Leonarda Cianciulli
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Leonarda Cianciulli Pansardi (November 14, 1893-October 15, 1970) murdered three women in Correggio between 1939 and 1940.
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[edit] Early life
Leonarda was born Avellino . As a teenager her temper changed, becoming sociable and cheerful. In 1914 she married a registry office clerk, Raffaele Pansardi, and moved with him to Laviano in Alta Irpinia. Her family opposed her choice because they planned to have her married with another man, as usual at that time. 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, Leonarda opened a small clothes shop and became very popular in the neighboorhood, looked as an eccentric but gentle and intelligent woman.
[edit] Murders
In 1939, Leonarda heard that her eldest son, was to join the Italian army in preparation for World War II. She came to the conclusion that his safety required human sacrifices, after dreaming of the Virgin Mary who told her to sacrifice a human being for each son. She found her victims in three middle-aged women, all neighbours, who trusted her. 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.
[edit] Faustina Setti
The first of Leonarda's victims, Faustina Setti, was a lifelong 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; Leonarda 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. Leonarda 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.[1]
Some sources also record that Leonarda apparently received Setti's life savings, 30,000 lire, as payment for her services.[2]
[edit] Francesca Soavi
Francesca Soavi was the second victim; Leonarda 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 Leonarda 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 Leonarda is said to have obtained 3,000 lire[3] from her second victim.
[edit] Virginia Cacioppo
Leonarda's 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. Virginia agreed, and on September 30, 1940, came for a last visit with her.
From Cacioppo, Leonarda reportedly received 50,000 lire and assorted jewels.
[edit] Discovery and trial
Cacioppo's sister-in-law grew suspicious at her sudden disappearance, and had last seen her entering Leonarda'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.
Leonarda 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.
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
