I feel I have been neglecting international cases, but since I am based in the United States those are the cases I am more familiar with, however there are cases that come up that do intrigue me and this one happens to be in Italy. This killer in this case has been dubbed the Italian Jack the Ripper. The similarities between them include, taunting letters, mutilated female (and in the Italian case, male victims too) victims, and a near-legendary status in their respective countries.
Il Mostro di Firenze, The Monster of Florence, is an unidentified serial killer who has killed fourteen victims and was active from 1968 to 1985 in Florence, Italy. The victims were all couples who were parked or out camping in rural areas, and the crimes were all committed during a New Moon. Multiple weapons were used and in over half of the cases the women, their genitals had been mutilated post-mortem and this is suspected to be the motive for the crimes.
Here are the victims with as much information as possible on their murders:
- Antonio Lo Bianco (29) and Barbara Locci (32)
- They were shot to death with a .22 handgun on August 21, 1968. The crimes were not connected to Il Mostro until 1982.
- Barbara’s husband, Stefano Mele, was condemned for the crime and would spend 6 years in prison for the crime.
- While in prison, another couple was murdered with the same gun.
- Pasquale Gentilcore (19) and Stefania Pettini (18)
- They were shot and stabbed while having sex in Pasquale’s car on September 15, 1974.
- Stefania’s corpse had been violated with a grapevine stalk and disfigured with 97 stab wounds.
- Stefania had shared that a strange man had terrified her and that this man had also followed her and another a few days prior to her death.
- Giovanni Foggi (30) and Carmella De Nuccio (21)
- The couple were engaged and were found shot and stabbed on June 6, 1981.
- Carmella had been pulled from the car and cut out her pubic area.
- The morning after the murders, a young paramedic named Enzo Spalletti (30) had spoken of the murder before the victims were discovered. He spent 3 months in jail before the killer struck again.
- Stefano Baldi (26) and Susanna Cambi (24)
- The couple were engaged and due to be married. They were found shot and stabbed on October 23, 1981.
- Susanna’s pubic area had also been cut out like the previous victims. An anonymous person called Susanna’s mother the next morning to talk to her about her daughter.
- Paolo Mainardi (22) and Antonella Migliorni (20)
- Another couple who had been engaged to be married, were found shot to death on June 19, 1982. This time the victims were on a busier road and the killer did not have time to mutilate Antonella’s body.
- Paolo was still alive when police found them but died later at the hospital.
- The police suspect that Paolo had attempted to drive away from the killer but had gotten stuck in a ditch. Another option is that the killer tried to move the car to hide the bodies in the woods more, but lost control of the car and abandoned it. The couple were found moments later.
- Wilhelm Friedrich Horst Meyer (24) and Jens Uwe Rusch (24)
- This couple were German and were students in college. They were in Italy to celebrate a scholarship that Wilhelm had one.
- This is the only couple where they were both male. Jens long blond hair and smaller build may have deceived the killer.
- Claudio Stefanacci (21) and Pia Gilda Rontini (18)
- The pair were shot and stabbed in Claudio’s car on July 29, 1984.
- The killer again removed Pia’s pubic area and this time her left breast.
- Pia had confided that in the bar she worked at she had been bothered by an unpleasant man. And there were reports that a strange man had been following them earlier that night.
- Jean Michel Kraveichvili (25) and Nadine Mauriot (36)
- The couple were lovers from France and on a camping trip in Italy. Jean Michel was killed a short distance away from the camp as he was trying to escape. Nadine was shot and stabbed while she had been sleeping. Nadine was also mutilated.
- Because they were not locals, there was no missing person’s report. But the killer sent a taunting note along with a piece of Nadine’s breast to the state prosecutor, stating a murder had taken place and they needed to find the victims. The bodies had been found only a few hours before the letter was received.
We know who the victims are but there were almost as many suspects in the case. Italian police and courts have tried to close these cases since 1968 when the first victims were found.
Below are the details available on the suspects, again nobody has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were in fact the killer behind the Il Mostro murders.
- Stefano Mele (1919 – 1995)
- Husband to first female victim, Barbara Locci.
- He was arrested and convicted for the first double murder but was later released when the same gun was used when he was in prison.
- Failed to mention that Barbara’s son, Natalino, was in the car when murder occurred.
The Vinci Family
- Salvatore Vinci (1935 – still alive)
- Lover of first female victim, Barbara Locci
- Referred to as the “ringleader” of the first murders.
- Wife Barbarina was found dead in her bedroom in 1961. It was treated as a suicide. Their one-year-old son was rescued from the gas that was in the bedroom, but no one checked on Barbarina.
- Cleared of the Il Mostro murders in 1989, believed to be in Spain.
- Francesco Vinci (died 1993)
- Lover of first female victim, Barbara Locci
- Known for his skills with a knife
- Associated with gangsters
- Cleared of Il Mostro murders in 1989. Found tortured, mutilated, murdered an incinerated inside his car in 1993.
- Antonio Vinci (born 1959)
- Son of Salvatore and Barbarina
- Threatened his father with a scuba knife in the early 1970’s
- Arrested for breaking into his father’s home in 1974, it is suggested that he stole the murder weapon from his father.
- Giovanni Vinci
- Lover of first female victim, Barbara Locci
- Often confused with Giovanni Mele, Stefano Mele’s brother.
- Enzo Spalletti (born 1945)
- Peeping Tom in the area of the Il Mostro murders
- His car was seen near the Di Nuccio-Foggi Murders in 1981
- Admitted that he had seen two dead people before the bodies were discovered
- Was arrested for the murders, but was released when the next victims were killed
- Suggested the killer was a police officer
- Mario Vanni (1927 – 2009)
- Convicted of being an accomplice of Pietro Pacciani
- Sentenced to life in prison in 2000, but released on medical grounds in 2004
- Died in a nursing home of natural causes.
- Giancarlo Lotti (1940 – 2002)
- Was a secret witness in the trial against Pietro Pacciani
- Claims to have murdered Meyer and Rusch himself.
- Sentenced to 30 years in prison but released in 2002 on medical grounds
- Believed to have faked his confession
- A theory claims that he witnessed the original 1968 murders and then picked up the gun that Stefano Mele dropped and became Il Mostro later.
- Died of Liver Cancer
- Pietro Pacciani (1925 – 1998)
- Over sexed
- Nicknamed Il Vampa for his bad temper
- Imprisoned multiple times in 1974, 1981, 1987, 1991, for raping his daughters and beating his wife.
- In 1951 he attacked his 16-year-old girlfriend and her lover in the woods. He murdered the man by stabbing him, then raped his girlfriend.
- In 1994, was found guilty of all the shootings except the first set, as Stefano Mele had been convicted of it. He was acquitted on appeal due to lack of evidence in 1996.
- Was found dead in 1998, his death is investigated as a murder.
The Monster has never been identified and has no longer attacked anyone. Law enforcement conducted several investigations into the cases over the course of several years. In my opinion there were a lot of shady areas with the investigations and a lack of follow through by police.
What do you think of Il Mostro?
Stay Curious my Friends!
Amateur Connoisseur 