What appeared to be a tragic case of food poisoning that killed a mother and teenage daughter in southern Italy at Christmas has been dramatically recast as a premeditated double murder. It was carried out using ricin, one of the most lethal naturally occurring toxins known to science.
Antonella Di Ielsi, 50, and her 15-year-old daughter Sara Di Vita fell ill after a pre-Christmas lunch on December 23 in their hometown of Pietracatella, in the southern region of Molise, and later died in hospital. The two women died within hours of each other, between December 27 and 28, at the Cardarelli hospital in Campobasso.
Initial medical assessments suggested food poisoning as the cause, with doctors believing the illness stemmed from contaminated fish or mushrooms. The mother and daughter were consequently discharged after their first hospital visit.
The couple’s other daughter, Alice, 19, did not attend the meal and had no health problems. Her father, Gianni Di Vita, former mayor of the town, also fell ill with similar but less serious symptoms and was hospitalised, but later recovered.
A dramatic turn
Exactly three months after the tragedy, investigators have announced a dramatic development. A new investigation file has been opened by the Larino prosecutors’ office for premeditated double murder. The breakthrough came from the Pavia Poison Control Centre, directed by Carlo Locatelli.
Further transparency came with the publication of toxicology test results conducted at laboratories in both Italy and Switzerland, which confirmed the presence of ricin in the victims’ blood. Ricin is a natural toxin extracted from castor bean seeds. An amount no larger than a grain of salt is sufficient to kill an adult if injected or inhaled, and there is currently no specific antidote.
Gianni Di Vita served as mayor of Pietracatella for two terms. The current mayor of Pietracatella, Antonio Tomassone, said the whole situation was very strange, adding that the community was rallying around the family as they face this new ordeal. The family home remains under police seal, with Gianni and his surviving daughter Alice having lived elsewhere for the past three months.
The Investigation
Investigators believe the poison was administered inside the family home, most likely through food or drink. The house will now be subject to new forensic inspections specifically targeting traces of the substance.
Inquiries have also extended to the dark web. Although the castor plant from which ricin is derived is not easy to obtain, it is reportedly found in parts of lower Molise. Police have informally checked retailers in the region without results. Investigators also consider the possibility that the perpetrator had access to biochemical, university or pharmaceutical laboratories where the toxin is isolated for research purposes, or that they attempted a crude extraction from the seeds themselves.
A separate earlier investigation file, opened for involuntary manslaughter, listed three emergency doctors from the Cardarelli hospital and two on-call physicians as suspects, examining whether the correct medical procedures were followed. However, a lawyer representing one of the five doctors under investigation noted that, if the ricin findings are confirmed, his client’s position changes significantly. He says a physician following standard food poisoning guidelines would have had no way of recognising this type of poisoning.
What is Ricin?
Ricin has featured prominently in popular culture, particularly the American television series Breaking Bad, and has a dark history in real-world espionage. It was deployed by the KGB in the late 1970s to assassinate a Bulgarian journalist. The Larino prosecutor’s office is leading the murder investigation, which currently lists no named suspects, though charges of premeditated murder, and attempted murder in the case of the surviving husband, have been formally posited.
