A breakthrough has been reached in the investigation into the disappearance and murder of Carmine Zurlo, the 32-year-old from Pimonte who vanished on March 14, 2022, and was never found. In the past few hours, the Carabinieri have executed a pre-trial detention order, issued by the investigating judge at the request of the Naples District Anti-Mafia Directorate, against two alleged perpetrators of the crime.
Antonio Chierchia and Raffaele Scarfato, both believed to be close to the Afeltra-Di Martino clan, operating in the Monti Lattari area, were arrested. According to the DDA's reconstruction, supported by prosecutor Giuseppe Cimmarotta,
Scarfato allegedly played a key role in luring the victim into a trap set by a friend, which ended with the murder, carried out by Chierchia. Zurlo's body was then disposed of, in what investigators are calling a "lupara bianca" (white shotgun) case.
Also under investigation, at large, is Francesco Di Martino, a convicted felon and longtime clan member known in the crime scene as "Uncle Ciccio." A detail that makes the case even more dramatic is the family connection: Carmine Zurlo's mother is Di Martino's sister. Ever since her son's disappearance, the woman has continually demanded the return of his body so she can give him a dignified burial.
At the time of his disappearance, Carmine Zurlo was about to become a father: his partner, Diamante, was pregnant. His story was also featured in the April 2022 program "Chi l'ha Visto?" on Rai 3, in an attempt to obtain information useful for finding him.
The precautionary order signed by Naples investigating judge Luca Rossetti orders the prison detention of Antonio Chierchia (born 1993, known as "'o folletto") and Raffaele Scarfato (born 1993): according to the District Anti-Mafia Directorate and the Carabinieri investigators, they are the two men who closed the circle around Carmine Zurlo, who disappeared on March 14, 2022 and was never found again.
The “disappearance” that changes its name
Initially, as often happens in cases of disappearances without a trace, the case began as a kidnapping: the mother reported on March 16, 2022, that her son, who had left two days earlier, had not returned.
However, the investigations—video surveillance, reconstruction of movements, information, and especially wiretaps—led the Prosecutor's Office to a different conclusion: not a departure, not an escape, but a "Camorra murder" that occurred within the criminal perimeter of the Lattari Mountains.
A trap on two wheels
The reconstruction of the ordinance focuses on a single time frame: the morning of March 14, 2022.
According to the prosecution, Scarfato – riding a Honda SH scooter (later found to be owned by a person linked to the Di Martino family and resold a few days after the disappearance) – followed Zurlo's every move, spoke to him and persuaded him to move in his Renault Twingo towards an area of Via Sanzano, in Gragnano, in the open countryside.
There, the Prosecutor's Office claims, Chierchia was waiting: a single gunshot, the victim fell, and from that moment the body "disappeared into thin air."
The context: a “hegemonic” territory
The Carabinieri reconstruct the historical hegemony of the Afeltra clan over the Lattari Mountains and the role of the Di Martino group, with a stronghold indicated on Via Juvani in Gragnano.
The investigations reveal family ties and connections that, according to investigators, explain why Zurlo's disappearance is being interpreted as an internal affair within the local Camorra network, rather than an isolated incident.
It is no coincidence that a previous “model” of lupara bianca in the area is also recalled (the disappearance of Carmine Cesarano in 2010), as an operational paradigm of elimination and concealment.
The motive for the money: "common fund" and 120–130 thousand euros
The crux of the investigation, at least according to the order's narrative, is a financial motive: Zurlo was allegedly eliminated because he was deemed responsible for having misappropriated a large sum of criminal proceeds, stealing it from the "common coffers."
In intercepted conversations between third parties, one witness speaks of 120–130 thousand euros and links that figure to the decision to punish the victim;
As an indirect confirmation, the order also reports what Zurlo's partner said: there was a large sum of cash (50–60 thousand euros or "perhaps a little more") in the house, kept hidden.
The witness who first denies, then backs down
The investigation revolves around the witness: in the wiretaps, he claims to have "seen the whole thing" and names and roles. When questioned by the prosecutor, he initially denies it, then—after listening to the recordings—he changes his story and admits to having witnessed it, though he tries to downplay the identifications.
The investigating judge interprets this zigzag as a sign of fear: in the same conversations, references appear to threats, retaliation, and the burning of the car and the theft of a mule reported by the witness.
The boss's position: "suggestive", but not enough (for now)
Francesco Di Martino, known as “Ciccio” (or “craparo/pecoraio”), also appears in the order: he is not affected by the measure, because – the provision notes – the hypothesis that he was present at the scene is defined as “suggestive”, but the evidence confirming his presence at the time of the crime is considered “rather tenuous”.
However, it remains a central name in the context described: according to the documents, the territory and internal relationships revolve around balances, hierarchies and frictions that the investigation tries to decipher.
The Stone Guest: The Body That Isn't There
The most painful and, from an investigative perspective, the most thorny aspect remains: the body has not been found.
It is precisely this absence, however, that reinforces the framework of the lupara bianca outlined by the documents: murder as "disappearance," violence as the administration of silence, the denial even of mourning.
And in the background, in the intercepted conversations and reported statements, the obsession of those who remain returns: to "uncover" it, to find it, to restore a body to a story left suspended.
SOURCE EDITORIAL TEAM
Comments (1)
Very hard news, strangely full of gaps and unclear information. The Carabinieri issued the order, but the body hasn't been found, and the mother is left without a body to mourn. We hope the truth comes out soon, and justice does its job, but there are still too many unresolved issues, a divided family, and many unanswered questions.