A retired former forestry team leader originally from Neoneli, Mariano Taccori, 69, single and childless, was found dead around 12:30 p.m. in the Ghilarza home where he had been renting for 15 years on Via Monsignor Zucca, a few steps from the Walter Frau sports field.
A very private person, he hadn't been seen around for a few days, and the owner of the apartment below became suspicious after also noticing a strange odor coming from the apartment above. She rang the doorbell but, receiving no answer, immediately called the police.
Carabinieri from the local station and the Abbasanta firefighters intervened, forcing open the front door to gain entry, finding the man dead in his bed, almost certainly having suffered a heart attack . A 118 ambulance arrived in the meantime and confirmed his death, which appeared to be from natural causes.