‘Monster of Florence’ serial killer case still unsolved | World | News
The Italian serial killer, who claimed the lives of 16 people, continues to evade capture even though more than 50 years have passed since his first murder. murders. The killer, nicknamed the Monster of Florence, shot, stabbed and mutilated the victims, most of whom were couples.
The first gruesome murder was in August 1968, when her lover Barbara Locci and Antonio Lo Bianco were shot dead near Signa. Florence. The killer launched the attack while the couple was sitting in the car and Barbara’s son was asleep in the backseat.
Her husband, Stefano Mele, was charged with murder and sentenced to six years in prison, but another couple was reportedly killed with the same gun while he was behind bars.
Stefano was released following the murders of bartender Pasquale Gentilcore and accountant Stefania Pettini in September 1974. They were shot and stabbed in a lane near Borgo San Lorenzo while having sex in Pasquale’s car.
In June 1981, the Beast struck again, shooting and stabbing warehouse worker Giovanni Foggi and shop assistant Carmela De Nuccio, who were about to get married.
The killer dragged Carmela’s body out of the car and stabbed her private parts with a knife.
Voyeur Enzo Spalletti was charged with murder because he talked about the murder before the bodies were found.
But he was nevertheless released after the Beast attacked again; This time, in October 1981, it cost the lives of Stefano Baldi, who was also engaged, and Susanna Cambi, a telephone lady.
They were shot and stabbed again, this time around Calenzano. Susanna was injured in the same way as Carmela.
In June 1982, mechanic Paolo Mainardi and seamstress Antonella Migliorini were shot dead on a road in Montespertoli after having sex in Paolo’s car.
The monster then shot and killed two students from Germany, Wilhelm Friedrich Horst Meyer and Jens Uwe Rüsch, who were celebrating a scholarship in Italy.
The killer was believed to be female due to Rüsch’s long blonde hair.
Claudio Stefanacci and Pia Gilda Rontini were shot and stabbed to death near Vicchio in July 1984. This time, the sick killer tore apart the private parts and left breast of his female victim.
In September the following year, musician Jean Michel Kraveichvili and businesswoman Nadine Mauriot, both French, were shot and stabbed in their tent while camping in the woods near San Casciano in Val di Pesa. Their deaths are believed to be the Beast’s last.
A few days after the murders, part of Nadine’s breast was sent to the prosecutor leading the investigation, along with a note.
In total, five people were identified as suspects and three were found guilty of the murders. They were all cleared later when the Beast attacked again while in prison.
The murders were also linked by Italian police to a satanic cult and a journalist linked the Monster of Florence to the unsolved Zodiac Killer case in the US.
In 2022, families of three of Monster’s victims asked authorities to re-examine the case because they believed some details had been overlooked. But the identity of the man behind some of Italy’s most grisly murders remains a mystery.
