Arzano – The man who shot and killed 51-year-old Rosario Coppola and wounded barber Antonio Persico, a man with no criminal record, on Wednesday evening is a murderer who didn't properly understand the ten commandments of a good killer.
Over the past two days, investigators have been working extensively on the life of the victim, Rosario Coppola, a married man with a teenage son, who lost his life in the ambush. Despite having a minor criminal record dating back over 20 years, Coppola was a "good" guy.
Nothing from the investigations conducted by the Carabinieri of Castello di Cisterna suggests that he had ties to organized crime or bad company. He worked hard, and that evening, according to witnesses, he was also making arrangements with Antonio Persico for a painting job.
What immediately caught the investigators' attention was the victim's strong resemblance to a local clan boss who had recently been released from prison.
And it's because of this resemblance that investigators are leaning toward mistaken identity. But if this tragic and aberrant hypothesis is confirmed, it's impossible not to consider the possible identikit of the killer.
It's possible that the person who fired five shots, all hitting multiple parts of the body, at Coppola was well-trained with weapons. On the other hand, the painter was stopped in his Smart car, talking to the barber about a painting job. He tried to put the car in gear and run away, but he didn't have time. The killer fired first.
To act so suddenly and with such certainty, the killer had to be certain of two things: the man driving was the intended victim – a local boss is suspected – and that all the information on the target matched: the car he was driving, the person himself, the area he frequented, where he lived.
An experienced killer hits the target when he is sure that all the pieces are in place.
In this case, if the mistaken identity theory holds, no piece of the puzzle was in place. Except one. The killer's victim and target bear a striking resemblance. They're not identical, but they do resemble each other. And this could be what fooled the killer.
But the killer, besides being a good shot, maybe wasn't a top shooter, or maybe he was under the influence of drugs.
Nothing the killer did makes sense
Rosario Coppola was driving a white Smart, did the target have the same car?
Testimonies reveal that the victim was wearing work clothes, perhaps still stained with paint. Is it possible for a mafia boss to wear dirty clothes like a painter? It's true that the killer saw him for a few seconds before starting to shoot, but it's possible he had been following Coppola for some time and acted when he stopped to talk to the barber at the scene of the attack.
How could he not realize that Rosario Coppola was not his real target, that is, a neighborhood boss who – recently released from prison – is flaunting his return and lording it over the area to reassert his dominance.
Can a house painter and a Camorra boss be so similar in appearance, clothing, social life, and the car they drive?
Surely not.
Rosario Coppola just found himself in the wrong place with the wrong killer
If there was a case of mistaken identity, which is the most likely theory, the killer doesn't know the ABCs of murder. And it's a mistake that not even the people who hired him can tolerate.
Because in addition to misplacing the person, the killer has alerted the real target, and at the same time has drawn the attention of law enforcement and the Anti-Mafia Prosecutor's Office to what's happening in Arzano and how rival gangs are competing for territory. And all of this can only lead to dire consequences for him.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
The situation is very complex and gives pause for thought. The killer's mistake in confusing the two people is serious, but there are also many factors that remain unclear. Why didn't he pay attention before shooting?