Who Was the Monster of Florence? Inside the Mystery That Still Haunts Italy

Uncovering the true identity of Italy’s first serial killer, dubbed the Monster of Florence, has proven to be as elusive as London’s Jack the Ripper. Throughout the years, several suspects have been accused in the murders of up to eight young couples between 1968 and 1985 in secluded areas surrounding Florence, Italy. All of the murders were committed within the same timeframe on moonless nights, and the same Beretta pistol was used in all of them. But the case officially remains unsolved. 

Lore associated with the murders has inspired numerous conspiracy theories, books, movies and TV, including the 2025 series The Monster of Florence.

Most investigators and armchair criminologists believe the Monster of Florence’s killing spree began with the August 1968 murders of 32-year-old wife and homemaker Barbara Locci and her 29-year-old lover, Antonio Lo Bianco. They were shot to death in a car while Locci’s young son slept in the back seat. In 1970, Locci’s husband, Stefano Mele, was convicted of the murders, but was released several years later when evidence from his case matched evidence from similar new murders committed while Mele was in prison.

In September 1974, teenage lovers Pasquale Gentilcore and Stefania Pettini were found shot and stabbed to death in Gentilcore’s car, which was parked in an isolated area frequented by couples seeking privacy. At the time, authorities did not connect it with the previous murders.

The Monster of Florence is also suspected in a pair of double homicides committed in 1981. In June of that year, an engaged couple, Carmela De Nuccio and Giovanni Foggi, were shot and stabbed in or near their vehicle. De Nuccio’s body was removed from the car, and her pubic area was removed. A suspect was arrested in this case but was still jailed when the Monster murdered another betrothed couple, Stefano Baldi and Susanna Cambi. As with the previous deaths, Baldi and Cambi were shot and stabbed. Cambi’s corpse was also mutilated in the same gruesome manner as De Nuccio.

Two horrific double murders in such a short period of time caused panic once police realized ballistics tests indicated the same gun had been used in the 1974 shooting of Gentilcore and Pettini.

In June 1982, another young couple, Paolo Mainardi and Antonella Migliorini, were shot in Mainardi’s car, though this time the rural road was a little busier, which is why authorities think Migliorini’s body was not mutilated.

More than a year passed before the next slayings, but in September 1983, a pair of German students were shot to death in their Volkswagen bus. Wilhelm Friedrich Horst Meyer and Uwe Rüsch were both male, but investigators surmised Rüsch’s long hair may have caused the killer to mistake him for a woman.

In July 1984, Claudio Stefanacci and Pia Gilda Rontini, 21 and 18 years old, respectively, were slain in a car parked in a wooded area. In addition to mutilating Rontini’s body, this time the Monster also removed her left breast.

The final murders attributed to the Monster of Florence occurred in September 1985, when a French couple, Jean Michel Kraveichvili and Nadine Mauriot, were shot and stabbed while camping in a tent in the woods. Mauriot’s corpse was mutilated in the same way as Rontini’s. 

Investigators’ top suspect was Pietro Pacciani, who previously served 13 years for murder and had also been convicted of the domestic abuse and rape of his own daughters. Police believed he was aided and abetted by three friends, Mario Vanni, Giancarlo Lotti and Giovanni Faggi. Initially convicted of the crimes in 1994, Pacciani’s attorney successfully gained an acquittal on the grounds of a lack of evidence and sloppy police work. Although released in 1996, a new trial was ordered, but Pacciani died before proceedings could commence.

While Pacciani’s associates were convicted in four of the eight double homicides, there were enough inconsistencies and confusion that some people still refuse to consider the case to be closed. 

Authorities reopened the investigation in 2001, citing new evidence suggesting the murders were ritual killings committed by a Satanic sect. Italian journalist Mario Spezi, who had studied the case for most of his career, publicly disagreed and wrote a series of articles contesting the new claims. Spezi also partnered with mystery author Douglas Preston on a nonfiction book, The Monster of Florence.

Spezi’s home and computers were searched by police several times, and in 2006 he was arrested for allegedly defaming prosecutors and attempting to obstruct their investigation. He was even accused of being complicit in the actual murders. Preston was also questioned and claims authorities attempted to pressure him to admit to helping Spezi plant evidence. He refused. All charges against Spezi were eventually dropped.

Despite investigators’ efforts, the mystery and controversy of the Monster of Florence continues more than 50 years after the first murders, thanks in part to modern technology offering new ways to test the evidence. For instance, DNA from a bullet found at the Mauriot-Kraveichvili crime scene was determined to match DNA from bullets from the murder of the German students. 

Although that DNA doesn’t belong to any of the other victims or any suspects convicted of the murders, that also doesn’t mean it belongs to the Monster of Florence. The DNA could have been left behind by almost anyone who worked on the case or who has handled the evidence throughout the decades. For now, the mystery remains.