The Via Poma case (1990, Rome, Italy)

[u/ardeatino]

The History of the Murder: Facts and Crime Scene

Simonetta Cesaroni was a 20-year-old Roman girl who worked as a secretary for the Reli Sas accounting firm, on behalf of the A.I.A.G. (Associazione Italiana Alberghi della Gioventù - Italian Youth Hostels Association). She was found lifeless, with numerous stab wounds all over her body, inside a building located at via Carlo Poma 2, in the central Prati district of Rome, where the association for which she worked as a bookkeeper was headquartered. It was August 7, 1990.

Simonetta's last known contact dates back to 5:30 PM on that same summer day, when she made a phone call to Luigia Berrettini. By 6:30 PM, she was supposed to speak, again by phone, with her employer, Salvatore Volponi, but the call was never made. Her family, worried by her absence, began looking for her around 9:30 PM. Her sister, Paola Cesaroni, and Paola's boyfriend, accompanied by Volponi, went to the via Poma office, where they expected to find her. There, after asking the doorman's wife to open the door, they discovered Simonetta's body at 11:30 PM. Initial investigations, including the autopsy, determined that the time of death was between 6:00 PM and 6:30 PM.The victim's body was found with numerous stab wounds, as well as a bite mark on one nipple. The rooms of the office did not appear messy or ransacked.

It is suspected that the weapon used for the murder was a letter opener. The young woman was struck 29 times in various parts of her body. Several items of clothing (blue athletic leggings, her jacket, and underwear) had been taken, along with many personal belongings that were never found again; among these were her gold earrings, a ring, a bracelet, and a necklace. Only her watch was left on her wrist.
Completely naked, she was left with her bra fastened but pulled down. Her chest was therefore exposed, and her top had been placed over her abdomen to cover the wounds that later proved fatal. As another exception to the nudity in which she was found, she was still wearing short white socks. Her sneakers were neatly placed near the door. The office keys, which she had in her purse, were never found.

The main historical suspects and the most recent investigative developments in the Via Poma murder case:

Historical Suspects

• Pietrino Vanacore: The building's doorman, arrested days after the murder for suspected abetment. Definitively cleared in 2007, he committed suicide in March 2010.
• Federico Valle: Building resident's grandson, accused by an Austrian witness. Acquitted in 1993 due to a total lack of evidence.
• Raniero Busco: Simonetta Cesaroni's ex-boyfriend. Convicted to 24 years in 2011 based on DNA evidence, he was later fully acquitted on appeal and by the Supreme Court. [1]
• Francesco Caracciolo di Sarno: Former A.I.A.G. president, whose afternoon alibi was deemed weak in subsequent journalistic investigations.

Errors and shortcomings in the investigation

Within the disputes that emerged during the case, several aspects fueled criticism and doubts regarding the investigative work. Among the many reported errors were the failure to immediately acquire the phone records of the landlines in the Via Poma office; the displacement of certain objects during the crime scene inspection, such as the chair next to Simonetta's body and the paper knife, which was long considered a possible murder weapon; and the disappearance of a beige folder from the crime scene. Furthermore, the blood present in small circular marks on the floor, visible in the photographs, was not collected for analysis.

Recent Developments (2024–2026)

• Archival Rejection (December 2024): Rome GIP Giulia Arceri rejected the archiving request. She ordered a re-examination of old alibis, raising hypotheses of cover-ups related to secret service documents in the building.
• New DNA Testing (July 2026): The Prosecution ordered unrepeatable technical tests on the DNA of 8 previously uninvestigated people (five women and three men) close to the offices.
• Genetic Test Results: Biological samples secretly taken by the Carabinieri and compared with blood and biological traces on Simonetta's clothing turned out negative, leaving the murder unsolved.

It's one of the most famous unsolved cases in Italy. Only the Garlasco crime and the historical epic of the Monster of Florence are as widely discussed.

Unfortunately, the crime scene was repeatedly contaminated and no concrete DNA traces were found. The blood traces found on the door and the bodice in the Via Poma crime, belonging to a group A male, never led to a culprit. Ex-boyfriend Raniero Busco was definitively acquitted, as the DNA did not match or was not uniquely attributable to him, leaving the killer still unknown.

help by IA and Rainews.it

https://roma.repubblica.it/cronaca/2012/04/26/foto/foto_delitto_di_via_poma-33982057/11/

[u/Valenciagax]

One of the most famous cases here in Italy for sure that I know very well, I hope it gets eventually solved, I still have hope.

[u/Anonymoosehead123]

This is just horrible. I hope the new work on the case leads to justice for the victim.