Italian filmmaker Pasolini’s murder: Plea to reopen file, re-examine DNA traces, says report

By Online Desk

ROME: An Italian film director and a screenwriter have filed a joint plea with prosecutors to reopen the file on the 1975 murder of director and writer Pier Paolo Pasolini. Director David Grieco and screenwriter Giovanni Giovannetti have sought three DNA traces, found at the scene of the crime at Ostia by police in 2010, to be re-examined, a report said.

According to ANSA news agency, the November 2, 1975 murder of the iconic poet, novelist, director, and leftist political commentator is still a riddle to many of his admirers who suspect he was killed by political opponents. Director David Grieco and screenwriter Giovanni Giovannetti have now asked for the case to be reopened on the basis of the 2010 DNA evidence.

Their lawyer, Stefano Maccioni, in January launched an online petition to reopen the file that has garnered thousands of signatures. Maccioni, who in 2010 managed to get the case reopened before it was again shelved, and a former attorney for Pasolini’s cousin, are behind the petition, the ANSA report said.

The fresh initiative is linked to a December 2022, statement to the parliamentary anti-mafia commission from former Magliana Gang associate Maurizio Abbatino, who said the murder was linked to the theft of a movie Pasolini was working on.

Pasolini’s murder, according to ANSA, may have been linked to the theft of the original film of some scenes of his movie ‘Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom’, which was still in production at the time, according to a report by the parliamentary anti-mafia commission released on December 16.

The writer-filmmaker may have gone to the beach at the Rome seaside district of Ostia, where he was killed, to try to recover the film, the report based on Abbatino’s testimony said.

ANSA quoting the commission said “major criminal gangs,” such as the Banda della Magliana, may have been involved in the murder.

The circumstances surrounding Pasolini’s death remain a mystery for many.

The iconic leftist gay poet, novelist and filmmaker’s many admirers have always suspected there was more to his murder than the action of a rent boy who was convicted of it saying he had been repulsed by Pasolini’s advances, only to retract his confession years later.

Many feel that he was murdered for the radically “dangerous” political views he expressed in his novels, books and newspaper editorials, ANSA report said.

<br /> ROME: An Italian film director and a screenwriter have filed a joint plea with prosecutors to reopen the file on the 1975 murder of director and writer Pier Paolo Pasolini. Director David Grieco and screenwriter Giovanni Giovannetti have sought three DNA traces, found at the scene of the crime at Ostia by police in 2010, to be re-examined, a report said.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>According to ANSA news agency, the November 2, 1975 murder of the iconic poet, novelist, director, and leftist political commentator is still a riddle to many of his admirers who suspect he was killed by political opponents. Director David Grieco and screenwriter Giovanni Giovannetti have now asked for the case to be reopened on the basis of the 2010 DNA evidence.</p> <p>Their lawyer, Stefano Maccioni, in January launched an online petition to reopen the file that has garnered thousands of signatures. Maccioni, who in 2010 managed to get the case reopened before it was again shelved, and a former attorney for Pasolini’s cousin, are behind the petition, the ANSA report said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <p>The fresh initiative is linked to a December 2022, statement to the parliamentary anti-mafia commission from former Magliana Gang associate Maurizio Abbatino, who said the murder was linked to the theft of a movie Pasolini was working on.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Pasolini’s murder, according to ANSA, may have been linked to the theft of the original film of some scenes of his movie ‘Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom’, which was still in production at the time, according to a report by the parliamentary anti-mafia commission released on December 16.</p> <p>The writer-filmmaker may have gone to the beach at the Rome seaside district of Ostia, where he was killed, to try to recover the film, the report based on Abbatino’s testimony said.</p> <p>ANSA quoting the commission said “major criminal gangs,” such as the Banda della Magliana, may have been involved in the murder.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>The circumstances surrounding Pasolini’s death remain a mystery for many.</p> <p>The iconic leftist gay poet, novelist and filmmaker’s many admirers have always suspected there was more to his murder than the action of a rent boy who was convicted of it saying he had been repulsed by Pasolini’s advances, only to retract his confession years later.</p> <p>Many feel that he was murdered for the radically “dangerous” political views he expressed in his novels, books and newspaper editorials, ANSA report said.<br />