Pietracatella double homicide linked to ricin poisoning under investigation

In Pietracatella, Molise, mother Antonella Di Ielsi and her 15‑year‑old daughter Sara Di Vita died in December after suspected ricin poisoning. The Procura di Larino has opened a pre‑meditated double‑homicide case and has enlisted German experts from the Robert Koch Institute—Christian Herzog and Sylvia Worbs—alongside Italian forensic toxicologist Luca Morini to analyse biological samples and seized evidence.

Investigators have seized about 70 food items from the family home and are testing them for ricin traces. Blood samples from the surviving husband Gianni and daughter Alice Di Vita were taken at the Maugeri anti‑poison centre in Pavia and sent to Berlin for antibody testing. The expert team plans to complete analysis of the victims’ samples by the end of July and to examine the family’s samples by August. A house inspection using advanced detection techniques is slated for early August, possibly with German police assistance. No suspects have been identified; authorities are focusing on how the toxin was extracted, likely from a local castor‑bean plant.