Between 1968 and 1985, 14 to 16 people were murdered in florence italy, in what leading criminologists and police officials have declared as one of the most puzzling crimes of their time.
- First Known victims were Antonio Lo Bianco and his Sardinian lover Barbara Locci
- Killed on August 21, 1968
- Small town near florence
- Locci’s 6 year old son, Natalino Mele, asleep in the back seat. (saw somewhere that they were having sex in the car and kid was asleep in back seat).
- Kid woke up and found his mother dead and he fled.
- Kid ran two kilometers and knocked on the door of a house.
- Kid banged on the door and told the homeowner “open the door and let me in, I'm sleepy and my daddy is sick in bed. THen you have to drive me home, because my mother and my uncle are dead in their car.”
- Kid was questioned by authorities as to how he ran alone in the dark two kilometers on unpaved country road.
- Kid originally said that he was scared and alone but changed his story later on saying that his father or an uncle drove him to the house.
- Kid said years later that he was alone but was too shocked to really remember what happened.
- Uncle was the name given to the mothers lovers.
- Mother had the nickname of ape regina or queen bee, due to the countless affairs she had.
- Lover of several men including 3 brothers; Giovanni, Salvatore and Francesco Vinci. Manual laborers and petty criminals
- Salvatore lived with Locci and Mele in their own home for a short time.
- Lovers were shot and killed in the car by a .22 caliber pistol.
- Suspected killer was Loccis’s husband, Stefano Mele.
- Considered to be older and mentally slow
- Cops found a glove that was his that was tested and shown to have gun fire residue.
- Mele confessed but retracted his confession, and then confessed again but accused the vinci brothers of being involved, but later confessed to doing it alone.
- Despite changing his story and his son changing stories numerous times, the cuckolded husband was convicted and sent to prison for 14 years
- Given a light sentence due to suffering from “infirmity of the mind” and deemed mentally dysfunctional.
- Mele said that he dropped the gun at the crime scene but it was never recovered.
- Considered a cut and dry case of a simple crime of passion.
- Saturday night of September 14th, 1974.
- Young couple, Stefania Pettini and Pasquale Gentilcore were regulars to a small secluded spot in the gentle suburban countryside on the outskirts of Florence, so they can spend some “private time alone”.
- The young couple was found dead the next morning.
- The young man was found inside the car leaning on the door
- Young lady was found in the grass behind the vehicle.
- Her body was nude and there had been stab wounds found.
- Not deep
- Surface wounds
- Stabbed or “Pricked” over 90 TIMES!!!!
- Raped? With a thin olive branch
- An author by the name of Magdalen Nabb wrote in her novel “The Monster Of Florence” -which was a fictional adaptation of the case- saw the act as a sign that the killer was impotent, writing: “He tries to rape the girl, but isnt able, so he violates her with an olive vine instead”.
- No money was stolen but it was noted that a few pieces of jewelry were stolen from Stefania
- Florence officials considered this a one-off event
- Seven years go by
- Saturday Night June 6th,1981
- Carmela de Nuccio and Giovanni Faggi were parked on a dirt road just outside of Florence, known as Scandicci which is close to the popular night club, the “Anastasia Club”.
- They made it a habit to go to this spot alone
- Next morning bodies were found dead
- Both shot and stabbed
- Giovanni was found in the driver's seat with half of his clothes on.
- Carmela was found 20 feet away from the car with her jeans pulled down and her pubic area had been cut out and taken away.
- Ballistics were run and the same gun, a .22 caliber long rifle, had been used with each of the Winchester bullets having the letter “H” embossed on the back of the casing.
- Police were certain that the 1974 murder was not just a “one-off” and that they may have a maniac on the loose.
- Police also were certain that the killer was strong. Seeing as how the woman was not dragged, but instead carried out of the car and down a hill where her body was found.
- Police decide to look into a common issue plaguing Florence - peeping toms.
- With Florence being surrounded by hills, woods and countryside, just driving less than 20 minutes would find you in a secluded field or wooded area. Deprived of witnesses or townsfolk.
- During this time it was common for many Italians to live at home until they were married. Which means that couples didn't really get much privacy or robust ability to be alone together.
- Lovemaking in cars was common and couples would typically wait for night and secluded areas.
- Having a culture like this makes it a little easier for the occasional “Peeping-Tom” to have their gross fun.
- Most onlookers or peeping-toms went into the woods with just a pair of binoculars, although it wasn't uncommon to find the Professional peeping-tom.
- Armed with advanced night vision goggles or cameras so they could take pictures or even film unaware lovers
- Disgusting of an act as this may be, the police thought that the “toms” may come in handy to the investigation of the Monster of Florence.
- Hoping that these people may be able to give tips or see something that could aid in their investigation.
- Apparently it did help as one “Tom” gave some info.
- Police had nothing and jumped at this chance.
- Enzo Spalletti was a husband and a father.
- Taken into custody after seeing two dead bodies in the woods.
- Main reason he was being incarcerated was his unwillingness to divulge any information as to why he just so happened to be in the woods at the time the crime took place and knowing about the crime before it was officially reported.
- Eyewitnesses placed him and his vehicle at the crime scene at the time of the murder, although he denied every any part of being apart of the crime.
- Thursday night October 22nd, 1981
- Susanna Cambi and Stefano Baldi had parked their vehicle on a country road just outside of florence.
- Couple was not known for visiting this spot and police believed they stopped on a whim with the sudden urge of intimacy.
- Bodies were found in the morning.
- Stefano was found outside of the car wearing just a shirt and underwear.
- Susanna had been carried to a spot nearby and her private areas had been horribly disfigured
- Nothing was stolen from these victims either
- This murder is known to this day as an anomaly since it happened on a thursday even though the day after, friday, was a national labor strike.
- The other crimes also took place in the summer where this was in the fall.
- That evening was also a very bright, moonlit night.
- Officials believe that the murderer acted out as to throw off the police to the investigation.
- This anomaly also gave one strong clue to the police that wasn't available prior, a size 44(u.s size 10) shoe print found in the mud.
- Police believed that the culprit was a “Tall”(Hahahaha) and robust person.
- With this new crime happening they released Enzo from custody.
- Saturday Night June 19th, 1982
- Antonella Migliorini and Paolo Mainardi were parked by some bushes in Baccaiano which is south of Florence.
- Vehicle was able to be seen clearly from the street.
- Friends of theirs have driven by and seen the two in the car and could clearly identify who was in it.
- Antonella chose this area because it wasn't as private for fears of running into the monster of Florence
- This particular case could show to be a turning point in the investigation.
- The monster had shot the couple.
- What made things interesting however was the shot on Paolo did not kill him right away.
- He was able to turn on the vehicle and attempt to drive away.
- Car was facing away from the street so any attempt at fleeing would have to have been done in reverse.
- Hard to drive in reverse while being shot at
- Monster shot the headlights out to avoid any attention.
- Paolo unfortunately got the vehicle stuck in a ditch while trying to flee.
- Neither of the victims were stabbed nor were there any ritualistic disfigurements of Antonella.
- Mainly because the Monster most likely had to flee from the disruptive scene, plus it was a rather busy area.
- Very shortly after the incident, another vehicle passed by
- Assuming the vehicle was stuck they got out to help
- Found the blood bath and immediately called for an ambulance and police.
- Paolo was still breathing when help arrived and drove him to the hospital where he shortly died from his wounds.
- The prosecutor who was investigating this case at the time, Silvia della Monica, decided to try and create a trap for the Monster.
- She had the newspapers print off saying that Paolo was able to say some words about what happened before he passed.
- Hoping to make the Monster second guess everything or at the very least, make a mistake.
- Shortly after the incident at Baccaiano, an envelope arrived at the Carabinieri police station in Florence.
- Contents of envelope
- Newspaper clipping with article dating back to the 1968 killing of the two lovers that were shot by the alleged jealous husband, Stefano Mele.
- Written on top of the clipping was the statement ‘Why dont you take another look at this case?’
- The spent casings of the bullets that were fired in 1968 were still archived.
- Ballistics tests were ran
- Ballistics proved that the same gun had been used that day and with the other cases with similar incidents.
- The bullets were the same type and were to have been from the same box of ammo as well.
- How could this be?
- The Man that killed the first couple was still in prison.
- Remember he dropped the gun at the time of the crime allegedly.
- Since officials had no other leads they decided to look into the Sardinian brothers who Mele accused of being accomplices.
- Giovanni, Salvatore and Francesco Vinci
- Salvatore and Francesco being the two more likely suspects due to connections with Mele and past crimes.
- Shortly after the latest killings in Baccaiano, Francesco’s car was found in the south of Tuscany, hidden in the woods.
- Francesco was then taken into custody on suspicion of being the Monster of Florence!
- One year later with Francesco behind bars,
- Friday September 9th, 1983
- In Galluzzo, which is a residential area of Florence.
- Two German tourists
- Uwe Rush and Horst Meyer
- Chillaxing in their VW camper van
- One man, at a quick look, could have been mistaken for a woman.
- Shots fired from outside the van through the window had shattered the glass, but none of it fell on the ground.
- Killer had to reposition due to lack of visibility in the van
- Continued firing but on the other side of the window.( since first window was shattered)
- Killer then entered the vehicle to finish the job but found that he had killed two men and therefore could not do the ritualistic disfigurement they had previously done on other women
- One piece of evidence officials gained from this incident was the rough guesstimate of the killer's height.
- Van was taller than a car
- Bullet entry point gave clear idea on height of killer
- At least 80 centimeters or 5 foot 10 inches tall.
- Francesco was released but his brother Salvatore was brought in.
- Mele’s brother Giovanni and his brother-in-law, Piero Mucciarini, were also brought in for questioning due to the inconsistent ramblings of Mele during his confession and their names were mentioned.
- It was believed that due to Mele’s Wifes’ promiscuous nature and also changing lovers on a weekly basis; Officials thought that the Mele and Mucciarini family were embarrassed by this and thought she would tarnish their familys’ name, so they wanted her out of the picture.
- Now they are suspects too
- Pia Rontini and Claudio Stefanacci.
- Parked in usual spot in a wooded area near Florence
- Both were shot and stabbed to death
- Pia’s body was dragged this time to a nearby area and the killer performed the disgusting ritualistic disfigurement on Pia.
- This time they went one step farther though.
- Killer cut off Pia’s left breast.
- Killer left behind some clues this time
- Hand print on top of the car
- Investigators believed the killer was right handed and steadied himself atop the car with his left hand
- Knee marks were found on the side of the car confirming the height of the killer to be around 1,80 - 1,85 meters tall. Or 5’9” and 6’1”
- Because this all happened while the Sardinian brothers were still in custody they released them.
- Sunday September 8th, 1985
- In a town outside of florence
- Nadine Mauriot and Jean Michel Kravechvili
- Took privacy a step forward
- Pitched a tent near their car just off the main road in a clearing behind trees
- Couple was french
- Last few couples had been foreign
- Most likely Florence residents didn't want to venture into isolated areas any longer
- Foreign tourists wanted to do so even though the city posted signs everywhere to not be alone in isolated areas
- Jean was a young and strong man who was a trained sprinter.
- Killer opened up the tent and Jean was able to break free and run away with only being shot in the arm.
- Jean ran the wrong way and instead of going to the street for help, ran deeper into the woods.
- Killer caught up to Jean and finished him off, then went back to the tent to finish his ritualistic disfigurement on Nadine.
- The next day, Silvia Della Monica, received another envelope.
- Looked like a ransom letter with the letters all different shapes and sizes.
- Spelling error with Repubblica spelled with one “B”
- Perhaps uneducated and didn't know a common Italian spelling?
- Contents had no letter
- But a sliver of Nadine's breast was found inside
- Officials thought that this was a warning of more and worse crimes to come
- The french couple were the last victims of the .22 caliber killer though.
- Perhaps this was a sign-off from the killer?
- In 1985 right after the incident with the french tourists, police received an anonymous letter telling them to look into a man named Pietro Pacciani
- Pietro was known for being abusive and violent
- Investigators decided to use a new tool at the time of the letter, the personal computer.
- The made a list of all people who had been convicted of a sexual crime and was released from prison during the years of the murders.
- Pietro was one of few names on this short list.
- Looking into Pietro’s past they found that he stabbed a man to death in 1951
- He saw his girlfriend at the time going off with another man.
- Followed them and right when they were going to get intimate, he jumped out and killed the man
- Forced his girlfriend ot have sex with him next to the dead man
- Stole the man's wallet
- Convicted for 13 years
- Pietro was a farm worker his whole life and was uneducated
- Known to have a short fuse
- Pietro’s daughters testified against him in court and said that not only did he rape abd abuse them and their mother, but were also fed dog food to save money.
- Known to be a peeping tom
- Was a self taught artist and poet
- Basically his rage and artistic ability gave investigators a reason to believe he could be the Monster of Florence.
- Was convicted of the few circumstantial pieces of evidence in 1994
- Went to appeals court and was overturned and he was free in 1996
- A second trial was held based on the testimony of witnesses that the prosecution brought up in court just before Pietro’s initial conviction were to be overturned.
- Witnesses were at multiple crimes.
- Witnesses included: a prostitute, Gabriella Ghiribelli, her ‘keeper’ Norberto Galli, and a friend of Pietro’s Giancarlo Lotti
- According to Gabriella and Norberto, the car of Lotti was found parked near the scene of the attack in 1985
- Lotti was investigated further
- They tapped his phone and he confessed to being present at some of the crimes
- Lotti said it was Pietro that shot the victims and a friend of Pietro that used the knife
- Lotti’s role was lookout
- Once pressured by police, Lotti confessed to shooting the van with the German men inside.
- This led to Lotti and Mario’s conviction and were sent to jail.
- Because of these two there was to be another trial for Pietro
- Pietro died of a heart attack in 1998 though
- Lotti was not deemed a valuable enough witness by many because he was an alcoholic living in a halfway house at the time
- Believed he only confessed to receive recognition to improve his living conditions.
- By going to prison he would get three meals a day and a warm roof over his head.
- Even though Lotti and Mario were convicted, the Monster of Florence case is still open.
MOVIES
https://www.imdb.com/search/keyword/?keywords=sexual-murder&sort=moviemeter,asc&mode=detail&page=1&title_type=movie&ref_=kw_ref_typ
Monster of Florence
http://www.florencewebguide.com/monster-of-florence.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_of_Florence
https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/The_Monster_of_Florence
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Monster_of_Florence
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Monster-of-Florence
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/07/the-monster-of-florence/304981/
https://www.magentaflorence.com/new-monster-of-florence-suspect/
https://filmschoolrejects.com/the-monster-of-florence-true-story/
http://www.italianinsider.it/?q=node/5688
