Andrea Innocenti On February 11, 1987, the road connecting Mortara to Ceretto, in the province of Pavia, became the scene of a tragedy that shrouded the area in silence. Francesco Ancona, a 48-year-old bricklayer, was found with a fractured skull and lifeless body next to a rural highway. Law enforcement then suspected suicide following an alleged accident with an unidentified truck.
The three children, now adults, immediately expressed doubts about the official details, but their voices were not enough to reopen the investigation.
Nearly forty years later, in September 2024, the Pavia Prosecutor's Office decided to reopen the case, prompted by new evidence that emerged in a criminal proceeding against Ancona's widow.
The autopsy, entrusted to Professor Cristina Cattaneo , provided a completely different reconstruction: multiple blows to the head with a blunt object, a long agony of about an hour and the presence of gasoline on the body and clothing, indicating an attempt to poison or conceal the body.
The new forensic evidence
The postmortem examination revealed that Francesco Ancona's skull had several contusive fractures, inconsistent with a simple vehicle collision. Professor Cattaneo emphasized that the absence of typical signs of psychological depression rules out, with reasonable certainty, the suicide theory. Furthermore, chemical analysis revealed gasoline residue on both his skin and clothing, suggesting a possible poisoning attempt or, more plausibly, an attempt to conceal the traces of the crime using a flammable liquid.
The role of gasoline in reconstruction
The discovery of gasoline was interpreted as a clear sign of a desire to obliterate the body, a practice sometimes used by those who want to prevent the identification of biological traces. However, experts noted that the liquid had no lethal effect: the man had already died from his cranial wounds before the fuel could affect his respiratory system.
The judicial review and the suspicions
The reopened case has identified two suspects: Francesco Ancona's widow and a man believed to be a hitman . Both reside in Castellammare del Golfo , in the province of Trapani, and prosecutors are investigating a possible motive linked to their wife's controversial extramarital affair. Investigators are also considering the possibility that the alleged hitman acted on commission, but at this time there is no definitive evidence directly linking the man to the crime.
The decision to exhume the body in Castellammare del Golfo, where it had been transported to Ancona for burial, allowed for the most advanced tests using today's technology. The case, now reconstructed as a premeditated murder , rekindles the question of the responsibility of the family and possible accomplices, while Francesco's three children, now the injured parties, await justice.
Possible motives and future prospects
Investigators are still assessing whether jealousy, money, or other personal factors may have led to a violent death. Meanwhile, the Pavia Prosecutor's Office has issued restraining orders against the suspects and initiated an investigation that could lead to a swift judicial resolution, although the lapse of time makes it difficult to reconstruct all the details.