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CRIME

Child killer ‘confesses’ in church visitors’ book

Police in northern Italy have seized a church visitors' book after a note was found confessing to the unsolved murder of a 13-year-old girl three years ago.

Child killer 'confesses' in church visitors' book
The note refers to the murder of 13-year-old Yara Gambirasio in 2010. File photo: garann/Flickr

“Tell the police of Bergamo that the killer of Yara Gambirasio was here. May God forgive me,” the handwritten note said, according to a report in Corriere della Sera.

The book, from the Salvini di Rho chapel hospital, has now been passed to forensic experts, along with CCTV footage, the newspaper said.

Chapel staff told La Stampa that they did not notice anyone in particular, suggesting that the note was left a few hours before it was discovered.

“The book is normally full of the thoughts of the faithful, with thanks to the doctors,” a member of staff said.

Enrico Pelillo, the Gambirasio family’s lawyer, said they still had hope the killer would be found.

“Whether the letter was written by a compulsive liar or not, it is important that we do not stop investigating. We have a duty to give answers to a family that has waited for months, in silence, to know the truth,” he told La Stampa.

The teenager went missing on November 26th 2010 after leaving a gym in Brembate, a village between Bergamo and Milan.

Despite the efforts of search teams, Gambirasio’s decomposed body was not found until February 2011, in a clearing in Chignola d’Isola, 10km away from Brembate, Corriere said.

The autopsy revealed that the girl had suffered a head injury and had been stabbed in the back, neck and wrists. She was left for dead by her attacker and subsequently died from the cold, La Stampa said.

Gambirasio was clothed when found and was allegedly murdered for trying to stop a planned sex attack, Corriere said.

Investigators have amassed 14,000 DNA samples but have been unable to find her killer.

The evidence first pointed to Mohamed Fikri, a builder in the Bergamo region, but this hypothesis was later dismissed by police, La Stampa said.

In March 2013 investigators exhumed the body of truck driver Giuseppe Guerinoni, who died a decade ago, based on DNA evidence found on the girl’s clothing.

As Guerinoni died long before the murder happened, investigators believe that the killer could be his son from an illegitimate relationship in the 1960s or 1970s, Italian media reported. The truck driver’s son has not yet been found. 

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TERRORISM

Terror alerts: Should I be worried about travelling to Italy?

Italy is on its highest-level terror alert and ministers have warned the public to be vigilant over the Easter holidays - so is there cause for concern if you're planning to travel in the country?

Terror alerts: Should I be worried about travelling to Italy?

Italian authorities agreed on Monday to increase anti-terrorism monitoring ahead of the Easter holidays, with more surveillance to be carried out at popular tourist spots and at “sensitive sites”.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had stressed to the public on Sunday that Italy faced “no concrete risk” at the moment, and said the country’s security and law enforcement services were “always on the alert to prevent any attack.”

READ ALSO: Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Nevertheless, he warned that “during the Easter holidays you will need to be very careful.”

Italy has been on its highest-level terror alert since October 2023 following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, meaning the official alert level could not be raised any further on Monday.

The plan for increased surveillance and the warnings to the public in Italy came following the terrorist attack at a concert hall in Moscow on Friday where armed men opened fire and set the building ablaze, killing at least 133 people.

Ministers said that terror plots on this scale, organised by groups, “would be intercepted sooner in Italy” and said the main terror threat Italy faced at the moment was mainly from “lone wolves”.

He was referring to the fact that recent deadly attacks in Europe have often been carried out by a single perpetrator, not affiliated to a terrorist organisation. The profile of attackers is often isolated young men who have become radicalised.

Unlike most other major European countries, Italy has not so far suffered any deadly attacks at the hands of jihadist militants.

Experts have suggested that Italy has been able to prevent attacks partly due to lessons learned from anti-mafia policing, and that it also has a lower number of citizens at risk of radicalisation than countries like the UK or France – and therefore fewer suspects to watch.

The country arrests dozens of suspects every year on terrorism charges following surveillance operations. Earlier in March, three men of Palestinian origin were arrested in the Abruzzo town of l’Aquila, alleged to be involved in an organised terror plot.

In 2023, at least 56 foreign nationals were deported from Italy after facing terror-related charges.

Italy is generally seen as being at a lower risk of being hit by a major terror attack than some neighbouring countries. So what exactly does the raised alert level mean for people in the country?

Heightened security

While much of Italy’s counter-terrorism work goes on behind the scenes, there will be increased police and military patrols over Easter in busy public places deemed “sensitive”, including shopping centres and places of worship.

The most visible manifestation of the heightened security alert in Italy is the armed soldiers on patrol outside government buildings, tourist attractions, airports, train stations, central squares and in other busy public areas.

Unlike in some other European countries, Italy’s airports do not regularly experience bomb hoaxes and other threats. While no additional security checks for passengers are being introduced, security is likely to remain tight at Italian airports this Easter, as at all European transport hubs.

If you’re visiting a major tourist attraction over Easter or attending any type of large public event, expect a high level of security at the door.

Travel advice

So far, no country has warned its nationals against visiting Italy – the US State Department still lists the alert level for Italy as Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution, which has seen no change since July 2023. 

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