Italian prosecutors are reopening the investigation into the 1975 murder of writer and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini, after years of questions about whether the man convicted of the crime acted alone. The new inquiry follows a complaint filed by Roman lawyer Stefano Maccioni around a year ago and includes a previously unknown witness account, Italian media reports say.
Pasolini was killed in a wasteland in Ostia, near Rome, on the night of November 2, 1975. Pino Pelosi, who was 17 at the time, confessed and was sentenced to nine years and seven months in prison. However, the court said the evidence strongly suggested that Pelosi had not been alone, and called for further investigation.
The newly identified witness is reportedly a retired member of the law enforcement services with information about the original investigation. Maccioni has also cited material from recordings made by Italian public broadcaster RAI at the time and says the evidence gathered so far supports investigating who else was with Pelosi that night.
Maccioni has pursued the case for years and previously helped prompt inquiries in 2010 and 2023. Both were later closed without reaching a conclusive result. An earlier effort examined DNA from three unidentified people found on Pasolini’s clothing. Comparisons with 30 people connected to the investigation were negative, leaving the identities of those individuals unresolved.
Pelosi died in 2017. In later interviews and books, he gave conflicting accounts, at times claiming that three or four people had been present and threatened him if he spoke. His account at trial was that a dispute followed a sexual encounter, after which he struck Pasolini with a piece of wood and accidentally ran him over while fleeing in the artist’s car.
Maccioni’s latest filing also revisits possible links between the killing and Pasolini’s work in the months before his death, including his film *Salò* and the unfinished novel *Petroleum*. The film’s reels had been stolen from Cinecittà, and one theory is that Pasolini went to Ostia to retrieve them. Reports have linked people involved in the theft to the Magliana gang, a Roman criminal group.
Other theories have connected Pasolini’s writing about political and criminal networks to Italy’s period of political violence. His novel *Petroleum* dealt with political and business intrigues involving energy company ENI and the death of its president, Enrico Mattei. These lines of inquiry remain theories; the earlier investigations did not establish who else, if anyone, was involved in the murder.
Maccioni is acting on behalf of the Lazio regional journalists’ association, film director David Grieco and writer Giovanni Giovannetti. He has appealed to people who may have information to come forward, saying he hopes the renewed investigation will provide answers that have remained elusive for decades.
Sources: El País Cultura.