Breakthrough in the investigation into the death of four Pakistani laborers found charred yesterday morning, Monday 1st June in Amendolara, in the Cosentino area. Today the Castrovillari Prosecutor’s Office ordered the arrest of two of the victims’ compatriots, accused of multiple and multiple aggravated murderThe images recorded by the surveillance cameras of a fuel station along Highway 106, where the minivan inside which the bodies were found, were parked, would have framed the two suspects.
The discovery of the bodies
The alarm was raised on the morning of Monday 1 June, when four charred bodies were discovered in Amendolara inside a minivan stopped in the service area of a petrol station.
The victims were four agricultural workers of Pakistani nationality. From the first hours following the discovery, investigators had focused their attention on the hypothesis of a crime, gradually excluding that of a tragic accident.
The turning point in the investigation
Within a few hours, investigators from the Cosenza Flying Squad managed to identify two of the victims’ compatriots. The two men were tracked down on the evening of June 1st in Villapiana and accompanied to the offices of the Cosenza Police Headquarters.
After a long interrogation, on June 2nd the arrest ordered by the Castrovillari Prosecutor’s Office was triggered. The two are now accused of multiple and multi-aggravated murder.
The cameras would have recorded the entire scene
They would have been crucial for the investigation footage from the video surveillance system installed in the fuel station. According to what emerged from the investigations, the images would have captured all phases of the criminal actionconfirming that the four laborers did not die due to an accident but were apparently killed. In the videos, two people could be seen approaching the minivan and blocking the vehicle’s doors from the outside. First one and then the other would have used their arms to prevent the occupants from leaving. At the same time, a flammable substance was thrown from the rear door of the vehicle. A few moments later a blaze would be seen developingwhile the two men quickly move away from the scene of the crime.
Investigations still ongoing
The prosecutor underlined the work carried out by the police, who made it possible to identify the alleged perpetrators very quickly. «It deserves to be highlighted», states the prosecutor of Castrovillari Alessandro D’Alessio, «the professionalism of the police who, once again, were able, by operating in perfect and commendable coordination between themselves, and following the directives of the Prosecutor’s Office, to identify, within a very short time distance from the facts, the subjects seriously suspected of the crime of multiple and multi-aggravated homicide».
However, the investigation is not over. Investigators are continuing their investigations to reconstruct the dynamics of the crime in detail, clarify the motive and verify any further responsibilities. As specified by the Prosecutor’s Office, the investigations “are ongoing and continuing in order to fully ascertain the facts and any responsibilities, in compliance with the guarantees provided by the law”.
