Messina – He allegedly lured him to an isolated countryside area under an excuse, then killed him with a gunshot to the back of the head.
This is the accusation that led to the arrest of Sebastiano Pirri, 63, who was arrested today by the Carabinieri of the Messina Provincial Command on charges of voluntary homicide, concealment of a corpse, and illegal possession of a firearm.
The victim is the man's son, Angelo Pirri, 41. According to investigators' reconstruction, the crime occurred on July 3rd.
The body, in an advanced state of decomposition, was found three days later, on July 6, in a countryside area near the A20 motorway, in the Pace del Mela area, in the Messina province.
The reconstruction of the crime
The man was immediately targeted by investigators because—according to investigations—he was the last to see his son alive, having just returned from a trip to Naples. The arrest warrant was signed by the preliminary investigations judge of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, at the request of the Prosecutor's Office headed by Giuseppe Verzera.
Angelo Pirri's body was found next to a 7,65 caliber shell casing. According to investigators, after killing him, his father allegedly dragged the body over a highway fence, where an opening had been made, and abandoned it in a drainage ditch adjacent to the roadway. At the scene, Carabinieri from the Messina Investigative Unit, supported by the RIS, conducted ballistic and biological tests that proved crucial to the investigation.
Sebastiano Pirri is originally from Montalbano Elicona and has an extensive criminal record. In 1991, he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his involvement in the murder of nurse Grazia Rosa Nastasi, who was killed in 1987 and then set on fire in a stream bed. According to investigations, the woman was implicated in drug trafficking.
In 2006, he was arrested for theft from a tobacco warehouse, and in 2011 he was implicated in an investigation into marriages of convenience arranged to regularize non-EU citizens from Tunisia in Italy.
Investigations are ongoing and the motive is still unclear.
The Prosecutor's Office has not ruled out the possibility that other people may be involved in the murder. Prosecutors Dora Esposito and Carlo Bray are waiting to question Pirri, hoping to shed light on the motive, which remains unclear. The questioning has not yet been scheduled, but could take place next Friday.
In recent days, the Carabinieri had searched the suspect's home and car, seizing phones and electronic devices linked to him. Investigators now hope that the evidence gathered will shed light on a murder that has deeply shaken the Messina area.
This article is very disturbing and makes you think about how these things can happen in families. It's sad that a father would go to this lengths; I don't understand how someone could kill their own child for any reason.