High profile cases are generally not the best examples of a criminal justice system at work. I would certainly not want someone judging the American criminal justice system on the basis of the O.J. Simpson and Casey Anthony trials, for example.
With that caution, Italy's investigation into a serial killer known as the Monster of Florence (il Mostro di Firenze), as presented in a gripping true crime book, The Monster of Florence, by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi, was nothing short of absurd.
With that caution, Italy's investigation into a serial killer known as the Monster of Florence (il Mostro di Firenze), as presented in a gripping true crime book, The Monster of Florence, by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi, was nothing short of absurd.
Although not well known in America, the Monster of Florence is one of the most famous serials killers known throughout the world. The Monster preyed on young couples who used the hills surrounding Florence as an intimate escape.
While the targeted couple was in the heat of passion in their car, the Monster would shoot the man, then the woman. He would drag the woman from the car and cut out her vagina. In later crimes he would also rip off the woman's left breast.
These horrific crimes, committed over a period of years, terrified people living in the Tuscany hills, and created a frenzy to find the killer or killers.
The book follows the decades of investigation and prosecution of several people accused of being the Monster, or being someone criminally associated with the Monster. The investigators' theories evolve from a lone serial killer to a family of killers to a vast satanic consipracy involving most of Florence's upper class. Even the book's authors were swept up in the investigation.
The authors convincingly present their own theory of the crimes and suspect. My one complaint is that I wished the book had explained a little more was the Italian criminal justice system. From the bits and pieces discussed, it appears the Italian system is very different from the U.S. system in some key respects (the prosecutor is a judge, a trial is heard by a panel of judges not lay jurors, an appeals court can hear new evidence).
It would have been interesting to have a little more background on that. Otherwise, I found the book to be a fascinating case study. It's a must-read for any fan of true crime. Despite the complexity of the story, it was a quick and enjoyable read.
There were also some interesting parallels for anyone who followed the Amanda Knox story (American exchange student Amanda Knox and her Italian boyfriend were convicted of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy). The main prosecutor who believed in and investigated the satanic consipracy theories of the Monster killings was also Amanda Knox's prosecutor, and he advanced similar theories in that case.
For fans of The Silence of the Lambs (my favorite serial killer book and movie ever) and Hanibal, author Thomas Harris apparently followed the Monster investigations and used the case as inspiration for his books (click the images to order from Amazon).
While the targeted couple was in the heat of passion in their car, the Monster would shoot the man, then the woman. He would drag the woman from the car and cut out her vagina. In later crimes he would also rip off the woman's left breast.
These horrific crimes, committed over a period of years, terrified people living in the Tuscany hills, and created a frenzy to find the killer or killers.
The book follows the decades of investigation and prosecution of several people accused of being the Monster, or being someone criminally associated with the Monster. The investigators' theories evolve from a lone serial killer to a family of killers to a vast satanic consipracy involving most of Florence's upper class. Even the book's authors were swept up in the investigation.
The authors convincingly present their own theory of the crimes and suspect. My one complaint is that I wished the book had explained a little more was the Italian criminal justice system. From the bits and pieces discussed, it appears the Italian system is very different from the U.S. system in some key respects (the prosecutor is a judge, a trial is heard by a panel of judges not lay jurors, an appeals court can hear new evidence).
It would have been interesting to have a little more background on that. Otherwise, I found the book to be a fascinating case study. It's a must-read for any fan of true crime. Despite the complexity of the story, it was a quick and enjoyable read.
There were also some interesting parallels for anyone who followed the Amanda Knox story (American exchange student Amanda Knox and her Italian boyfriend were convicted of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy). The main prosecutor who believed in and investigated the satanic consipracy theories of the Monster killings was also Amanda Knox's prosecutor, and he advanced similar theories in that case.
For fans of The Silence of the Lambs (my favorite serial killer book and movie ever) and Hanibal, author Thomas Harris apparently followed the Monster investigations and used the case as inspiration for his books (click the images to order from Amazon).
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