Father-of-three Salvatore Ocone, 58, is accused of killing his wife Elisa Polcino, 49, and their youngest son, 15, in a shocking massacre in a small town in southern Italy
A man killed his wife with a stone and then fled their home with his teenage children – but when they were found, his son was dead in his car, authorities in southern Italy said.
Salvatore Ocone, 58, is accused of killing his 49-year-old wife Elisa Polcino by hitting her in the head with a large rock in their bed in the small town of Paupisi, in the province of Benevento, in the early hours of September 30. The victim’s body was found by her mother-in-law who became concerned as the woman hadn’t left the home to take her children to school that morning, as she did every day.
A 12-hour manhunt was launched by Carabinieri – the national gendarmerie of Italy – following the shocking discovery. A police helicopter eventually spotted the man’s car in Ferrazzano, about 70km away from the scene.
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But when the car was located, officers made the devastating discovery that the couple’s 15-year-old son was dead, with his 16-year-old sister fighting for her life. Ocone was in the car with his daughter and his son’s body when emergency services arrived.
The injuries suffered by the teenagers suggested they had also been hit with rocks, authorities said. According to Rai News, the man allegedly used a glass bottle to hit the kids.
Ocone and his wife also shared an older son who wasn’t at home at the time of the tragedy, as he works in Emilia-Romagna, a region in northern Italy. Benevento prosecutor Gianfranco Scarfò said Ocone killed his wife with a large stone and then struck his youngest children at home before dragging them into his car and fleeing.
Carabinieri found traces of blood in the family home and near where the man’s car was parked, Sky TG24 reported. Colonel Calandro, commander of the Benevento Carabinieri, said: “We immediately realised that the children had been hit at home, hence the rush to find the car in an attempt to save the children.”
Ocone was arrested and charged with aggravated double homicide, attempted homicide, and kidnapping. When questioned on October 1, he confessed to the two killings, the prosecutor said. He is now being held in prison in the nearby city of Campobasso. During a press conference, investigators confirmed that Ocone had been treated for chronic psychosis and had undergone compulsory medical treatment in 2011.
The couple’s daughter, who was in a critical condition when she was found in the car alongside her dead brother, was taken to the Neuromed hospital in Pozzilli, in the province of Isernia, where she underwent surgery for a severe head injury. In its latest update on Tuesday, the hospital said she is in a stable condition.
The news bulletin read: “The pharmacologically induced coma has been lifted, but it will take several hours for the drugs to be metabolised and for any signs of recovery to appear. The prognosis remains guarded.”
Elisa was the latest victim in an alarming series of femicides in Italy. In July, the he Senate unanimously approved a bill making femicide a specific felony in Italian criminal law. It punishes with life imprisonment anyone who causes the death of a woman “with acts of discrimination or hatred towards the victim because she is a woman, or if the criminal act is aimed at repressing the exercise of the rights, freedoms or personality of the woman.”
The bill, which has moved to the Lower House for final approval, also sets new conditions for prison incentives and privileges for femicide convicts and strengthens obligations for educational and awareness initiatives to combat gender-based violence.
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk. If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk.