Monster of Florence - The Killer’s Signature Revealed

Primavera by Sandro Botcelli (1480) (Public Domain)

After 40 years, modern Italy’s first major serial killer case, the Monster of Florence has still not been solved. A brief summary: from 21 August 1968 to 8 September 1985, 16 people (eight couples) were shot and mutilated while making out in cars and a tent in the countryside surrounding Florence. Several suspects were arrested, including Stefano Mele the husband of Barbarra Mele nee Locci, the woman who was shot along with her partner Antonio Lo Bianco in the first case; Stefano’s brother Giovanni Mele and Piero Mucciarini his brother-in-law; plus her two lovers, the brothers Francesco and Salvadore Vince; as well as Enzo Spalletti, one of the voyeurs who frequented the Florence countryside. By 1989, all had been released as more murders had occurred while they were incarcerated. Magistrate Rotella who ordered the arrests, was retired from the case. (Refer to the previous article The Monster of Florence A Voyeur’s Perspective? for a description of each murder case and the FBI profile.)

From there the investigation spiralled down the rabbit hole, where detectives, magistrates, prosecutors and journalists went off on a tangent arresting satanic cults and even linking the case to the Zodiac killer. Not only were suspects arrested and acquitted, corpses exhumed, and family members harassed but cops and prosecutors were suspended and reinstated, journalists were arrested and released and still today amateur sleuths voice their speculations on podcasts, focussing on synthetic sensationalism designed to attract clickbait. In the process valid investigative tools such as criminal profiling and forensic geographical profiling have been ignored, which could literally have pointed the initial investigative team in the right direction, saved millions and perhaps have tracked the killer down.

The last murder was committed in 1985 close to the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial (Public Domain)

By 1985, after the last double murder which was committed in the vicinity of the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, the task force requested a criminal profile from the FBI. Geoforensic profiling was still four years away from being introduced as an investigative tool in 1989 and by then the investigation team had run out of suspects.

Chief prosecutor Pier Luigi Vigna had speculated that perhaps the firearm that was used in the first 1968 case - to which Stefano Mele had confessed, but he had thrown the firearm in a ditch – was picked up by an unknown assailant and used in the subsequent murders.

Armed with the FBI’s generic profile, the investigation team ran computer analyses and an anonymous tip-off produced the name of Pietro Pacciani. Pietro stood out as a potential suspect since he had killed his girlfriend’s lover in 1951 and was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment, plus Pietro had been convicted both for rape and domestic abuse of his two daughters. Task force chief Ruggero Perugini focussed his attention on Pietro, a murderous sex offender. During Pietro’s house search Perugini found a reproduction of Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera, an icon of Italian Renaissance Art.

Chloris with the vine in her mouth (Public Domain)

Collateral evidence often strengthens a case against a suspect, especially if there are sexual connotations or a link between with the actual murders. It gives the judge a fuller picture of the person behind the crime and I always train and encourage detectives to be on the look-out for collateral evidence.

The only link I can detect in the Primavera, is Chloris has a vine in her mouth and during the second murder, the killer inserted a vine into Stefania Pettini’s private parts. Chloris is also referred to as Flora, the nymph of vegetation. Voyeurs hide in the vegetation, but to link this painting with any aspect of the crime scene, is a long shot. What was indisputable evidence was the unfired bullet of the same brand as the other murders, found in Pietro’s garden. Finally, worthy a suspect!

Pietro was convicted in the first-instance trial in 1994 and given 14 life sentences for seven of the eight double homicides (1974, June and October 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985, excluding the first one committed in 1968. However, on appeal his attorney argued he the investigation lacked proper evidence. It was established that the bullet was planted by the police. Pietro as acquitted and released in 1996 but by December 1996, a new trial was ordered by the Supreme Court of Cassation. Pietro he died in 1998 before the new appeal trial could begin.