New DNA 'may re-open Pasolini murder probe'
ROME -- A “third DNA trace” has been found at the crime scene 41 years on from the suspicious murder of film director Pier Paolo Pasolini -- relatives want answers and are calling for a reopening of the inquest, judicial sources said Wednesday.
A reopening of the inquest into the murder of Pasolini is under consideration following the request of lawyer Stefano Maccioni, claiming, “a trace of DNA has been found on the jersey worn by Pasolini when he was murdered in Ostia the night between Nov. 1 and 2, 1975. It is a biological trace which certifies the presence of a third party that night, other than the writer Pino Pelosi, the only man convicted for the homicide.”
No witnesses this time, only scientific data found by criminologist Imma Giuliano and forensic geneticist Marina Baldi which shows a haematic DNA trace on the garment not previously noted. This therefore implies, according to Baldi, that “the moment this person was in contact with the victim, they were injured with a recent wound because they were losing blood.”
Baldi also may be able to narrow the field of search significantly using ‘Next Generation Sequencing,’ a technology which associates certain genetic structures with certain physical characteristics, such as colour of the eyes, skin and hair.
Aldo Semerari, criminologist and psychologist who towards the midpoint of the 1970s, parallel to his medical forensic activities, acted as a connection between organised crime and right wing subversive groups is under suspicion.
“We have drawn attention to this name,” said Maccioni, “which also recurs in the statements presented by the public prosecutor relating to the Mafia Capitale, and we looked also to the fact that he was the psychiatrist for Pino Pelosi in the first trial.”
There’s also a photo. The image depicts the corpse of Pasolini at the crime scene circled by various people, one of which -- presumably -- “was Maurizio Abbatino, and other subjects who were part of the newly born ‘Banda della Magliana’” (the criminal organisation based in Rome), said Maccioni to Il Fatto Quotidiano.
In recent years, various testimonies have recalled that Pasolini and Pelosi were not the only people present that night, renouncing the theory that the crime followed a fight over sexual demands made by Pasolini, of which Pelosi was reluctant to perform -- a theory the court no longer accepts.
The same Pelosi who previously pleaded guilty has retracted his confession. This new-found DNA evidence could be pivotal in the investigation, potentially reopening the case.
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