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The disappearance of 13-year old Yara Gambirasio became known as the murder that obsessed Italy for years. The teenager disappeared on November 26, 2010 just a few hundred yards away from her house.
The experienced magistrate, Letizia Ruggeri, was called in to lead the investigation. Ruggeri and her investigative team learned that Yara’s cell phone pinged a cell tower in Mapello, a town a few miles away, at 6:49 p.m. on the evening she disappeared.
Ruggeri and her team traced all the cell phones that passed through Mapello that evening, which was over 15,000 cell phones. One of the cell phones that investigators intercepted was the phone of a Moroccan man, Mohammed Fikri. On one of these phone calls, Fikri was recorded as saying “forgive me God, I didn’t kill her”. However, Fikri was quickly ruled out as a possible suspect in Yara’s disappearance.
Weeks turned into months, with no sign of Yara. Until February 26, 2011. Yara’s body was discovered by a man flying his remote-controlled airplane over an empty field.
Her body was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition, which tells police that she was likely killed shortly after she disappeared 3 months prior. Close to her body, Italian police found her iPod, house keys, and the sim card and battery to her cell phone. But her cell phone was nowhere to be found.
Yara’s autopsy revealed traces of lime in her respiratory passages and jute on her clothing, suggesting that her killer may be involved in the building trade. She had several injuries to her body from what appeared to be from a sharp object. However, Yara didn’t die from the injuries, she passed from exposure.
Forensic scientists obtained DNA from Yara’s killer on her underwear, although no evidence suggests that she was sexually assaulted. Ruggeri and her team of investigators referred to the killer’s DNA as “Unknown 1”
Unknown 1 did not match anyone in Yara’s family or circle of friends.
In Spring 2011, Italian investigators took DNA samples from everyone who entered a local night club on Friday and Saturday nights in hope of identifying “Unknown 1”. Ruggeri and her investigators finally got a break in the case.
One of the DNA samples collected outside the night club was very similar to “Unknown I”, but not an exact match. The man’s name was Damiano Guerinoni. The similarities in the DNA sample suggest that Guerinoni is a relative of “Unknown 1”.
Investigator Ruggeri complied a complete genealogical family tree of the DNA sample all the way back to 1815, with every single family member with ties to the same DNA.
Damiano Guerinoni’s father had a brother, Giuseppe who died in 1999. Italian police visit Giuseppe’s widow and collect a DNA sample from 2 postage stamps found inside the house. The DNA test revealed that Giuseppe was the biological father of Yara’s killer, Unknown 1.
Giuseppe had 2 sons: Pierpaolo and Diego. But neither son was a perfect match to Unknown 1’s DNA.
But how could that be? Giuseppe is the biological father of Unknown 1. The only explanation: Somewhere out there, Giuseppe has an illegitimate son.
Yara’s family hired a private geneticist, Giogio Portera. Potera argued that Giuseppe should be exhumed in order to perform more extensive DNA testing. He argued that police only compared 13 Short tandem Repeat regions (STR), but in order to confirm a DNA paternity test, 15 STR regions should be compared.
On March 7, 2013, Giuseppe was exhumed for his DNA to be compared, again. This time, scientists compared 29 STR regions to Unknown 1. Without a doubt, Giuseppe was the father of Unknown 1, Yara’s killer.
By June 2014, police learn about a woman who had an affair with Giueseppe in the late 1960’s. Her name was Ester Arzuffi.
In 1970, Arzuffi gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The boy was named Massimo Giuseppe Bossetti. Massimo was now 42-years old, working as a builder, married with 3 children. He also lived in the city of Mapello, the town where Yara’s cell phone gave off its last signal.
A police roadblock was set up in Mapello in an attempt to collect Massimo’s DNA sample. After stopping at the roadblock, Massimo’s DNA was collected and sent to the crime lab.
The DNA test results revealed that Massimo Bossetti’s DNA was a perfect match with Unknown 1.
Police finally had Yara Gambirasio’s Killer.
Massimo was arrested and charged with the murder of Yara Gambirasio. On July 1, 2016 he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder.
The disappearance and murder of 13-year old Yara only a few hundred meters from her house terrorized Italy for years. Ruggeri and her team of investigators never gave up hope that they would find their suspect, Unknown 1, who left behind his DNA on Yara’s clothing.
Forensic science and DNA testing ultimately led police to their suspect. And thanks to the comparison of 29 STR regions, Italian police were able to put a selfish, and cold-hearted killer behind bars.
Episode Sources:
Yara Gambirasio Wikipedia
The Guardian website: The murder that has obsessed Italy
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