The Chilling True Story Behind The Monster of Florence

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From 1968 to 1985, a terrifying series of murders gripped the area around Florence, Italy. The killer preyed on couples parked in remote locations, and in some instances, the female victims were found mutilated. Known as the “Monster of Florence,” the identity of this killer remains a chilling unsolved mystery in Italy.

Netflix’s new series, The Monster of Florence, begins in 1982 with the discovery of a murdered couple in their car. This crime leads police to revisit a similar case from 1968, both linked to the same .22 caliber Beretta pistol. As the investigation unfolds, investigators, journalists, and those suspected of involvement become caught up in a complex web of fear, obsession, and mistrust.

According to director Sollima, the show starts at the beginning of the investigation because the case is so complicated. He explains to TIME that no single person has been convicted of all sixteen murders. They chose to show how investigators first began to suspect they were dealing with a serial killer and started piecing the evidence together.

Drawing on court records and actual investigations, The Monster of Florence re-examines Italy’s infamous serial killer case from the perspective of the suspects – the potential monsters – revealing how public panic and guesswork obscured the facts. Director Sollima clarifies that the series doesn’t attempt to identify the killer. “We aimed to tell the story of the Monster without offering a conclusion,” he explains. “Rather than detailing the investigation itself, we focused on the individuals who, at various points, were considered the prime suspects by investigators.”

Here’s a breakdown of the real events that inspired The Monster of Florence, which starts streaming on October 22nd.

The victims

As a true crime and horror movie fan, I always start with the very beginning, and this case is no different. The first victims linked to the ‘Monster of Florence’ were Barbara Locci, 32, and her boyfriend, Antonio Lo Bianco, 29. They were shot while they were just sitting in their car near Signa, a little town outside Florence, on August 21st, 1968. It’s chilling, but Barbara’s six-year-old son was in the backseat, asleep, and thankfully, he woke up and managed to get help after the attack.

For the next 17 years, seven more couples were killed in a similar way: usually on weekends, in secluded spots where couples parked. The victims were diverse, including young Italian locals as well as tourists from Germany and France, bringing the total number of deaths to 16. Investigators connected the crimes through the use of the same .22 caliber Beretta pistol and a specific type of Winchester bullets, leading them to believe a single person, or someone with consistent access to that gun, was responsible.

In September 1985, the Monster of Florence committed their final known murders: a French couple, Jean Michel Kraveichvili and Nadine Mauriot, were killed while camping in a forest. Nadine Mauriot’s body was also severely mutilated.

The investigation and its many turns

The investigation faced numerous problems, including errors, information leaks, and dead ends. Stefano Mele, the husband of the victim, Barbara Locci, first admitted to the murders but later changed his story. He then pointed fingers at several Sardinian men who he claimed were having affairs with his wife, which led investigators down a path—dubbed the “Sardinia Trail”—that theorized the killings were connected to a group of Sardinian men in Tuscany. This line of investigation consumed the early years of the case, but ultimately proved to be a wasteful detour as more murders occurred.

It’s just unbelievable how long this case went on. First, they arrested Francesco Vinci, an ex of the victim, and he was held for over a year! Then, the judge, Mario Rotella, brought in Mele’s brother and brother-in-law, but the murders actually happened while they were locked up, which meant they had to let them go. It was so confusing! Rotella then turned his attention to Salvatore Vinci, Francesco’s brother, who’d also been with the victim. He even got arrested because of some questions around his wife’s death back in Sardinia, but he was eventually found not guilty. By 1989, after years of investigation, all the Sardinian suspects were officially cleared – it was a huge relief, but also frustrating that it took so long.

In the early 1990s, investigators began to focus on Pietro Pacciani, a farmer with a record of violent crimes. He was convicted of several of the murders in 1994, but that conviction was later overturned in 1996 because of insufficient evidence and mistakes made during the police investigation. Pacciani died of a heart attack in 1998 before a new trial could be held. Two men believed to have helped him, Giancarlo Lotti and Mario Vanni, were convicted in 1998, primarily based on a confession from Lotti, which was later deemed unreliable by experts. Both Lotti (in 2002) and Vanni (in 2009) died while serving their prison sentences.

As a movie critic, even after all these years, the ‘Monster of Florence’ case feels less like a solved crime and more like a frustratingly incomplete thriller. The biggest issue? Despite decades of investigation, there’s still no solid forensic proof tying any single suspect to all the murders. It’s a truly enduring mystery. What’s particularly baffling is that the gun used – a Beretta – has never been found. They did find a DNA match on a bullet from one crime scene to bullets from the 1983 murders of two German students, but it doesn’t belong to anyone involved – victims or suspects. It’s a frustrating dead end, suggesting the DNA could have come from anyone who touched the evidence over the years, leaving us with more questions than answers.

Between theories and truth

The Monster of Florence case sparked decades of intense speculation. Some believed a single person committed the murders, while others thought a group of people, possibly motivated by dark beliefs, was responsible. Though theories about satanic practices, secret groups, or rich people ordering the killings became popular, none were ever proven true.

One of the biggest hurdles for director Sollima while making The Monster of Florence was dealing with the ambiguity of the truth. He explains that the story had been recounted in numerous conflicting ways. “It was very difficult to structure the series without favoring one interpretation over another,” he says. He also points out that all the characters are based on real people, which created legal limitations. “Everything you see in the series actually happened, and much of the dialogue is taken from real conversations that took place.”

Sollima wants viewers to understand not just the crimes depicted, but also the historical context of Italy. He explains that the Italy shown in the series was far removed from the more familiar image of the 1960s and 70s, being a much more traditional, rural, and male-dominated society. He emphasizes that while the forms may have changed, the violence against women seen in the story unfortunately still exists today, making the narrative remain powerfully relevant and contemporary.

Are the Monster of Florence and Amanda Knox cases connected?

Giuliano Mignini, the lead prosecutor in both investigations, linked the cases through his methods. He relied on unconventional theories about rituals and secret motives, which led to substantial criticism of his work.

In October 1985, Dr. Francesco Narducci was discovered dead near a lake in Perugia, Italy. Years later, in 2001, prosecutor Mignini reopened the investigation, linking Narducci to a possible satanic sect involved in the ‘Monster of Florence’ murders. Mignini theorized a conspiracy of around 20 people, including those in positions of power and law enforcement, but these claims were eventually dropped due to insufficient proof.

I remember covering the Amanda Knox case, and the prosecutor, Mignini, really stood out. He built a case accusing Knox of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher, back in 2007, but ultimately she was found not guilty. What really struck me, and drew a lot of criticism, were his ideas about why she might have done it – he even suggested demonic influences. But that wasn’t the first time Mignini faced scrutiny. Years earlier, in 2006, he was accused of overstepping his authority by approving illegal wiretaps during the investigation into the ‘Monster of Florence’ serial killings. He was actually convicted of this in 2010, though that conviction was later overturned.

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2025-10-23 01:08