An unexpected twist in the trial for the murder of engineer Salvatore Coppola, murdered in Naples on March 12, 2024, in the parking lot of a supermarket on Via Protopisani with a single shot to the back of the head.
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Gennaro Petrucci, who confessed in court to being the instigator, pointed the finger at another businessman who, according to him, financed the murder. He also gave his name and explained why it was decided to kill Coppola.
"I am the first instigator, I know I have to die in prison. But I apologize to the family. You don't kill a person so easily. I had a heavy burden on my conscience. I was very upset. But I want to make the family understand why he was angry with me." According to the prosecution, the shooter was Mario De Simone, accused together with Petrucci and indicated by the latter.
“The night of the murder, De Simone told me that he had done 'the service', I gave him 500 euros and 4 bottles of wine. In total I gave him 7 thousand euros for the murder”. But Petrucci in the courtroom also pointed the finger at another businessman who was said to be the financier of the raid. “He gave me 10 thousand euros. I didn't want to kill him, but I couldn't back out anymore” added Petrucci, answering questions from prosecutor Sergio Raimondi.
In total, From Simone he was supposed to collect 20 thousand euros. According to the investigations, conducted by the Naples mobile squad and the San Giovanni-Barra police station, the murder would have matured due to disputes related to the villa in via De Lauzieres in Portici, where Petrucci lived with his wife Silvana Fucito, a businesswoman who is a symbol of anti-racketeering.
It was precisely a complaint made by the woman to Coppola - according to Petrucci, heard in court in his dual role as witness and defendant - that created disagreements between the engineer and the Petrucci-Fucito couple, so much so as to push him to "get revenge" by participating in the judicial auction of the luxurious villa through a front man.
Petrucci gave the names and surnames of several people, including that of the alleged financier of the murder, who allegedly won the house at auction, which was then confiscated and therefore remained in the limbo of civil disputes and is still in his possession.
Murder caught on camera
Coppola was killed with a gunshot to the back of the head, the police officer said. A 9mm shell casing was found and seized on the ground, and the images show the victim walking toward his car, a Fiat 500 L, with a white bag in his hand.
Then a second figure approaches, you don't see the explosion of the shot but you can see the killer walking away. Another camera records the sound of the shot. To get to the crime scene the killer - limping - would have used a stolen car later found on Corso San Giovanni.
Article published on 12 February 2025 - 14:29
