Gianni Di Vita admits infidelity in Pietracatella ricin poisoning case

Gianni Di Vita, the former mayor of Pietracatella, has admitted to prosecutors that he was unfaithful to his wife, Antonella Di Ielsi, and has identified his mistress. This confession provides new context to the investigation into the deaths of Di Ielsi and her 15-year-old daughter, Sara Di Vita, both of whom died from ricin poisoning.

Evidence from a 2018 WhatsApp message revealed that Antonella Di Ielsi had sought help from a friend to find a divorce lawyer, indicating a pre-existing marital crisis. While investigators are looking into various leads, Larino prosecutor Elvira Antonelli has dismissed recent speculations that the poisoning was specifically intended to target Di Vita himself.

Authorities are also examining digital leads, including anonymous Reddit messages from 2025 and 2026 that discussed methods for committing a crime using ricin. The Campobasso Prosecutor's Office is currently awaiting an FBI report regarding these messages to determine if they are linked to the Pietracatella case.