Death Of Italian Mum And Son Aged Four After Massive Manhunt Was Murder Suicide Say Prosecutors

An investigation into the death of a mother and four-year-old son that followed a massive manhunt in Italy has been closed after it was found that the mum had strangled the child before climbing up a pylon and jumping to her death.

The disappearance of Viviana Parisi, 43, and her son Gioele Mondello after a minor traffic accident made international headlines, with fears that she and the boy had been kidnapped after the vehicle was found abandoned.

The body was later found in woods nearby in the municipality of Caronia, on the north coast of Sicily, Italy in August last year.

The little boy had apparently been strangled before his body was abandoned, and the remains had been partially attacked by animals when they were found by investigators.

The mother was found not far away at the bottom of the pylon after she had apparently climbed near to the top before jumping to her death.

The decision to close the case means that the judges accepted that it was a case of suicide coupled with murder and the bodies can now be returned to the family.

The prosecutor of Patti province in Messina, in charge of the coordination of the investigation, confirmed that he had asked the judge for it to be closed.

Viviana, 43, who was a local DJ, went missing with her son Gioele after she told her husband that she was going to buy him some shoes.

Instead of going shopping, Viviana drove towards Messina, a city on the northeast coast of Sicily where she apparently left her car at the exit of a tunnel after being involved in an accident.

It is believed that she deliberately left her phone inside so that she could not be tracked as she headed into the wilderness to carry out a plan.

Their bodies were found separately, Viviana was found on 8th of August, while Gioele’s body was discovered on 19th of August, last year.

According to the prosecutor, all of the investigations carried out thought the year- kinematic, medical-legal, genetic, veterinary, have led to the fact that Viviana voluntarily jumped from the high voltage pylon with the intention of committing suicide.

It was reported that Viviana had in the past been hospitalized several times because she suffered from mental illness. A number of family members have also declared that the woman was suffering numerous episodes of psychological instability.

Credit: Polizia di Stato/Real Press
Body of woman that disappeared after a car accident found, her 4 year old son remains missing. A body believed to be the missing woman was discovered on Sunday, August 9.

Although her husband was supportive of her getting treatment, Viviana refused to get any help.

At one point in the investigation, it was thought that Gioele’s death happened after the child was attacked by a wild animal. But it was later concluded that he was already dead when his body was discovered by an animal.


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Story By: Tijana Milikj, Sub-Editor: James King, Agency:  Newsflash

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