More than three years have passed since December 14, 2021, that is, since Liliana Resinovich disappeared in Trieste, being found dead three weeks later. Next is the decisive month on the case – after the Epiphany the new report from the experts appointed by the prosecutor’s office will be filed – while for days now alleged indiscretions have been leaking out about the new tests conducted by the experts appointed by the prosecutor’s office. There are many who are clamoring for the truth about crime, not only relatives and friends, but also public opinion.
He is part of this choir Elisabetta Camettiwriter and regular guest on news insights a Morning 5 And “Life live”. Cametti wrote the volume “The Details of Evil – Mysteries and truths of the most heinous family crimes”, which collects the case of Liliana Resinovich but also others that have particularly shocked Italians, namely the story of Giulia Tramontanokilled in the eighth month of pregnancy by her partner with whom she was about to break off the relationship, Laura Ziliani sedated, beaten and suffocated by her daughters and son-in-law, Diana Pifferi left to die of starvation alone in a hot house in Milan.
In four fundamental chapters, Cametti reconstructs these stories, focusing precisely on the details which proved to be of profound importance during the investigation. The details are also reported in the text in a visually different way, i.e. in capital letters, so that the reader can easily keep track of them. “Giulia Tramontano could have been our best friend, neighbor, sister, as well as Laura Ziliani and Liliana Resinovich: we must be more aware in reading what happens because, only if we manage to grasp certain signals, we can intervene to save our life or that of someone else”, the writer Cametti explains to IlGiornale.
Dr. Cametti, why are details so important in a crime case?
“I attribute great value to details: I look for them in people, in things, in situations. Then I highlight them and connect them in the reasoning that guides the plot: they represent the dots that, united by the pencil stroke, reveal the drawing. The answer is always hidden in the details, whatever the question. The details whisper, they explain. They scream, a few times. It is the details that influence thinking, that make us change perspectives and horizons, that direct our choices in a chain of sensations and consequences. I chose to tell the four stories precisely through those details that played an important role: a hug, a red lipstick, some rat poison, a paternity test… in the case of Giulia Tramontano. Those elements that led to one epilogue rather than another. Because life flows in the details. Or that it stops.”
Tramontano, Ziliani, Resinovich and Pifferi. Why did you choose these four cases?
“These are the cases that have struck me the most in recent times, because they occurred in the family. It is in the family that deep feelings are expressed: love, joy, serenity… but also frustration, a sense of inadequacy, hatred. The family can be a terrain of growth or conflict. The place where values are cultivated or the place infested with toxic behaviors. The refuge to escape from the horrors of the world or the den of violence. That violence that becomes the response to a rejection, to an abandonment, to the end of a relationship. People kill themselves in the family because of a betrayed expectation. This is one of the messages I wanted to send.”
Meaning what?
“I dedicated this book to fear, because it is often the only weapon we have to defend ourselves. We must learn to never let our guard down and listen to the alarm bells. In each of these cases the signs were there, but unfortunately they were underestimated. I believe we should be more aware in reading what happens to us and those around us, because only by grasping and interpreting certain signals, is it possible to intervene in time, save ourselves or save someone else’s life. We must not make the mistake of thinking that violence and murder are something far from us: evil can hide anywhere, even here and now. Giulia Tramontano could have been our sister, our best friend, a neighbor. As well as Laura Ziliani, Liliana Resinovich… little Diana”.
What is the detail that leads you to think that Allegra, the woman with whom Alessandro Impagnatiello had an affair without the knowledge of his future victim, could have been killed like Giulia Tramontano?
“I can’t say whether Allegra could have been Impagnatiello’s second victim, or whether he ran to her that evening to reassure her that there would be no more obstacles to their relationship, given that he had just gotten rid of Giulia. The investigators are convinced that Allegra’s choice to keep him outside and talk to him from the window saved her life. The public prosecutor who signed the request for precautionary custody in prison for Impagnatiello, highlighted in the document the concrete danger of repetition of the crime against the young Italian-English woman. Instead, it is certain that the meeting with Allegra allowed Giulia to prove Impagnatiello wrong. Giulia saw the reality behind the deception, the face behind the mask. Giulia brought out his true nature as a manipulative narcissist, destroying the image of a good guy and successful barman that he had tried to build over time.”
What was the most significant excess in your opinion, among those you described, in the murder of Laura Ziliani?
“In the murder of Laura Ziliani, ‘too’ is the adjective that connotes all the key details in which the narrative unfolds. Too much emphasis, too many fake psychotherapy sessions, too many mistakes. Too much clumsiness in trying to mislead and hide the evidence. Too many lies, too much meddling, too many benzodiazepines. Too much belief that three is the perfect number. I was very struck by the fact that the two daughters and both of their boyfriends thought of killing Laura inspired by the television series. From Dexter to breaking Bad to The Borgias. They took inspiration from the various episodes to create homemade poisons, to cover the body and act without leaving traces, to hide the corpse, to mislead. And it’s incredible how sure they were that they could get away with it.”
Do you think that the new tests, particularly those on injuries, in the case of Liliana Resinovich can lead to the truth?
“I hope so! I never believed in suicide. The dynamics have always been found to be incompatible with a self-harming gesture: no footprints of Liliana on the bags that wrapped the body, a cord not sufficiently tightened around the neck. And then those injuries to the face, already found during the first autopsy, but perhaps underestimated. The new insights, real scientific tests aimed at obtaining answers from what little remains of the corpse, could bring the truth to light, once and for all. They could testify that Liliana did not take her own life. Liliana loved flowers, colours, she had plans and had dreams: she would never have thrown herself away in rubbish bags in a dirty grove full of weeds. In one of the last messages sent, Liliana wrote that she was waiting for tomorrow. Those who wait for tomorrow dream… and suicide does not exist in dreams.”
Why is the concept of invisibility fundamental to understanding the story of Diana Pifferi?
“Diana Pifferi was an invisible child. She died of hunger and thirst in a room overheated by summer temperatures. Abandoned by her mother and ignored by life. Six days and six nights alone. Without water, without food. Nobody wanted to see, nobody wanted to hear. Nobody asked questions. No one thought that loneliness could torture, kill. To be more ferocious than a murderous hand.”
Is there anything else?
“Although Diana was born inside a toilet, none of the doctors deemed it necessary to report the incident to social services. No one questioned the reason for that unknown pregnancy. Diana grew up without having had an audiometric examination, without being vaccinated. Without ever having met a pediatrician. At eighteen months he wasn’t walking or talking. She had little hair, was pale and appeared malnourished. Yet no one ever noticed that he was unhealthy. Why?”.
Why?
“The answer is simple, albeit painful. Because no one really cared. Diana was invisible and so was Alessia. Maybe it’s too much to even think about, but both could only count on the relationship that bound them. Alessia had Diana. Diana had Alessia. Diana felt it and showed gratitude to her mother with her smiles. Alessia understood it late, or perhaps she will never understand it.
So, what remains after so much suffering? I think we should ask ourselves how many other Dianas and Alessias are out there. How many other invisible existences run the risk of finding death in indifference. If we can’t do anything more for Diana and Alessia, perhaps we can work to prevent it from happening again.”