The Court of Salerno sentenced brothers Gaetano and Raffaele Ciccarelli, deaf and mute, from Qualiano to twenty years each in prison for the double homicide that occurred on July 11, 2024, outside the Hotel Ariston in Paestum, during the Deaf International Festival.
In the shooting, which broke out during a demonstration dedicated to the deaf community, two people were killed and a third was seriously injured after being hit by eleven shots from a 9x21 caliber pistol.
The victims were Neapolitan Ettore Crò, who died in hospital on August 5th, and Vincenzo Spera, 58, from Marsala, who died four days later from his injuries. Both belonged to the Deaf Bones Motorcycles motorcycle gang, as did the two defendants.
According to the Salerno Prosecutor's Office's reconstruction, Gaetano Ciccarelli allegedly made repeated threats against members of the Deaf Bones club on social media, while his brother Raffaele was the one who actually carried out the shooting.
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The ambush took place during one of the evenings of the festival dedicated to deaf motorcyclists, in front of the hotel that hosted hundreds of participants.
The judge found both brothers guilty of multiple murder, attempted murder, menacing, and illegal possession of a firearm, but ruled out the aggravating circumstances of frivolous motives and premeditation. Represented by attorneys Pierfrancesco Moio and Luigi Poziello, the two could receive a sentence reduction of up to 16 years and 8 months if they decline to appeal, pursuant to the provisions of the Cartabia reform.
The victims' families are being assisted by lawyers Valerio Izzo and Nicola Cerfoglio Ducci.
The investigation revealed that during the shooting, Vincenzo Spera was hit by two bullets, one in the abdomen and one in the right arm, while Crò was hit by several bullets that caused his death after weeks of agony.
Gaetano Ciccarelli, who was under house arrest and was arrested last month, already known to investigators, is also involved in another proceeding: he is accused of aiding and abetting in the investigation into the murder of the deaf Miss Campania. Annamaria Sorrentino, which occurred in 2019 in Calabria.
A precedent that, according to investigators, paints the profile of a man already immersed in a context of violence and rivalry within the deaf biker community of Campania.
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