Leonarda Cianciulli

Leonarda Cianciulli Pansardi (November 14, 1893-October 15, 1970) was an Italian serial killer who murdered three women in Correggio between 1939 and 1940.

Early life

Cianciulli was born in Avellino. In 1914 she married a registry office clerk, Raffaele Pansardi, and moved with him to Laviano in Alta Irpinia. Her family opposed the marriage, as they had already picked out a suitor for her.

Pansardi's home was destroyed by an earthquake in 1930, and they moved once more, this time to Correggio. Her husband became an alcoholic and eventually left home. Meanwhile, Cianculli opened a small clothes shop and became very popular in the neighborhood.

Murders

In 1939, Cianciulli heard that her eldest son was to join the Italian army in preparation for World War II. She later described a dream that the Virgin Mary told her to sacrifice a human being for each son. She found her victims in three middle-aged women, all neighbours. Some sources record that she was something of a fortune teller herself, and that these women all visited her for help; others state merely that they were friends of hers seeking advice. Whatever the reason, she began to plan the deaths of the three women.

Faustina Setti

The first of Cianciulli's victims, Faustina Setti, was a spinster who had come to her for help in finding a husband. She told of a suitable mate in Pola, but convinced her to tell nobody of the news. She further convinced Setti to write letters and postcards to relatives and friends; these, to be mailed when she reached Pola, were merely to tell them that everything was fine.

On the day of her departure, Setti came to visit her one last time; Cianciulli offered her a glass of drugged wine, then killed her with an axe and dragged the body into a closet. There she cut it into nine parts, gathering the blood into a basin. She described what happened next in her official statement:

I threw the pieces into a pot, added seven kilos of caustic soda, which I had bought to make soap, and stirred the whole mixture until the pieces dissolved in a thick, dark mush that I poured into several buckets and emptied in a nearby septic tank. As for the blood in the basin, I waited until it had coagulated, dried it in the oven, ground it and mixed it with flour, sugar, chocolate, milk and eggs, as well as a bit of margarine, kneading all the ingredients together. I made lots of crunchy tea cakes and served them to the ladies who came to visit, though Giuseppe and I also ate them. [ [http://www.museocriminologico.it/correggio_uk.htm The Correggio soap-maker - Mucri - Criminology Museum ] ]

Some sources also record that she apparently received Setti's life savings, 30,000 lire, as payment for her services. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,852845,00.html A Copper Ladle - TIME ] ]

Francesca Soavi

Francesca Soavi was the second victim; Cianciulli claimed to have found her a job at a school for girls in Piacenza. Like Setti, Soavi was convinced to write postcards to be sent to friends, this time from Correggio, detailing her plans. Also like Setti, Soavi came to visit with Cianculli before her departure; she, too, was given drugged wine and then killed with an axe. The murder occurred on September 5, 1940. Soavi's body was given the same treatment as Setti's, and Cianciulli is said to have obtained 3,000 lire [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,852845,00.html A Copper Ladle - TIME ] ] from her second victim.

Virginia Cacioppo

Her final victim was Virginia Cacioppo, a former soprano said to have sung at La Scala. For her, she claimed to have found work as the secretary for a mysterious impresario in Florence; as with the other two women, she was told not to tell a single person where she was going. Cacioppo agreed and, on September 30, 1940, came for a last visit with her.

From Cacioppo, Cianciulli reportedly received 50,000 lire and assorted jewels.

Discovery and trial

Cacioppo's sister-in-law grew suspicious at her sudden disappearance, and had last seen her entering Cianciulli's house. She reported her fears to the superintendent of police in Reggio Emilia, who opened an investigation and soon arrested Leonarda. She immediately confessed to the murders, providing detailed accounts of what she had done.

Cianciulli was tried for murder in Reggio Emilia in 1946. She remained unrepentant, going so far as to correct the official account while on the stand:

At her trial in Reggio Emilia last week Poetess Leonarda gripped the witness-stand rail with oddly delicate hands and calmly set the prosecutor right on certain details.She was found guilty of her crimes and sentenced to thirty years in prison and three years in a criminal asylum.

Ciaculli died in the penitentiary of Pozzuoli in 1970

References

Persondata
NAME=Cianciulli Pansardi, Leonarda
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=The Soap-Maker of Correggio
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Italian serial killer
DATE OF BIRTH=1893
PLACE OF BIRTH=Montella di Avellino
DATE OF DEATH=October 15, 1970
PLACE OF DEATH=Pozzuoli