The murder of Yara Gambirasio | Ep 224

Summary

---

Crime and Coffee Couple: The Murder of Yara Gambirasio | Ep 224

Release Date: December 21, 2025
Hosts: Allison and Mike
Case: The 2010 abduction and murder of Yara Gambirasio, a 13-year-old girl from Italy
Listener Suggestions: Amber and Jenny

---

Episode Overview

In this emotionally charged and meticulously researched episode, Allison and Mike, the married duo behind the Crime and Coffee Couple podcast, break down the haunting murder of Yara Gambirasio—a 13-year-old girl whose disappearance in a quiet Italian town shook the nation and set off an epic, years-long investigation. The couple’s signature blend of respectful storytelling, warmth, and occasional dark humor invites listeners into the heart of one of Italy’s most complex and devastating true crime stories.

---

Main Discussion Points & Key Insights

Setting the Scene: Yara’s Disappearance

[09:24]

• On November 26, 2010, 13-year-old Yara left her home in Brembate di Sopra, Italy, to drop off a stereo at her gymnastics studio, planning to return quickly.
• Described as trustworthy, responsible, and deeply loved by her family, her absence prompted immediate worry.
• When Yara failed to return home, her parents grew concerned and contacted police.

“These are just the things that are so mundane and typical that you would never anticipate something this horrible to happen.” — Allison [10:56]

Initial Investigation and Community Response

[12:44] – [15:38]

• Small town setting: Brembate di Sopra is a peaceful town north of Milan, ill equipped for such tragedy.
• Law enforcement reacted swiftly; gym instructor confirmed Yara's brief visit and last sighting [13:23].
• CCTV footage from the gym was unavailable due to previous storm damage, leaving investigators without video evidence [14:15].
• Bloodhounds tracked Yara’s scent away from her normal route, leading towards deserted industrial areas; her phone last pinged in Mapello. This was an unusual deviation and pivotal early clue [17:07].

“Instead of going this way towards her home, they went this way to an area she would have never gone to.” — Allison [17:18]

Family Dynamics and Early Suspects

[18:20] – [20:29]

• Yara’s close-knit family and strong community standing were highlighted; they immediately ruled out family involvement.
• Authorities wiretapped and traced 15,000 phones moving through Mapello. One man, Mohammed Fikri, was briefly detained after a suspicious phone conversation; ultimately, he was cleared after his alibi checked out [20:29].

The National Impact: Media & Cultural Response

[20:30] – [25:53]

• The case became a media sensation in Italy. The family sought privacy, declining public vigils and press coverage.
• Culturally, the more reserved northern Italian community resented gossip and maintained strict privacy—a detail Allison and Mike discuss with wry empathy.
• Months passed with no break in the case; hope dimmed as Yara’s disappearance dragged through Christmas [22:12].

Discovery of Yara’s Body and Forensic Revelations

[25:53] – [29:50]

• On February 26, 2011, three months after her disappearance, Yara’s decomposed body was found in a field by a man retrieving his crashed model plane.
• She wore the same clothes as when last seen; personal items (iPod, SIM card) were recovered, but the phone was missing.
• Autopsy findings:
  • Injuries from a blade, blow to the head, and cuts to wrists and clothing.
  • No evidence of sexual assault, but clear indication of attempted sexual violence.
  • Death was ultimately from hypothermia—she could have survived with prompt medical care.
  • Forensic evidence: lime and jute fibers suggested the killer might work in construction or rope manufacturing.

"After she was attacked, she was just left in the cold to die. Had she been found quickly, she would have likely survived." — Allison [25:53]

The Epic DNA Investigation

[29:50] – [37:37]

• DNA samples from her clothing yielded a robust, unknown male profile termed “Ignoto1” (Unknown1) [30:41].
• Massive campaign: Law enforcement collected thousands of DNA samples from anyone linked to key locations via cell phone presence.
• Innovative forensics: Unlike in the U.S., widescale DNA sweeps and cell data tracing were legal and aggressively pursued in Italy [31:33].
• The investigation was slow, costly, and under immense political/media pressure—with the lead detective, Letizia Rugeri, facing sexist criticism for her tenacity and methodology [37:04].

“You were asking me, like, could they do this in the US? I don't think that would be legal.” — Mike [31:33] “This is so, like, woman-made. Like, I don't think a man would go this deep.” — Mike [39:33]

The Genealogical Breakthrough: Piecing Together the Killer’s Origins

[37:37] – [48:09]

• A DNA sample from a nightclub patron matched closely to Ignoto1, but the donor, Damiano Gariononi, had an alibi; geneticists deduced a close familial link [34:48].
• Investigators built an extensive family tree back to the 1700s, eventually identifying Giuseppe Guerinoni, a deceased bus driver, as the biological father of the suspect [40:54].
• Focus shifted to locating an illegitimate child—born from an affair in the 1960s or 70s—after verifying neither of Giuseppe’s acknowledged sons matched the killer DNA [42:07].
• Painstaking interviews with elderly women and record checks at resorts led to the identification of Ester Arzufi, who had twins in 1970 after an affair with Giuseppe [47:00].
• Major error revealed: Ester’s DNA had been tested two years prior but was compared to Yara, not Ignoto1, leading to costly delays [48:00].

“She had been tested two years earlier. An error had been made.” — Allison [48:00]

Closing the Net: Identity, Arrest, and Conviction of Massimo Giuseppe Bossetti

[48:09] – [54:01]

• The male twin, Massimo Giuseppe Bossetti, a married construction worker and father of three living in Mapello (site of Yara’s last phone ping), became the prime suspect.
• Undercover officers obtained Massimo’s DNA during a fake roadblock; results matched Ignoto1 exactly [49:30].
• Further evidence:
  • Surveillance repeatedly caught his van circling the gym the night of the murder [49:53].
  • Cell records confirmed he was in the area, shutting off his phone before Yara exited the gym—a clear premeditation sign [52:04].
  • His internet search history revealed obsession with prepubescent girls [51:53].
• Massimo lied repeatedly—about his tanning bed use, about his whereabouts, and even faked illnesses for attention.
• Trial began in 2015, with DNA evidence overwhelming; he continued to deny guilt, but was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in July 2016 [54:01].

“Not only was his DNA a match, but surveillance video also depicted his van passing Yara's gym 16 times on the night that she went missing.” — Allison [49:53] “He is a liar, a coward, all those things, garbage.” — Mike [51:15]

The Aftermath: Familial Fallout and Lingering Questions

[54:10] – [60:49]

• Four families devastated: Yara’s family left to mourn; Massimo’s family ruined by scandal; the father of Massimo’s supposed siblings learned all his children were not biologically his.
• The investigation highlighted severe personal consequences for all involved, notably the heartbreak of learning infidelity and paternity betrayal years later.
• Massimo’s mother continued to deny ever straying from her marriage, despite irrefutable DNA evidence.
• Hosts reflect on whether Massimo specifically targeted Yara or was predatory towards all young girls at the gym—ultimately, a question likely never to be answered.

“It just sounds like Yara was just such an exceptional person…it's just so heartbreaking to think that she no longer lives because this sick, disgusting human being saw her and saw her as nothing but this thing.” — Allison [60:20] “He was most definitely hunting for someone. Was it Yara specifically? We'll never know.” — Allison [59:13]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Drive sober or get pulled over.” — [00:20] (Ad, skipped for summary)
• On Italian cuisine and family humor:
  “With German sausage, I almost feel like I'm drinking while I'm eating.” — Mike [02:57]
• On cold foam:
  “It's basically if whipped cream ever had a stomach bug, that's what you had.” — Mike [04:32]
• On the reach of the investigation:
  “In the meantime, Yara's funeral Was held on a hot morning in May of 2011, where onlookers watched as the hearse slowly drove toward the sports center…” — Allison [33:56]
• On the pressure and sexism faced by lead investigator:
  “Politicians started to even talk about it, and they were making personal attacks against [Rugeri]… probably a man.” — Mike [38:34]
• On dogged police work:
  “They spent months creating this intensive family tree that dated back to 1815.” — Allison [39:22]
• On Massimo’s web of lies:
  “He had actually gone as far as to make up that he had a brain tumor. And anyone who does that is freaking sick in the head.” — Allison [51:40]
• On Italian justice:
  “What does life in prison mean in Italy?” — Mike
  “It sounds like he's going to spend the rest of his life in prison.” — Allison [54:12]

---

Timestamps of Key Segments

• 09:24 — Yara leaves home and disappears
• 13:23 — Timeline of gym visit & last communication
• 17:07 — Bloodhounds divert search to industrial area (Mapello)
• 18:20 — Family, phone wiretaps, first suspect
• 25:53 — Discovery of Yara’s body & forensic findings
• 29:50 — Forensic DNA discovery; the “Ignoto1” profile
• 31:33 — Comparison to US law; scale of Italian investigation
• 37:01 — Near-match DNA from nightclub patron, Gariononi
• 39:22 — Family tree methodology; Rugeri’s leadership
• 48:09 — Massimo Giuseppe Bossetti identified, DNA match
• 49:53 — Surveillance footage of Massimo’s van
• 54:01 — Massimo convicted, sentenced to life
• 59:13 — Discussion: targeted or opportunistic murder

---

Tone & Style

True to their reputation, Allison and Mike maintain a respectful, empathetic narrative, occasionally lightened with their married-couple banter and humor—particularly when detouring into cultural differences or the quirks of Italian sausage and coffee. Their conversation is sensitive to the victim and her family, clear in its contempt for the perpetrator (“piece of garbage,” “waste of life”), and passionate in calling out both the systemic and personal failings that complicated the path to justice. They also address the remarkable persistence and innovation of the Italian police (particularly the underappreciated female lead detective).

---

Summary Takeaway

This episode is a poignant, in-depth retelling of Yara Gambirasio’s tragic murder and the extraordinary investigation that finally brought her killer to justice—painstakingly tracing a single DNA thread through years of determined work, against skeptical politicians and societal shame. The hosts convey reverence for Yara and her family, frustration at the evil in the world, and admiration for the tireless investigators who refused to let her case go cold.

---

For more information and episodes: Crime and Coffee Couple Website

Transcript

[A]

Two hours ago, Kyle arrived at the bar.

[B]

Hey, what's everyone drinking?

[A]

Thirty minutes ago, Kyle got his friends another round of drinks.

[C]

Cheers.

[A]

Five minutes ago, Kyle decided to drive home drunk. A minute ago, a law enforcement officer pulled up behind Kyle.

[D]

Sir, have you been drinking tonight?

[A]

A chain of events that began two hours ago is about to change Kyle's whole world. Drive sober or get pulled over.

[E]

Paid for by nhtsa this podcast is supported by the Real Real. Meet Christine. She loves shopping. And this is the sound of fashion overload. Too many fabulous things, not enough space. So Christine started selling with the RealReal.

[F]

I've always loved collecting designer pieces. Gucci bags, Prada heels. But my style keeps evolving. Selling with the RealReal. Game changer. I earn more. And they do everything.

[E]

So seriously, just drop off your items or schedule a pickup. We handle the photos, descriptions, pricing, even shipping. You just sit back and watch your items sell fast to our 38 million members.

[F]

And I get peace of mind knowing I earn more selling with the RealReal than anywhere else.

[E]

Exactly this. That's the sound of your closet working for you. The RealReal. Earn more, save time, sell fast. And right now, you can get an extra $100 site credit when you sell for the first time. Go to therealreal.com to get your extra hundred dollars. Therealreal.com that's therealreal.com.

[D]

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode with the crime and coffee couple. My name's Allison.

[G]

And my name's Mike.

[D]

I'm.

[E]

I.

[G]

Hey. Just doing a little hey, how you doing at the camera. Hey. Hey, how you doing? So, yeah, how you doing, lovely lady?

[D]

I am doing quite well. It's the final stretch before Christmas and.

[G]

You are dressed like it. You are looking like a candy cane.

[D]

Festin.

[G]

Yeah. Wow. You got the. People were mentioning your previous lacy arm thing and now you've got a red one. So you had a black one before, now a red one.

[D]

Had a black one. Now I have a red one. Are you gonna wear that candy cane top?

[G]

I would imagine you'd wear that in Christmas time.

[D]

Oh, absolutely. Maybe I'll. I'll wear it on Christmas Eve.

[G]

Okay. Okay.

[D]

Christmas day, we normally like to be on the cozier side.

[G]

Yeah.

[D]

Make some food. Open presents.

[G]

Right. A lot of breakfast items. My mom likes breakfast. We're gonna be in Chicago for it, so that'll be fun.

[D]

And then we go to your brother and our sister in law's house. And her grandpa was bor Ireland. So I love the sausage that they bring. But you don't like the texture.

[G]

The blood sausage?

[D]

No, not blood sausage.

[G]

Oh, okay.

[D]

Oats in it, I think.

[G]

Yeah, it's a little dry.

[D]

I. I love it.

[G]

I mean, you. You Irish folks just like dry sausage, then that's cool. I mean, I'm glad you enjoy it.

[D]

But I think, like, cuckoo.

[G]

Like the Germans, they know how to do it. Bratwurst and knock worst. Any worst.

[D]

I like that. It's not overly greasy.

[G]

Yeah, I'm. That's. If you're going to have sausage, make it greasy. That's what I say.

[D]

Sometimes with German sausage, I almost feel like I'm drinking while I'm eating.

[G]

Well, and you can feel it in your heart a little bit.

[D]

I'm like, oh, my heart hurts.

[G]

Like, the ticker's just going just a.

[D]

Little bit slower instead of being like, boom, boom. It's like, boom.

[G]

You're like, exactly.

[D]

I always think of the Simpsons where he's like, dad, my heart hurts. And he's like, baking up that sausage.

[G]

Yeah, he's wrapping bacon around the sausage. Simpsons are good. Simpsons are good. I'm glad to be having some coffee back. I know the last episode, we were kind of just posers and I was drinking coffee.

[D]

We were drinking sparkling water like a couple of losers.

[G]

Yeah, man, this is so good. And when you guys sniff it, do you just, like, get this, like, chill down your spine? It's so nice. I love. I love a fresh brewed cup of coffee. You made it for me, too. You're very kind.

[D]

Yes. And the special ingredient is love.

[G]

I can almost taste it.

[D]

And sometimes I really am excited to have that first cup of coffee.

[G]

Oh, my God. When I go to sleep, I just can't wait. I'm like, okay, just get to sleep and then you can have coffee.

[D]

Exactly. It's like Christmas morning every day. And I make the. I've been using our Keurig lately and doing the Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce. And then I do oat milk. We have one of those, like, milk warmers.

[G]

Yeah, the frother thing.

[D]

Yeah. And I. It doesn't even really froth it. It more just warms it. And then I put in a splash of the coffee mate peppermint. And then I top it with a little swirl of Dunkin Donuts cold foam. And it is top notch.

[G]

It's kind of cool. They came out with cold foam. I mean, really, what is cold foam? Like whipped cream? Just, like, diluted.

[D]

Like, not diluted, but looser.

[G]

Liquid looser. Like diarrhea.

[D]

Oh, thank you. I'm really enjoy now. Thank you.

[G]

Yeah. It's basically if whipped cream ever had a stomach bug, that's what you had.

[D]

Oh, that's a horrible way of seeing cold foam. And I will probably never enjoy it like I previously did. Those. Thank you for crapping all over that, listeners.

[G]

You're welcome.

[D]

So speaking of crapping all over things.

[G]

Good segway, good segue.

[D]

We had a nice weekend. Morning. We got up, we went to this really cool location that's only minutes away from us. It's around this big lake and it's nature and just beauty and just had a wonderful three mile walk.

[G]

So real quick, this, you guys know I'm super cheap, but we get to enjoy all the nature of this neighborhood without paying any of the HOA fees, any of the CDD fees, any of that kind of crap. So I tell my friend who lives in there, I'm like, hey, thank you for paying your HOA fees so we can enjoy your beauty.

[D]

He can go and walk in there, but go ahead, cuz Lord knows we could never live in a nice place like that.

[G]

Oh, yeah, our neighborhood's so bad, we.

[D]

Live in the slums.

[G]

Yeah. There hasn't been a murder here in days.

[D]

So we come home and by the way, when we left the house, it was quiet as could be. So now we come home and hear the cats meowing very loudly. I'm like, oh, no. So we have this back bedroom that they just love to spend time in because it's got big windows and a lot of sunlight at the end of the day. And sometimes when they're clowning around and wrestling, they shut the door on themselves. And normally I'm here and I'm able to catch that and open it. So I didn't know to what extent they lock themselves in. Was it an hour? Was it 10? Overnight?

[G]

And if you're not a cat owner, if you lock your cats in somewhere in the house, that means they can't get to their litter box. So. So it's literally a nightmare scenario, right?

[D]

I'm like, oh, no. So here I am coming off of this lovely walk, and now I'm in full stress mode and trying to figure out how long were you guys in there? And I go in, I smell immediately. Crap. I'm like, oh, my gosh. So I go in the bathroom to that room and there's a load right on the carpet. I'm like, oh, that's fun. It's a throw rug, so I could just throw it in the wash. No big deal. Great. Pick it up, throw it in the toilet, let's move on. Then I go to pick up our daughter's clothes, which are laying right next to her hamper. Of course.

[G]

Why would they be in the hamper?

[D]

Why would they? That's so ridiculous. I go to pick up these freaking clothes, and it is literally a crap storm. Turds rain around like tumbleweed.

[G]

Just, like, rolling around.

[D]

Just a turd shower.

[G]

So they did it all in her clothes?

[D]

Yeah, they crept right on her clothes. Did she know that it was not messy? They were nice. And did you tell her, clean? I washed them.

[G]

Does she know there was poo in her clothes?

[D]

Those. I believe so.

[G]

I mean, these are a lot of evasive answers, folks.

[D]

We'll just say yes.

[G]

Okay.

[D]

So I was like, oh, my gosh, how does this happen? That this lovely morning with Starbucks coffee ends in a shitstorm?

[G]

It's because of cats, man. Just cats. We love them to death, but, man, they are a pain in the butt sometimes.

[D]

And, you know, we're getting ready to have some family over, so I want that back room to be pristine, and I'm, like, washing everything, and there's just cat hair. Like, oh. I'm like, man, why do we have all these pets?

[G]

Allison, during the holidays is a special kind of stressed. Our son asked if he could have some friends sleepover. It was a lot. It was like, forced friends. And Allison's like, I've got people coming. The back bedroom's got to be clean.

[D]

Well, I literally just got the back bedroom absolutely perfect. Washed all the bedding, made the bed so it's perfect. Dusted everything, vacuum, like, everywhere. And now he wants to have five kids back there.

[G]

Picture you rocking.

[D]

I was.

[G]

I was like, I can't have people here.

[D]

I want our home to be a where our kids can come and bring their friends. But I'm sorry, this is just not the week to have 17 kids.

[G]

They're all off of school.

[D]

Okay, Too freaking bad.

[G]

I hear.

[D]

Too freaking bad.

[G]

I hear you. Well, we like to have a little coffee talk before every episode. Just kind of ease into things here because you guys are all our friends and buddies. We have a wonderful community. Thank you for being awesome. And go ahead and make sure that you're subscribed to us wherever you're listening, whether, you know, just make sure you're following. Hit that plus button, because, like, half of listeners that listen every week aren't following us.

[D]

So I can't believe that, because, like I always say, if I don't follow a podcast and I can't keep track of what I've Listened to or what's new or what, where I am in the episode, it's just easier. It helps us out. And if you leave us a five star review wherever you're listening, that would even be better.

[G]

That'd be very nice.

[D]

So thank you guys so much. Thank you for just being here and supporting us. So are you ready to dive into this cup of coffee? All right, so this is a listener suggestion from Amber and Jenny, and this is the murder of Yara Gio. And please bear with me, I'm going to do my absolute best. This case takes place in Italy. I. So some of the words are a mouthful for me who has been born and raised in the United States.

[G]

You're not Italian.

[D]

I am. I am zero percent Italian. I always wish that I was Italian.

[G]

You wish you were everything I do.

[D]

I'm always like, I wish I was from the uk.

[G]

Yeah. I wish I lived in the Arctic Circle.

[D]

Well, I know I don't want to. I want to. Yeah, I want to live in the Arctic Circle. I want it to be dark all day so that I could have candles and Christmas lights just glowing.

[G]

Enough about you. Let's talk about Poriara.

[D]

All right, so on a cold November evening in 2010 in the small Italian town of Bremen, Bate de Sopra, this is within the province of Bergamo, 13 year old Yara Gambracio she left her gymnastics studio and she never came home. So after waiting for three agonizing months, all this time her family had absolutely no idea what happened to her. They didn't suspect that it was going to end well. And when the news came, it was devastating. Yara was the type of girl who others described as kind, responsible and just full of potential. She was a bright light within her quiet community where really nothing terrible was ever supposed to happen. But that night, evil found her. So when Yara left her home, it was about 5:15 on Friday, November 26, 2010, and she was heading to her gym that was literally about 800 meters away from her home. And she hadn't intended to be gone long. So she was busy getting ready for this Riz, excuse me, easy for me to say, rhythmic gymnastics event. So it was going to be held on Sunday, which was two short days away. So she wanted to be prepared and not have to rush and scramble on that Sunday. So she was getting ahead of the game. So she was dropping off a stereo with her instructor at the studio. So looking back, her mom feels this tremendous sense of like, guilt because it was her who said, hey, yara, why don't you run the stereo over so that you're ahead of the game?

[G]

There's no way to know.

[D]

These are just the things that are so mundane and typical that you just would never anticipate something this horrible to happen.

[G]

Like, 99.9% of times, 999, everything's going to be fine.

[D]

Yes. So as she walked out the front door that evening, she was wearing black leggings, a black sweatshirt with a hello Kitty logo on the back, a black jacket, and black gloves that had glitter on it. She said goodbye to her family. They weren't worried. They knew exactly where she was heading. And like I said, she was only going to be gone for a blip of time. But sadly, as she shut the door behind her, this was the last time they ever saw her alive. So as 7pm rolled around and Yara had been gone for close to two hours, this was far longer than her parents anticipated her to be gone. They started to grow concerned, maybe even a little irritated. Like, why isn't she checking in with us?

[G]

Yeah, where the hell is she? How dare she stay out this late?

[D]

This was out of the ordinary for Yara because she was the type of girl who sometimes would almost be a little over the top. She would let her parents know that she was even running five minutes late. And each time they called her, though, after she didn't come home by seven, the phone would ring about three to four times and then it would go to voicemail. So as they drove to the gym, they realized no one was there. She wasn't there. So they began driving around town looking for their daughter, but there was no sign of her. So Yara's father contacted the police and reported her missing. So, Brambatte de Sopra. It's a small, charming town that's located in the northern portion of Italy, about 28 miles, or 45 kilometers northeast of Milan. In 2010, it had a population of just under 8,000. And it's a peaceful place where people can go to escape the hustle and bustle of the more busy tourist locations.

[G]

I know I would hate it if I was in Italy, if all the people in Rome and everywhere, it's just like, get out.

[D]

Thanks for, you know, congesting up our cities. Right, of course. Obviously, we tourists do help with the economy.

[G]

I still want to go there and also give them lots of my money.

[D]

I will go there someday. So from the quiet line streets, there are views of the wooded mountains in the distance as well as these beautiful medieval structures. It sounds really amazing. So within minutes of her father's phone call, the magistrate on duty dispatched both state police officers as well as the military police to Brambate de Sopra. So as the investigation began, Yara's gym instructor confirmed that, yes, she'd briefly stopped by somewhere, you know, around 5:30 ish. And then before she headed out, she did a little bit of light training and her cell phone proved that. The last known contact that Yara had, it was a text message that she sent to her friend Martina that was sent at about 6:44pm Basically they were just talking about Sunday, the event that they were having this rhythmic gymnastics. They were going to meet at 8, 8am this is the last time anyone heard from her. So Yara Sports center was situated in a large complex. It had many entrances and exits because it was a big building and it had an arena, a swimming pool, a running track, courts. Basically any sport you could think of, you could go to this location and do quickly.

[G]

As a stupid American, all I picture in Italy is cobblestone streets and like old buildings. Yeah, no, it's probably more updated.

[D]

It was very up to date and new. And athletes, it's a busy place. There's athletes of all kinds and they're coming and going. So it's bustling. Not only that, but it was situated along a busy road. So there was a public CCT camera in front of the gym. Sadly, it had gotten damaged during a summer storm. So there was zero footage of Yara leaving that gym. So according to those who saw her there that night, she walked in, she was carrying her speaker. It was about 5.30pm after she set it down, she sat with the younger girls who were actively training. She was watching them. She stayed for about an hour. She was just chatting with everyone. She left at about 6:30pm no one actually could say which exit she left from because, you know, they're busy watching things. She says, bye.

[G]

It's like, okay, take our daughter gymnastics. There's people coming and going, right? Like crazy.

[D]

So she seemed to be in a happy mood. She was excited about Sunday's event. So one young man who the Gimbracio family knew, this is Enrico Toronto, he reported seeing Yara on her way home. And he told investigators it was, you know, it was concerning because she's a 13 year old girl and he's telling them she saw him talking with two men near an old Citro. Citroen, this is a car. So. However, as it continued to talk to this guy, it came out that he made the whole Story up for attention, like, who does this?

[G]

How is Enrique?

[D]

He was an adult. So investigators initially thought they were thinking the best, that at 13 years old, maybe she wandered out with a friend, maybe she was visiting with someone. But her parents were adamant that that's just not who she was. Like I said, she was someone that if she was even five minutes late, she was going to call them. So she wouldn't have done that. At 13 years old, Yara still had an innocence about her. She wore braces. She was really not interested in boys, yet she was really. Her life, the center of it all, was gymnastics, her friends, and her family. So she left that house on that cold Friday night without her purse because she hadn't intended to be gone long. And as the hours continued to tick by, investigators could no longer deny that something terrible had likely, sadly happened to her. So when bloodhounds were brought in, rather than following the expected route, because she took the same route to that gym every single time, from the sports center back to Yara's home in via Rampinelli, they went the opposite direction. And this is in an isolated area where there's no homes. It's basically just warehouses and factories. So the dogs ended up traveling nearly 1.2 miles, or 2 kilometers, until they arrived at this gate of a shopping mall that was under construction. And then three of the dogs led investigators to an electrical system storage room that was nine miles or 15 kilometers away in this town called Mapello.

[G]

The dogs led them there?

[D]

Yeah.

[G]

That is insane. What were they sniffing? What were they?

[D]

Something she readily wore.

[G]

And, like, she took that route all the time, so it was only, like, focusing on just the.

[E]

The.

[G]

The strongest of the scent, I guess.

[D]

So obviously, when you're having a dog track ascent, you want something they're actively wearing freshly. So I'm sure they, you know, took something like that. And instead of going this way towards her home, they went this way to an area she would have never gone to.

[G]

I picture them holding the dogs and being, like, pulled, and it's like, okay, let's go. And 15 miles, you said away.

[D]

Yeah. So nine miles or 15 kilometers to this place called Mapello. So when the team analyzed the last signals from Yara's cell phone, it was consistent with Mapello. So when she was connecting, it was 6:49pm this was five minutes after she sent her text to her friend about Sunday meeting at 8am it was in Mapello. So these dogs were accurate. So although everything suggested that Yara's family had zero to do with her disappearance, I mean, they were devastated. Investigators interviewed those that were closest to her first. So over the next few days, they spoke with each member of the Gambracio family because they were looking for any indication that maybe they knew more than they were letting on to.

[G]

Yeah, somebody just not the same in their story. Just some kind of something interesting they can grab onto.

[D]

Yeah, but that wasn't the case. So Yara's parents were both well known and respected within their community. Her father, Fulvio, he was a large, solid man. He wore thick glasses. He worked at a local construction or, excuse me, as a local construction surveyor. His father had been a local postman. Basically, the point is this was a very well established family in this town. Generations of people had lived here. And Yara's mom, Maura, she worked as a kindergarten teacher in the nearby town of Longuelo. So she had a 15 year old sister, Keba. They were all super close. She also had two younger brothers, nine year old Nathan and four year old Gioli. I hope I'm saying that right. So according to her father, Yara was truly the soul of their close family. She was like the glue that held them all together. She was someone who radiated kindness and joy, and her siblings positively adored her. So in addition to the Gambracio family, investigators put wiretaps on hundreds of phones. They also tried to chase or, excuse me, trace those who owned cell phones that were passing through Mapello on the day that she disappeared. This amounted to 15,000 people because obviously that's where the dogs track to. That's where her phone last pinged. So one of these phones belonged to a Moroccan man named Mohammed Fikri. And in one conversation, because he was wiretapped as well, he was overheard saying, forgive me, God. I didn't kill her. So when Yara vanished, he had been working in a builder's yard in Mapello. But by the time investigators began looking into him, he was on a boat bound for Tangier, which is a city that's northwestern of Morocco. So on December 4, Italian authorities intercepted the boat and they arrested him. So when they searched this van that he had been driving, they found this blood stained mattress. But I will tell you, as investigators began to dig deeper, they learned that the blood was unrelated to the case. He was actually quickly cleared.

[G]

Oh, good.

[D]

So as autumn transitioned into winter, Brambate de Sopra became the focus of a media frenzy as national camera crews came into town to cover the story of Yara's disappearance. This was a major case in Italy. So the Gambracio family, they were panicked and they were grieving. They did not want these cameras in their faces. They wanted privacy. So they closed their curtains to avoid the onlookers and the media attention. They also declined to take part in what is known as a torchlight procession. This is basically a group of people that gather almost like a candlelight vigil. But they're walking, they're carrying flashlights, glow lights. Lights, basically, to raise awareness. In Yara's case, pay respect to her.

[G]

Probably more effective. It's almost like a parade sort of thing. It is for a sad parade.

[D]

A sad parade. So nuns from the Ursuline Order who taught at Yara school, they came to the Gambracio home. They were praying with the family. And a mass was also held in her honor. So because Brambatte de Sopra is closer to Switzerland than it is to Naples, many recognize that their desire for privacy was likely culturally driven. So those living in this area do tend to be more reserved than those living in more southern regions of the country. So it's said to be a place where gossip just isn't typical, which is a good thing. I wish I wasn't such a gossip.

[G]

I love gossip. I don't know about you, I just love it.

[D]

Sometimes I vow, I'm like, I gotta stop gossip.

[G]

Oh, it's so fun. Sorry.

[D]

But then I hear somebody whispering. I'm like.

[G]

Like, wow, tell me more. It's like a natural human thing. Go with your nature. Just don't be mean.

[D]

Right, exactly. So it's a place where people really don't share information unless they cross check its accuracy. Which is a good thing.

[G]

Yeah.

[D]

So although they avoided the media, the Gambracio family, they were desperate to find Yara. So they shared photos of her with the press in the days after she disappeared. But days and weeks, sadly, continue to go by. No one came forward with any information to say that they saw something. So Yara had been missing for a month when her family got through Christmas without her. And I can't imagine just how awful that must have been. As time went by, they just continued to grow more and more desperate. So they agreed to make a televised appeal. And Maura was said to be so uncomfortable that she was unknowingly rolling her eyes while Fulvio, who was wearing a rugby shirt, he hesitantly read a plea and said, help us to return to normal. Normality. So he explained that their family values revolved around love, respect, and honesty. And he indicated that they would not be giving any interviews. They just were not the type of family that just wanted that camera in their face. So on the afternoon of February 26, 2011, this is exactly three months to the day after Yara disappeared. A middle aged man named Elario Scotty was flying a radio controlled plane in an industrial area of the small town of Kinolo de Asola. And this is a location that's 10 kilometers or six miles south of Brembate de Sopra. So his plane was malfunctioning that day. It wasn't working as it should have been. So when he landed it among the tall weeds, he bent down to pick it up and he noticed, like, some rags or pieces of fabric laying there on the ground. So when he looked more closely, all of a sudden he sees a pair of shoes, and he was horrified to realize that he was looking at a dead body. So when investigators arrived to this location, they found that the body was in an advanced state of decomposition because three months had gone by. So the female victim wore exactly what Yara had walked out of her house wearing. A hello Kitty sweatshirt, a black bomber jacket that had an elastic waist. Like I said, they knew immediately that this was Yara. They also found her ipod and her SIM card and battery for her LG phone, But the phone itself was missing. So despite exposure to the elements in the animals, her clothing from the waist up were very well preserved. But her leggings had been extensively torn. Her underwear had been cut at the sides intentionally with a blade. So the autopsy was conducted by Italy's most famous forensic pathologist. This is Professor Christina Catanio. And she determined that Yara had died exactly where her body was found, because they found grass from a field, the field that she was found in, and it was clutched in her hands.

[G]

Oh, poor baby.

[D]

So sad. She also discovered traces of lime and Yara's respiratory passages, as well as the presence of jute, which is a vegetable fiber that's used to make rope on her clothing. So although Yara's purple bra was found unhooked and her underwear had clearly been cut, she had not been sexually assaulted. So she had suffered multiple injuries with a sharp weapon that had pierced her clothing in various spots. There was also a wound to her head and her wrists had been cut. But I will tell you that none of the injuries that she sustained had been fatal. And it's just so sad to think about this, but after she was attacked by. She was just left in the cold to die. And had she been found quickly, she would have likely survived. She died of hypothermia and exposure.

[G]

Like who? I know we say these stories every week, but who in the hell would think they need to kill a sweet, darling 13 year old girl that's just like at the top of her life and light. Like, who the hell do they think they. I wish there was some kind of test when people were born if they're capable of this sort of thing. And I think as a species we just like eradicate them so that like nobody has to live with this horrific end game like any family or anything. God, I wish so bad. It's so horribly sad.

[D]

Like if there was a computer built into us and it would like beep. Evil, evil, evil.

[G]

Some super computer scientists, Elon Musk and Tesla, come up with that. I think that's probably why they want those brain chips, you know, just to be able to test and see if somebody's capable of it. If it is and you know, at least go get some help. And if not, then. And see you.

[D]

It's just sick. You know, she's wearing these glittery gloves and a hello Kitty sweatshirt. She's got braces on it. Just she's leaving her gym where she just loves gymnastics.

[G]

And the grasping the grass is so. Because you just picture her like just wanting to live because, you know, she fought for it too.

[D]

And just in a dark field by herself, slowly dying of hypothermia, away from the safety of her family that she loved so deeply. It's tragic. It's truly, truly tragic.

[E]

Check.

[C]

All right, people, serious question time. Did you know that driving high is considered driving under the influence? That's right. Driving under the influence of marijuana is against the law in every state. That means even in states where marijuana is legal, that means driving high could get you a dui. And if you think law enforcement officers can't tell when you're driving high, well, you're wrong. If you're high, they can tell. Your friends can tell, your co workers can tell, even your parents can tell. Everyone can tell. So what makes you think that law enforcement officers don't know when you're driving high? You'd be wrong. They can tell too. Driving under the influence of marijuana can slow your response time and change how you perceive time and speed. So even if you think you're fine to drive when you're high, you're not. Because the bottom line is if you feel different, you drive different. And driving high is driving under the influence. So remember, drive high. Get a DUI paid for by nhtsa.

[H]

Every holiday shopper's got a list, but Ross shoppers, you've got a mission like a gift run that turns into a disco snow globe, throw pillows and PJs for the whole family, dog included. At Ross holiday magic isn't about spending more, it's about giving more for less. Ross, work your magic.

[A]

Gather the family and feast on a crime that shocked a small town. The CNN Original series Death the Mushroom Murders takes you inside the jaw drop murder investigation of Aaron Patterson and the lethal lunch that killed her in laws and estranged husband's aunt in Australia. A premeditated murder or horrible accident? Follow the investigation and the trial and find out the Mushroom Murders, a new CNN original series now streaming exclusively on the CNN app. Go to CNN.com watch to subscribe or log in with your TV provider.

[E]

This podcast is supported by the Real Real. Meet Christine. She loves shopping. And this is the sound of fashion overload. Too many fabulous things, not enough space. So Christine started selling with the RealReal.

[F]

I've always loved collecting designer pieces, Gucci bags, Prada heels. But my style keeps evolving. Selling with the RealReal game changer. I earn more. And they do everything.

[E]

Seriously, just drop off your items or schedule a pickup. We handle the photos, descriptions, pricing, even shipping. You just sit back and watch your items sell fast to our 38 million.

[F]

Members and I get peace of mind knowing I earn more selling with the RealReal than anywhere else.

[E]

Exactly this. That's the sound of your closet working for you. The RealReal earn more, save time, sell fast. And right now you can get an extra $100 site credit when you sell for the first time. Go to therealreal.com to get your extra hundred dollars. Therealreal.com that's therealreal.com.

[D]

So the presence of Lyman Jute suggested that Yara's killer could potentially be in the building trade. The forensics team obtained two DNA samples, one from her phone battery and the other from two fingers of her black gloves. But there were no matches to any of the samples on record. So in April of 2011, this is two months after her body was found, the commander of the scientific investigations department in Parma contacted the chief investigator of this case. This is a woman named Letizia Rogeri. And they said that they had good news. They said that male DNA had been found on Yara's underwear and on her leggings, as it was likely that the murderer himself had been wounded during the struggle. Because we know that he sliced the sides of Yara's underwear with a blade. He maybe he cut himself during that time.

[G]

He had plans and Something happened, so.

[D]

He left his DNA behind. So Rugeri and her team named this suspect ignoto1, which is unknown1. So that's what this unknown person is called when I say ignoto1. So because the workload was incredibly immense, Ruggeri divided the list of duties amongst teams. The police were responsible for taking all of the DNA samples. In this case, anyone that was associated with Yara or who had been in these areas of concern, had they gone from Brambatte de Sopra to Mapello. So while the military force was focusing more on the phone records, they were cross referencing all of the mobile phones that had moved from these locations, and obviously too, as well as the location of where her body was found.

[G]

Wow. Just looking for all general cell phones.

[D]

Yes.

[G]

This is what you were. You were asking me, like, do you think this would be legal in the U.S. i don't think that would be.

[D]

Legal in the U.S. well, we were talking about wiretapping all of these phones, phones, and we'll also go into taking DNA samples from so many people. So I was like, all right, can you take a DNA sample from someone in the United States without probable cause? I looked it up and it said, no, I don't.

[G]

You wouldn't be able to just look at general cell phone data either, which makes the job harder.

[D]

Right. And it really only makes sense because we know when she left that gym, she left that gym at 6:30pm on November 26, 2010. We know that she went from Barbara Brambate de Sobra to Mapello, and then her body ended up in Kinolo de Asola. So it's those areas of question. So the owner of each phone whose number appeared in both of these location or these locations in question were asked to provide a DNA sample.

[G]

It's like they're funneling them down. They're like, okay, these are the possible people in this area that could have done this.

[D]

So when I say there were a lot of DNA samples taken in this case, I'm not lying. So the work, because it was so detailed, was very slow and methodical, requiring geneticists in Parma, Pavio and Rome a minimum of six hours to transform just a few samples of DNA into something that could be read and could be compared on a computer screen. The manpower and cost of the investigation, it was tremendous.

[G]

Yeah, no doubt. Just like at one sample is expensive.

[D]

And it became one of the most expensive manhunts in Italian history. That's why I say this case was. Was absolutely huge over there. So in the meantime, Yara's funeral Was held on a hot morning in May of 2011, where onlookers watched as the hearse slowly drove toward the sports center. This is a place that she spent countless hours doing the thing that she was truly passionate about. And this hearse carried her white coffin that was topped with a huge bouquet of white flowers. The ceremony was held in the sports center where Yara had had loved. Like I said, she trained. It was where she had last been seen alive.

[G]

It was like her final trip to the sports center.

[D]

And there was a large crowd outside who watched the funeral on this giant screen. That's how many people came that they had to televise it on a massive projector outside the studio.

[G]

Who's not going to be heartbroken for sweet 13?

[D]

I just get chills thinking about it. And they heard condolences from Giorgio Napolitano. This is the president of the republic. So by this time, investigators had taken thousands of DNA samples, yet they still had no leads.

[G]

A lot of pressure on this lead investigator. I mean, you're waste not wasting. You're spending all this money, and you better find these suspects.

[D]

So since yara's body was found within an area of shrubs, and it was near a nightclub that's called sabi mobili, and this is an italian phrase for quicksand. So ruggeri began looking into the club's patrons because she was aware of the fact that murder murderers often dump bodies in areas that they're familiar with, which makes sense. So although it seemed like a long shot, in the spring of 2011, investigators began taking DNA samples outside the club on busy nights, Fridays and Saturdays. This is where I was like, I don't think they could do this in the United States. Just stand outside a club and be like, swap, swap. All right? Go on and have fun.

[G]

Called invasion of privacy.

[D]

So the club itself had a reputation for violence because on January 16, 2011, a man from the Dominican Republic, he had actually been murdered outside the doors. That's tragic. So since members of the club were required to have a membership to enter, the authorities were easily able to see who regularly went there. So one of the samples that was collected from sabi mobility seemed exceptionally similar to the subject suspect. Excuse me. And again, this Suspect is named ignoto1 or Unknown1. However, the man who had given the sample. This is Damiano Garyanoni. He was excluded when investigators learned that he had been in south America on the day that. That Yara went missing. He wasn't even in ily. So although he may not have been the person Responsible geneticists were convinced, though, that he was closely related to the murderer. So as a team of investigators continued to work on the case, the pieces of the puzzle started to finally fall into place. So they learned that Damiano's mother, this is Aurora Zani. She lived near the Gambracio family. She'd actually worked for them as a helper twice a week for 10 years. This is in the time that Yara was growing up and Yara was only 13. So she had basically spent her entire life with her twice a week. So Aurora was a middle aged woman and she had grown close to the people that she worked for. That's just natural. Anytime you're spending a lot of time in their day to day lives, that's just going to happen. And she just fondly recalls these moments that would often happen where Yara wanted to show off her gymnastics routine. And Aurora would remind her, please don't hurt yourself. So at the time of her disappearance in 2010, Aurora was no longer working for the family. But she said that her relationship with them was just excellent. So when she found herself in the center of this investigation, she said it was devastating. She said it was like one of the worst things that could happen.

[G]

Almost like a mother or a close aunt or something that's like, oh, I love that girl. There's no way I'd have anything to do with it. But we also know that it's male DNA, so it's somebody that some of her offspring probably.

[D]

Right. But even that detail is enough to be like, oh my gosh, how could any ties to, to me be associated with this case?

[G]

Like, she loved her so much, you know, like, how can. Yeah, I agree.

[D]

So not only did investigators intercept the phone calls between Aurora and Damiano, but this is a son of hers or the. The son.

[G]

Right, the guy that we already talked about.

[D]

Exactly. The club that he went to. The.

[G]

Yeah. Remind us, because all these. There's a lot of names.

[D]

It's a lot of names. So this is the guy that would frequent the club. It's her son. But they also interviewed them, they closely surveyed him. And ultimately, by the summer of 2011, where Jerry had to accept that there wasn't a connection and she was thinking, oh my gosh, is this just a crazy coincidence?

[G]

No. She's also had a kid somewhere she doesn't know about herself. I don't. There's something.

[D]

So she's saying, you know, the only lead that they had is that Damiano's DNA was exceptionally similar to that of.

[G]

Ignoto.1 well, how exceptionally similar. Like, was it dead on, or was it kind of like. It sounds like it's kind of related. Like, it was.

[D]

Like, you would assume it's in the family line, like his brother.

[G]

Like, it's got to be a brother.

[D]

So a year into the investigation, there was so much pressure to find Yara's killer, and thousands of people are being DNA tested. Some locals who hadn't been approached for a sample suggested to the press that the investigation, it was haphazard. So politicians started to even talk about it, and they were making personal attacks against ri. They were accusing her of being incompetent. And one politician in particular, this is Danielle Bellodi. He went as far as to write this open letter to her in January of 2012 to the Minister of Justice, asking her to be replaced by someone of proven experience, probably a man.

[G]

I was just gonna say it's probably because she's a woman.

[D]

Yeah, you think?

[G]

Yeah, that's.

[D]

So In April of 2012, Rugeri actually filed a lawsuit against the man for defamation for her. So these outward objections towards Rosaria held undertones of sexism because she was a female who leading this massively high profile case. So she was this unconventional single mother. She had a black belt. She wrote her Vespa to work. She sounds kind of cool.

[G]

Yeah.

[D]

So since she decided to drop the case against Muhammad Fikri, she felt that many people believe that she had just dropped the ball and made the wrong decision. But obviously she's basing her decisions on science. So despite the targeted criticism, Rugeri continued to focus on. Focus on this DNA from Garoni.

[G]

That's all she has, right?

[D]

That's all they have. Right.

[G]

All your resources into this DNA.

[D]

And that's what they did. So what they did was they spent months creating this intensive family tree, and they built a complete genealogical tree that dated back to 1815.

[G]

You know what? I will say this is so, like, woman made. Like, I don't think a man would go this deep. I think a man would just be kind of lazier, maybe, you know.

[D]

Oh, I'd want it all on paper.

[G]

Yeah. I think a woman's like, all right, here's what we got to do. And did you and, like, lay it all out? I think women in charge is a good thing.

[D]

So some of the branches of this family tree dated back to as far as 1716, because it might give you.

[G]

Some kind of clue.

[D]

Right? It might be like that light bulb moment of like, oh, my gosh. So they learned that the roots of this Family tree were within this small village of Gorno. And this is a 45 minute drive north of Bergamo where. Where the family lived. So Damiano Garanoni's father had a brother named Giuseppe. He died in 1999. And when investigators visited Giuseppe's widow in September of 2011, they found that he had licked two stamps that she still had in the house. One was to validate his driver's license. Another was a postcard that he sent to his family. Wow. So with this DNA sample, there was finally a breakthrough in the case when geneticists were convinced that Giuseppe Gironi was the father of ignoto1. This is the suspected murderer.

[G]

Okay, wait, wait.

[D]

So he died in 1999, but he had a child.

[G]

And who is he in relation to, Aurora?

[D]

The brothers? The husband's brother.

[G]

Okay.

[D]

Yes.

[G]

Like an uncle to the guys they were going after.

[D]

Thank you. Thank you for simplifying that. So we know it's not Giuseppe, but it's somebody he gave birth to. Okay, so the team quickly put a picture together of who Giuseppe and his family were.

[G]

And real quick. So the cousin of the guy that they got from the clone club. So the guy that had the close DNA representation, it's one of his cousins is what they're looking for.

[D]

Yes. So Giuseppe had been the stocky guy with a rugged face. He worked as a bus driver and he played the accordion at village festivals. He and his wife.

[G]

So Italian.

[D]

I know, it's just like in a festival. I think of, like, Pinocchio.

[G]

Oh, I think of Pinocchio this whole time.

[D]

Yeah. So he. He and his wife, Laura Poly, had three children together. They had a girl and two boys. Boys. So after Giuseppe's death in 1999, Laura became a Jehovah's Witness. She moved to the nearby town of clouzone. So since ignoto1 was male, they obviously focused on the sons. And this is Pier Paulo and Diego. And like his mother, Pierpaolo was also a Jehovah's Witness, while Dio Diego. Excuse me. Struggled with a drug addiction.

[G]

Well, I think we got our guy.

[D]

I will tell you, neither was a match to ignoto1. And neither man had children, so they were ruled out.

[G]

That's me throwing my.

[D]

So what would this suggest to you about Giuseppe?

[G]

That he got, you know, made a lot of kids from random ladies.

[D]

Yes. So obviously he spread his seed outside of his marriage. So that now. But how do you find. How do you find who he may have poked the bear with?

[G]

You gotta just, I guess, DNA test every single person in this new city.

[D]

That you found, I mean, that's, that's tough.

[G]

It's a lot more money too, too.

[D]

Rugeri turned her attention to finding a woman who 30 to 40 years earlier had an affair with a married man and had given birth to a boy, who then went on to murder Yara.

[G]

Bless her heart, man, I mean, this is tough. This is a hell of an investigation.

[D]

So investigators began searching the villages of the Bergamo Alps, which was a difficult task due to the defensive residents, because these locals are trying to understand why are you trying to take DNA samples of elderly women in connection to a murder of a 13 year old girl. So within these small communities, fear was growing at the idea that a murderer could be living amongst them and they don't know who. So investigators came to learn that prior to his death in 1999, Giuseppe Jeronnoni would visit the spa. And it was this resort that was south of Milan and it was called Salis Terme. And he would go to this place every single May, beginning in the early 1970s, 60s, for two weeks without his wife. Oh, which would have been a good opportunity to find a little lady outside of the marriage, do some poking. So during the spring of 2012, a team of investigators began searching the records for all of the women who had stayed at this resort at that time of the year in May. So they obtained DNA samples from single mothers and women who left the mountains for Lower Bergamo. But when they found no matches, they started expanding their search. So they started looking at women who were hidden behind the walls of marriage. And since divorce was wasn't legal In Italy until 1970, many women were forced to stay in these horribly abusive, toxic relationships. So while investigators were searching for the mother of Ignoto1, Yara's parents hired their own investigator. This is Giorgio Portero, this is a freelance geneticist who would review the investigation and then explain it to them so that they understood what was going on. So nearly a year, he fought to have Giuseppe's body exhumed from a cemetery in Gorno. Because he wanted additional sequences of DNA. Investigators had only been able to compare 13 short tandem repeat, which is STR regions or sequences of DNA, with the DNA of IGNOTO1. So confirmation of paternity requires that at least 15 STR regions be compared. So on March 7, 2013, workers chiseled into a slot in the cemetery wall where Giuseppe's body was being held and they removed his remains. So these remains were transferred to a hospital in Bergamo for examination before they went back to gorno and he was laid back to rest. So when DNA was extracted from his remains, 29 STR regions could now be compared, which solidified most definitely, Giuseppe Gironi was the father of the murderer.

[G]

Okay.

[D]

So as word of the investigation spread among the small town and villages, gossip was swirling because curiosity and suspicions were just growing.

[G]

Well, it kind of sucks because the person that is targeted, that is the murderer, gets a chance to get the hell out of Dodge, Right?

[D]

Because they start to hear about what's going on.

[G]

Right.

[D]

So, you know, they're looking for this mysterious lover of the late Giuseppe, who just so happened to be the mother of a murderer. So it was Marshall Giovanno Misserno. This is Rogeri's right hand man, who ended up blowing the lid off this case. So he was aware that while Giuseppe was driving a public bus in Ponte selva in the 1960s and 70s, he would have driven a busload of women who were going to their jobs at various factories.

[G]

Yeah, you start flirting a little bit, you see which one you want on, and then you get a little flirting back and you're like, all right, game on.

[D]

My grandpa was actually a bus driver. We share the same birthday, but I never met him.

[G]

He probably spread a seed.

[D]

I should hope not. Well, he did with my grandma because they had eight children together. But the point is, you're on the same route, you're taking the same women each and every day. You do start to develop a relationship.

[G]

You see them every day, you're happy.

[D]

To see him, you're chatting. So he was. The investigators were questioning his fellow bus drivers that he worked with. And one of them said they recalled Giuseppe saying that that he had a. A young woman in trouble. So another former colleague described Giuseppe as a womanizer. But it wasn't until June of 2014 when a source of Masserno. This is the investigator, the right hand man, gave him the name he had been looking for.

[G]

Oh yeah.

[D]

So this m. Mystery woman in question was Esser Arzufi. And she had been a neighbor of Giuseppes and Ponte Selva in the late 1970s. 60s. So in 1966, when she was 19 years old, she married someone else. This was Giovani Bossetti. It was a man who suffered from various ailments, including depression. Meanwhile, she's the spitfire of a woman. She's outgoing, she's good looking, she worked at a textile factory. So she was taking the bus. So she not only was a neighbor of Giuseppe, but she also took his bus. Bus. And she also took something Else y.

[G]

Lots of taking more than the bus.

[E]

Yep.

[D]

So when investigators cross check the DNA samples they'd obtained, they realized that Esther had been tested. She had been tested two years earlier. In July of 2012, they. An error had been made. So rather than comparing her DNA to that of Ignota1, they compared it to Yara's.

[G]

Oh, no.

[D]

So when they requested her DNA, they confirmed she was most definitely the mother of Ignoto 1.

[G]

Two years of wasted resources.

[D]

Yep. So although she left ponte Selva in 1970, Esther continued her affair with Giuseppe. And in the fall of 1970, she gave birth to twins.

[G]

Okay.

[D]

One boy, one girl. All right, who is this boy? Mass. Excuse me? Massimo Giuseppe Bosetti.

[G]

He's a murderer.

[D]

So growing up, he was a slim boy who liked to go out. He liked to have fun with his friends. He actually earned himself the nickname the animal. So now in 2014, he was this 42 year old married construction worker with three children. He had a beautiful wife at home. He had two young daughters and a son. And where did they live? But in Mapello. That's where her phone last pinged. So not only that, but something else happened in Mapello. The dogs track there. Thank you. So in order to obtain his DNA, investigators set a fake roadblock up. And they were breathalyzing drivers. And this happened on June 15, 2014. So when Massimo stopped, they actually pretended that the breathalyzer was malfunctioning. So they had him blow into it twice so that they actually had two samples to use. So his DNA was sent for overnight test testing, and lo and behold, he was an exact match for ignoto1.

[G]

I mean, they already knew this going into it. They knew they'd get it. They just need the evidence.

[D]

So now it's no longer ignoto1 or unknown1. We know who this is. And this is 40 year, 42 year old Massimo Giuseppe Bosetti. So not only was his DNA a match, but surveillance video also depicted his van passing Yara's gym 16 times. Times on the night that she went missing.

[G]

What a God dang piece of crap.

[D]

So he was arrested and charged with Yara Gambracio's murder on June 16, 2014. After nearly four years of constant investigation.

[G]

Congratulations on finally finding him.

[D]

Oh, my gosh, talk about like a needle in a haystack. So investigators learned that Massimo was often in the area around Yara's home. He parked his car behind her sports center, he ate pizza at the end of her street. And he often used this tanning facility nearby for weekly sessions. And let me tell you, this guy was tanned as tan, could be very leathery. So when he was confronted about frequenting the tanning beds, and PS, just a public service announcement. Just don't use tanning beds because skin cancer is real.

[G]

Right?

[D]

And also we want to preserve our natural nice skin and not look like leather face.

[G]

Thank you.

[D]

So they're, they know for sure this guy is using this tanning bed like weekly near Yara's home, yet he's denying it. It's like, dude, what are you talking about?

[G]

Okay? They're like, we're not getting anything good out of you. Like, if you, you know, work with us a little bit, maybe we can lighten your sentence. It's clear you did everything. So like help us out here.

[D]

And it just goes to show, it's such a silly little detail, but it just goes to show he's a friggin liar. So when he eventually admitted, oh, okay, yeah, I use the tanning beds.

[G]

Liar, coward, all those things, garbage.

[D]

But he's saying, well, the only reason why I lied is because I didn't want my wife to know that I was spending money when finances were tight. It's like, well, you came home looking super tan in the middle of winter. What'd she think? So according to his co workers, Massimo was a known liar. He had actually gone as far as to make up that he had a brain tumor. And anyone who does that is freaking sick in the head.

[G]

Yeah, he's useless.

[D]

I think of like Vicky and Brooks from the Real Housewives of OC and he freaking made up that he had cancer.

[G]

Oh yeah.

[D]

Like you. You have to be really demented to do something.

[G]

I really want, like, attention.

[D]

Yeah. So his Internet searches were also very concerning and proved that he was obsessed with prepubescent girls. And may I remind you that he has young children of his own.

[G]

Is a sicko.

[D]

So not only was his van Sing seen passing yards a sports center 16 times, because you might say, like, oh, that's just a van that happens to look like mine. It wasn't me. Not only is the DNA a match in this Vanna scene, but his cell phone records also proved that he had been in the area of Brambate de Sopra that evening. But he switched his phone off at 5:45pm this was about 45 minutes before Yara left her gym. And then he kept it off until the following morning at 7:34am so when Massimo's wife, Marita Corny, I mean, poor thing, she confronted Massimo with this evidence that was stacked against him, and he was behind bars at this time. I actually saw this. He just continued to maintain his evidence or evidence innocence. Excuse me. So although Rugeri may have been initially criticized during the investigation, she was now being celebrated for her brilliance after Massimo's earlier arrest. So the trial began in July of 2015, and Massimo pleaded not guilty, while his lawyers argued that DNA evidence only proved presence, not responsibility, because he argued, he had absolutely no idea how his DNA ended up in Yara's underwear and on her leggings.

[G]

Can we just have the judge shoot him in the courtroom?

[D]

Like, why are you wasting everyone's time?

[G]

Such a waste of time. Like, I think everybody would sign up and be totally fine. Just shoot him in the head. Okay, good. Now, next. Next person. Traffic ticket. Next.

[D]

I know. So obviously, Mike, what do you think? The court found him guilty.

[G]

Like, whatever. The worst crime they could commit, that was it. And this guy can. Whatever. The harshest thing is going to be what he gets, right?

[D]

And he's saying, well, I might be stupid and idiot and ignorant, but I am not a killer. It's like, yes, you are.

[G]

You're all those things and a killer and. And a piece of. And a useless father and a terrible husband and a waste of life and a waste of oxygen, and I hope you die very soon.

[D]

So on July 1, 2016, he was sentenced to life in prison. And since that time, his attorneys have continued to make appeals, but that's not happening.

[G]

And what does life in prison mean in Italy?

[D]

Actually, I looked that up, and they never set a minimum term. It sounds like he's going to spend the rest of his life in prison.

[G]

Good job, Italy.

[D]

I was afraid they would be, like, in a minimum term of 10 years.

[G]

Six years will have some kind of a. Something, an ankle bracelet, and it was home.

[D]

So this case left four families utterly devastated, obviously front and center. Yara's family were forced to learn how to live through life without their beloved daughter and sister. While Esther Arzufi's husband, Giovanna Giovanni Busetti, he learned alongside the rest of the world in the country that none of his three children were his is. Now, I was saying that she gave birth to two kids, but she actually had a third child named Fabio, who had a different father.

[G]

This guy's already. He's the one that was suffering from, like, mental depression.

[D]

Yeah.

[G]

So he's like, oh, my gosh, you didn't. All these kids aren't mine. Like, that would be really hard here.

[D]

And in a pathetic way, it's like, this is straight up DNA evidence that proves he is not the father. Esther is continuing to deny that she ever strayed from her marriage. Oh, okay, so if all of this wasn't enough, poor Giovanni was also diagnosed with terminal cancer. So Giuseppe's widow, this is Laura.

[G]

Wait, who's Giovanni?

[D]

The act. The one who thought he was Massimo's father and wasn't. So Giuseppe's widow, this is the father, you know, who was out at spas and driving the bus and poking every woman that was getting on that bus. This is Laura. She also had to come to terms that not only had her late husband had been unfaithful, he had other children she didn't even know existed. And meanwhile, Massimo Bassetti's family is grappling with the idea that he is responsible for murdering this 13 year old little girl.

[G]

Yep.

[D]

I mean, that is horrible.

[G]

Your father's a scumbag.

[D]

And that is the sad and tragic case of the murder of Yara Gambracio.

[G]

Now remind me, what was the name of the lady that like watched Yara? Aurora.

[D]

Aurora.

[G]

Aurora, okay. And that's like. So there was really nothing besides just so happened to be that her husband was like sleeping around. It wasn't like a connection like he was visiting Aurora or anything like in that village?

[D]

Well, Aurora wasn't married. It was like the brother. Right, okay, so it was Laura and Giuseppe.

[G]

Just so happens that she was related to the guy that killed the Yara, who she loved, because she was like her caretaker.

[D]

So it like they struck, you know, the nail on the head by standing outside that club and getting that DNA. Because that's ultimately what led to Giuseppe Crazy. Who then they, obviously it was another curveball that now they have to find that he. He cheated on his wife. Well, it wasn't as simple as just looking at Lara's two kids.

[G]

And honestly, it's maybe a little bit easier in Italy because it's a more homogeneous kind of, you know, family trees, like a lot of people are Italian. They've been there forever, you know, in America. Here it's like we're from like Poland and Africa and Italy and Antarctica, you know, I mean, whatever.

[D]

Now, well, it's like we did our DNA testing and I'm from various, you know, portions of Europe. Like my coworker deny she is 100% Greek. You know, there's just, it's so cut.

[G]

And dry rare in America.

[D]

Whereas, you know, I'm a handful of things which does. It muddies up the water of the family tree.

[G]

You are absolutely a handful I would.

[D]

Say I'm a handful. When I say muddy, I'm just a whole pile.

[G]

Yeah.

[D]

But the point is, it is a lot easier because they're 100 Italian. Everybody's from there.

[G]

I will say you did a fantastic job of all those names.

[D]

Oh, thank you. I was practicing yesterday and I was like, I'm gonna it up.

[G]

No, I mean, you did better on these. I think you should do Italian stories.

[D]

Okay, See, maybe I am Italian. Maybe my DNA testing was wrong.

[G]

Do not start that. Do not start that. Don't get yourself wound up, okay? You did a great job. And we're very, very, very sorry for Yara's family.

[D]

Oh, just so freaking tragic.

[G]

Like a 13 year old man.

[D]

Like it just this 13 year old little girl who was wearing her hello Kitty sweatshirt and glitter gloves so that she could get ahead of the game and take the stereo over because she was so excited for Sunday morning when she was gonna be able to perform her routine that she'd been practicing forever. And it's just heartbreaking.

[G]

Was he targeting her specifically?

[D]

That is something we'll probably never know because. Because according to Massimo, he is innocent. And that was the question I had at the forefront of my brain. Was he out specifically targeting Yara or did he just so happen to see her? Now my thought is he was targeting her because he had driven by maybe.

[G]

Not her, maybe just someone gymnastics girls, young gymnastics girls. Because he always had lunch there and he's probably checking them all out like a sick piece of garbage and he's just like waiting for his opportunity.

[D]

So there's different scenarios that could be plausible. Did he see Yara going into that gym at 5:30? Because I will tell you, he shut his phone off 15 minutes later and 45 minutes before she came out. So maybe he watched her walk in and say to himself, I'm going to keep circling until I see her walk out.

[G]

Or tonight's the night. And oh yeah, he did circle.

[D]

Yeah, yeah. He circled 16 times.

[G]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[D]

So he was most definitely hunting for someone. Was it Yara specifically? We'll never know that answer because this lunatic is still saying that he's freaking innocent despite a DNA sample, his cell phone and his car.

[G]

Who cares what he says? His name's Massimo, Right?

[D]

His name is Massimo Bassetti.

[G]

I think the best thing would be to insert something inside of him into an orifice of your choice and then let it. Maybe that's what I was thinking. I didn't want to say, but think. Thank you.

[D]

Yeah.

[G]

And just split him in Two, you know, like the forceps you guys ladies go under for your ob gyn.

[D]

Like an industrial, you can't forget that.

[G]

Yeah, like an industrial version of that inside of him and just tear him up. And then everybody goes hey. And then everybody cheers and then everybody can have some wine or water or whatever.

[D]

And I don't know if it's like how it is in the United States, if it's like that in Italy where child molesters and child killers get the shit beat out of them.

[G]

I hope so.

[D]

I, I would hope so.

[G]

I would imagine Italy, they probably to take care of him.

[D]

I, I wouldn't think you would look kindly in any country at killing a 13 year old little girl.

[G]

Yeah, I mean he's clearly a coward. He goes after the people that have no power. So it's like hopefully some people with power in jail give him a really good time and a good welcoming.

[D]

But it just sounds like Yara was just such an exceptional person and her family just said, you know, she was truly like the center of their home because she was just such a light that just brought them all together. And it's just so heartbreaking to think that, that she no longer lives because this sick, disgusting human being saw her and saw her as nothing but this thing.

[G]

A sexual urge. He had a sexual urge and just went with it. So, so sorry to Yara. God bless her. Hopefully, you know, she's somewhere and taking care of her family, you know, up there.

[D]

So thank you guys so much. This is our last episode before Christmas.

[G]

So hope whether you celebrate. Yep. If you're with family or not with family or with people or not. Hopefully you have just some enjoyment somehow, some way. Just get some rest and whatever. Get some days off of work. Hopefully.

[D]

Hopefully. Yeah, hopefully Take care of yourself because I know for a lot of people Christmas ends up being that much more stress inducing than it is relaxing.

[G]

Like this lady that I'm sitting next to, for instance.

[D]

I don't know what you're talking.

[G]

You tend to look forward to Christmas, but for some reason it's just a tizzy whirly wind of activity.

[D]

Well, there's a lot of pressure on me to get things done. Somehow you show up on Christmas morning and everything's purchased. It's just magical.

[G]

Yeah, that's true.

[D]

Where is that magical fairy in my life?

[G]

I just tell you, if you ever need something clean, just leave it on the floor and it shows up in your closet in a few days.

[D]

It's amazing. I don't know. That doesn't ever happen. To my clothes.

[G]

I don't. You gotta try it.

[D]

Yeah. But anyway, thank you guys so much and until next time, bye.

[H]

Healthcare can feel complicated. That's why Optum uses technology to connect the people and processes that make healthcare easier, more affordable, and more effective. We're making it clearer for you to know exactly what your benefits cover and to help you better manage your health. We're coordinating care between your doctors and your technology. We believe better, simpler healthcare is always possible. That's healthy optimism. That's Optum. Visit optum.com to learn more.

[B]

If you are a fighter, Modelo is your reward. So listen close. You are strong. You are fearless. You are a fighter. And every last drop of this rich, golden Modelo is yours. So raise it up high because you've earned it. Modelo, the mark of a fighter. Drink responsibly. Being reported by Carlingport, Chicago, Illinois Bob Evans Creamy Mac and cheese and buttery mashed potatoes are made for the moments you can't plan. Like last minute school costumes, glitter explosion, or when little Liam brings three friends for dinner. No plan, no problem. Say hello to Plan B O B from Bob Evans. Because when you bring out the Bob, you can take comfort in knowing you'll always have something delicious on the table, no matter what the day brings. When you need comfort, bring out the bob. Available now in your refrigerated section. The McDonald's snack wrap is back. You brought it back. Ranch snack wrap wrap? Spicy snack wrap. You broke the Internet for a snack? Snack Wrap is back.

[I]

A KFC tale in the pursuit of flavor. The holidays were tricky for the Colonel. He loved people, but he also loved peace and quiet. So he cooked up KFC's 4.99 chicken pot pie. Warm, flaky, with savory sauce and vegetables, it's a tender, chicken filled excuse to get some time to yourself and step away from decking the halls, whatever that means. The Colonel lived so we could. Chicken. KFC's Chicken Pot Pie the best $4.99 you'll spend this season.

[G]

Prices and participation may vary.

[D]

While supplies last, taxes, tips and fees extra.