Italy - The Monster of Florence, 16 victims, 1968-1985

[Nikolai_ff]

A military policeman from Florence Davide Canella has written a book on the case. He is now a private detective. He was even hired by the Vinci family in an unrelated case. Guys, the Monster is “Carlo” or Antonio Vinci. A pharmacist in 85’ remembers that a young man, very tall walks in, a day after every murder and buys alcohol used for body part preservation. He follows him and notices his car is full of newspapers about monster’s crimes. He writes down the plate number. It’s Antonio. The rest of the book fleshes out what Douglas and Mario have proposed. Absolutely fascinating info about Vinci Family from somebody who knows them intimately. Also of the falsely accused Pacciani. Unfortunately it is only in Italian.

So case closed. Literally the two books leave no doubt what so ever.

 

[tilomagnet]

Well, this theory at least can explain the "passage of the gun" problem in a very plausible way. Aside from that, I dont think any real evidence connects AV to the monster, does it? And the police investigated the Sardinian trail for decades even while the murders were still being commited and never found anything that stuck.

 

[Nikolai_ff]

Well, this theory at least can explain the "passage of the gun" problem in a very plausible way. Aside from that, I dont think any real evidence connects AV to the monster, does it? And the police investigated the Sardinian trail for decades even while the murders were still being commited and never found anything that stuck.

Because Antonio was the only person never really investigated. They figured 15 was too young to commit a murder. He was also same height as the killer.

 

[tilomagnet]

Yes, that may be the case, but what evidence does AV really tie to the MdF killings? The statement of the pharmacist is interesting, when was this given and to whom? was it ever followed upon by police at the time?

 

[FergusMcDuck]

I'll see if I can track down the book. It does sound like it has a lot of the details I've been looking for. I would be very interested to see how it deals with the Signa murders, as I've leaned more and more away from Salvatore as the shooter the more I've read.

I do wonder who the pharmacist was and where. I'll try to dig it out, but there was actually one hint about Antonio I haven't mentioned so far. After the Scopeti murders, unfired bullets of the same model were discovered by a road close to Signa, a road that continued onwards to where Antonio lived at the time. I would have to track down the details, but I remember it being fairly close.

 

[tilomagnet]

https://www.amazon.it/Winchester-ca...davide+cannella&qid=1609852207&s=books&sr=1-1

This one? It is unfortunate that basically all books on the MdF except for the Spezi/Preston one are Italian only. This is such a baffling case, Im sure there are enough readers outside Italy that would make an English version profitable.

 

[FergusMcDuck]

Very interesting. I agree, there should be more English translations. Not just books, but a lot of court material and reports would be great to have translated.

 

[Nikolai_ff]

Yes, that may be the case, but what evidence does AV really tie to the MdF killings? The statement of the pharmacist is interesting, when was this given and to whom? was it ever followed upon by police at the time?

Yes, by military police. Specifically Davide Canella. He was ignored.

 

[Nikolai_ff]

I'll see if I can track down the book. It does sound like it has a lot of the details I've been looking for. I would be very interested to see how it deals with the Signa murders, as I've leaned more and more away from Salvatore as the shooter the more I've read.

I do wonder who the pharmacist was and where. I'll try to dig it out, but there was actually one hint about Antonio I haven't mentioned so far. After the Scopeti murders, unfired bullets of the same model were discovered by a road close to Signa, a road that continued onwards to where Antonio lived at the time. I would have to track down the details, but I remember it being fairly close.

Davide’s theory is that Francesco was the shooter. He also says that back in the day, both Salvatore and Francesco were almost indistinguishable.

 

[Nikolai_ff]

https://www.amazon.it/Winchester-calibro-Analisi-spietata-Firenze/dp/8855020102/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_it_IT=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&dchild=1&keywords=davide+cannella&qid=1609852207&s=books&sr=1-1

This one? It is unfortunate that basically all books on the MdF except for the Spezi/Preston one are Italian only. This is such a baffling case, Im sure there are enough readers outside Italy that would make an English version profitable.

It’s not baffling at all. Incompetent police and prosecutors made it that way.

 

[MaryG12]

I am presently reading "The Monster of Florence" by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi, bought it for 50 cents at a local thrift store. Just finished Chapter 17 last night.

Apparently the police did not know how to handle the case, what with murders being close to nonexistent in Florence.

 

[FergusMcDuck]

I am presently reading "The Monster of Florence" by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi, bought it for 50 cents at a local thrift store. Just finished Chapter 17 last night.

Apparently the police did not know how to handle the case, what with murders being close to nonexistent in Florence.

And the murders that they were used to were either mafia-style killings or "crimes of passion". Serial killers were something they had in Germany or Scandinavia, not Italy...

I hope you enjoy the book! It's a great read, engrossing to the end.

 

[FergusMcDuck]

Here's a new development - not in the case, but in the telling of it. There have been rumors about a filmatization of the book for a while (it's even mentioned in the book), but as the years passed I thought it had been lost in development hell. Apparently not!

Academy Award nominee Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”) is set to star in Studiocanal’s ”The Monster of Florence,” a six-hour limited series based on The New York Times bestseller “The Monster Of Florence: A True Story” by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi.

“The Monster of Florence” relates the extraordinary real life investigation carried out by American fiction writer Preston and Italian crime reporter Spezi into what Studiocanal describes as “one of the most riveting and notorious serial murder cases in European history. Banderas will play Spezi.

A six episode series is far better than a single movie, and the director and writers have done good stuff before. I am curious how they will handle the main villain of the second half of the book - Giuliano Mignini. He is still alive, and though he is now retired (the one-two punch of losing both the Narducci case and the Kercher case can't have helped), he is actively arguing with and suing bloggers who write critical things about him.

 

[FergusMcDuck]

Well, that didn't take long.

"Non ho sporto querela per il libro perché pensavo che il suo contenuto di palese falsificazione della vicenda sarebbe sarebbe stato riconosciuto dai lettori ma purtroppo così non è stato. Da ora in avanti non tollererò più che Preston e i suoi collaboratori continuino a deformare la realtà come fatto finora".

[...]

L'ex pm Mignini, che indagò sul medico perugino Francesco Narducci, chiese peraltro l'arresto dello stesso Spezi per depistaggio e ora sarebbe, riporta sempre Repubblica "pronto a formalizzare una diffida nei confronti della produzione" Usa della serie tv, dove il cronista della Nazione sarà interpretato da Antonio Banderas.

Per Mignini la ricostruzione dei fatti nel libro e nella serie si baserebbe su "bugie pervicacemente ripetute" e lo scrittore americano "non conosce una virgola della vicenda del mostro". Accuse che i due autori hanno sempre respinto.

Google-translated:

"I have not filed a complaint about the book because I thought that its content of blatant falsification of the story would be recognized by the readers but unfortunately it was not. From now on I will no longer tolerate that Preston and his collaborators continue to deform reality as done so far ".

[...]

The former prosecutor Mignini, who investigated the Perugian doctor Francesco Narducci, also asked for the arrest of Spezi himself for misdirection and now he would be, always reports Repubblica "ready to formalize a warning against the" US production of the TV series, where the reporter della Nazione will be played by Antonio Banderas.

For Mignini, the reconstruction of the facts in the book and in the series would be based on "stubbornly repeated lies" and the American writer "does not know a comma of the monster's story". Accusations that the two authors have always rejected.

I guess we'll see if Mignini still has the pull to derail the series. He's not an active prosecutor anymore, as he was when he threatened reporters during the Narducci and Kercher cases.

 

[Romulus]

Families want ‘Monster of Florence’ serial killer case reopened

Families want "Monster of Florence" serial killer case reopened decades after mysterious murders of 8 couples - CBS News

 

[FergusMcDuck]

Interesting, though I wonder if there are any Florentian prosecutors willing to touch the case. They seem to focus on Vigilanti, which I think is barking up the wrong tree. Also, the DNA testing is on anonymous letters? That's disappointing, since those letters were never confirmed to have been sent by the Monster (except for the body-part letter sent to Della Monica, though that doesn't appear to be included here).

If they have anything else - there was supposed to be DNA found on Nadine Mauriot's pants - this might turn up something, but in the end I suspect it'll fizzle out again. Just don't let Giuttari anywhere near it!

 

[Tyson Hanson]

For everyone who would like to know the case better, I inform you that about one year ago Antonio Segnini, author of the blog Quando sei con me il Mostro non c'è, created a YouTube channel where he retraces his articles while examining every aspect of the matter, with extensive use of the official documentation. This allows to see clearly into the chaos developed throughout the decades, which often discourages and makes a detailed examination hard. English subtitles.

Here’s the link: Quando sei con me il Mostro non c'è (YouTube channel)

 

[FergusMcDuck]

For everyone who would like to know the case better, I inform you that about one year ago Antonio Segnini, author of the blog Quando sei con me il Mostro non c'è, created a YouTube channel where he retraces his articles while examining every aspect of the matter, with extensive use of the official documentation. This allows to see clearly into the chaos developed throughout the decades, which often discourages and makes a detailed examination hard. English subtitles.

Here’s the link: Quando sei con me il Mostro non c'è (YouTube channel)

Yes! Heartily recommended. Segnini really is the best online commenter on the case that I have found, and he has (after a few years of waffling) persuaded me that his theory is the likeliest one.

But even if you don't agree with it, his articles and videos are fact-focused and detailed, invaluable to anyone interested in the case.

 

[Tyson Hanson]

Yes! Heartily recommended. Segnini really is the best online commenter on the case that I have found, and he has (after a few years of waffling) persuaded me that his theory is the likeliest one.

But even if you don't agree with it, his articles and videos are fact-focused and detailed, invaluable to anyone interested in the case.

I sure agree!
I’ll take this opportunity to clear up the doubts you expressed about why the murderer stopped killing after Scopeti. As you can read here: Lotti Hypothesis, Segnini doesn’t see Lotti as a sexual maniac, but as a paranoid character whose motive for killing came from anger, social frustration and a desire for payback against a world that had always treated him with contempt because of his personal limitations. He believes Lotti killed in 1974 out of sick jealousy, then in 1981, finding a source of inspiration in the 1980 film “Manic”, he decided to become a serial killer using the gun he had kept, which allowed him to enjoy the mood of terror he was able to create. So he bought or opened a 50 bare leaden cartridge box, being aware from the start how many murders he was going to commit, more or less. When he ran out of bullets, he simply stopped. Not being a psychopath, he didn’t feel any urge to kill, he did just because he wanted.

 

[FergusMcDuck]

I sure agree!
I’ll take this opportunity to clear up the doubts you expressed about why the murderer stopped killing after Scopeti. As you can read here: Lotti Hypothesis, Segnini doesn’t see Lotti as a sexual maniac, but as a paranoid character whose motive for killing came from anger, social frustration and a desire for payback against a world that had always treated him with contempt because of his personal limitations. He believes Lotti killed in 1974 out of sick jealousy, then in 1981, finding a source of inspiration in the 1980 film “Manic”, he decided to become a serial killer using the gun he had kept, which allowed him to enjoy the mood of terror he was able to create. So he bought or opened a 50 bare leaden cartridge box, being aware from the start how many murders he was going to commit, more or less. When he ran out of bullets, he simply stopped. Not being a psychopath, he didn’t feel any urge to kill, he did just because he wanted.

What convinced me about that argument (that he quit because he ran out of bullets, which I was skeptical about at first) wasn't so much that I thought he decided to set a limit to his kills, it's that any purchase of that type of ammunition was closely monitored after 1981, and there would be no realistic way for someone like Lotti to get a hold of a new box without drawing attention to himself. Lotti wasn't a Vinci, with contacts in the underworld. He was mostly a loner, which is what allowed him to go undetected for so long, but also deprived him of connections he could have used.

I'll hand it to Segnini. I was resistant to the Lotti hypothesis for a long time, but he gave explanations for pretty much all of my doubts.