Il Mostro Di Firenze -the Monster Of Florence- ... — Editor's Choice

The "official" count of the Monster’s victims, according to the "Monster Commission," begins in 1974, though two earlier murders in 1968 (Barbara Locci and Antonio Lo Russo) are often considered "proto-monster" crimes. The Monster had a specific modus operandi: he hunted couples parked in isolated lovers’ lanes in the countryside around Florence.

Early theories focused on Sardinian immigrants, including Locci’s husband, Stefano Mele , who was initially convicted but later released when murders continued while he was in prison. Il Mostro Di Firenze -The Monster Of Florence- ...

The panic was absolute. By 1985, the government had deployed over 3,000 soldiers to the Tuscan countryside. Florentines locked their doors at dusk; the hills of Chianti, usually buzzing with the romance of wine and poetry, became a ghost zone. The "official" count of the Monster’s victims, according

Pietro Pacciani was convicted in 1994, then acquitted, and died before a retrial. Associates Mario Vanni and Giancarlo Lotti were convicted for later murders based on contested testimony. Satanic Cult Theory: The panic was absolute