Coroner Pia Benedetta De Luca, who performed the autopsies on the bodies of Sara Di Vita, 15, and her mother, Antonella Di Ielsi, 50, who died after feeling ill at home in Pietracatella (Campobasso) after Christmas, has requested a one-month extension to complete her work. Therefore, the report containing the autopsy results has been postponed until the end of April.
The 90-day deadline expired two days ago (the autopsies were performed at Cardarelli Hospital in Campobasso on December 31, 2025). According to reports, the delay is due to the fact that the results of the analyses performed by various laboratories on the samples taken have not yet arrived. The Larino (Campobasso) Public Prosecutor's Office is currently investigating the two deaths, which are suspected of premeditated murder: the Pavia Poison Control Center found traces of ricin, a powerful poison, in the two women's blood.
Another important element: the blood of the surviving husband, who was admitted to the Spallanzani Hospital in Rome after the deaths of his daughter and wife, again for suspected poisoning, initially contained no traces of ricin. At least, according to the voice alert sent by the Pavia Center at the Maugeri Foundation, which was contacted by the Campobasso Mobile Unit. For this reason, the samples were requested to be re-examined.
Meanwhile, new interrogations are underway and a new search is underway at the house where the two women were allegedly poisoned. The Campobasso Flying Squad, led by Marco Graziano, who has been following the case since the beginning, is working to determine who might have obtained the ricin and how they then poisoned the two women, likely in the family home in Pietracatella, causing their deaths. Gianni Di Vita, father and husband of the two victims, and his 19-year-old daughter Alice will likely also be interviewed again. Forensic specialists will also search the house for traces of the same poison identified by the Pavia Specialized Center in Sara and Antonella's blood.
Digging into the lives of the victims' relatives and acquaintances continues, seeking possible motives or clues. Investigations are also ongoing online, particularly on the dark web, the underground world where illegal activities occur. The plant from which the poison is derived is also believed to be found in Lower Molise, and agents have also conducted informal checks at several shops in the region. Ricin, which is frequently cited in several TV series, especially American ones, such as Breaking Bad, and was also used by the KGB in the 1970s to assassinate a Bulgarian journalist, is also a concern.
Oil is also extracted from the plant's seeds, used primarily in the cosmetics industry. Some products are readily available—the plant's seeds are even available on popular online shopping sites—but only after a special and complicated process can the deadly toxin be obtained, whose effects are lethal even in minimal doses. Meanwhile, on the judicial front, it has been learned that there is only one investigation into the Pietracatella case, and it is being investigated by the Larino prosecutor's office for premeditated double homicide.
The oldest case in the case, the one alleging manslaughter and involving five doctors at Campobasso's Cardarelli Hospital, was recently transferred to the Frentano prosecutor's office, which is now handling the case under a single file. This transfer of jurisdiction is also due to the fact that the most serious of the alleged crimes occurred in Pietracatella, the site of the possible poisoning, and also occurred before the manslaughter charge: the women felt ill in the hours before Christmas, while the deaths occurred between December 27th and 28th.
Regarding the doctors under investigation, the lawyers are now aiming to definitively dismiss the charges against their patients. "This is something that occurred before they arrived at the hospital and perhaps couldn't even be addressed in the emergency room," observed one of the lawyers, Domenico Fiorda, regarding the poisoning hypothesis. "Therefore, the doctors certainly aren't responsible, especially since, as we've always said, they followed the protocol for the symptoms with which the two women presented to the Cardarelli Hospital." "That type of poisoning," added Fabio Albino, also a lawyer for one of the doctors under investigation, "could not have been discovered at that stage, so we expect the case to be closed."
(Unioneonline)