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Just been reading an interesting murder case which I have not come across before. It concerns 3 cut-throat murders that took place in or around Florence by a killer named Benjamino Cosimi
On 13 April, 1864, a humble but respectable woman, Luisa Carducci, who let lodgings, was found murdered in her house in Florence. The corpse was found lying on the floor, with her throat cut from ear to ear. There was a pool of blood below her head but no blood marks in any other part of the house. Close to her body was a handkerchief, presumably dropped by her assailant. The house was also robbed of various objects, trinkets and cash. As no screams or cries of help had been heard by the neighbours, it was assumed, by the Florence police, that the murder had been committed by two men, who had obtained entry on the pretext of viewing and hiring one of her rooms. While one man placed a handkerchief over her mouth, stifling her screams, the other had slit her throat. At this point the police officer in charge of the investigation, Leopoldo Viti, applied tothe higher-administrative and legal authorities for permission to have the eyes of the murdered woman photographed on the possibility that the retina would depict an image of the murderer. Permission was refused. Two months later, on 2 June, another lodging house keeper, Ester Cellai, was found murdered in her house. All the details were identical. The body was stretched out on the floor of a room, the throat cut from ear to ear, the handkerchief close to the body, and valuables stolen from the house. Also, the woman was alone in the house at the time and there was no sign of a forced entry or struggle. It seemed as if the same murderer had claimed another victim. Viti again applied for permission to have the victim’s eyes photographed; again, permission was refused. On 22 August, a third murder was committed under almost identical circumstances. A lodging house keeper, Emilia Spagnoli, was found lying on the floor with her throat cut, with a handkerchief by the body. In this case there was a slight difference in that Spagnoli had resisted her attacker, and was stabbed and cut in many other parts of the body. There were seventeen knife wounds in all. Viti again insisted that the eyes of the murdered woman should be photographed. This time his request was granted. Luckily, for Viti, the body was lying on its side, with her right eye turned upward. Immediately after the discovery of the body, the eye was photographed, under the direction of the examining judge, and the negative image greatly enlarged. There on the final print was a two inch high human face, dim and nebulous but none the less recognisable. Itdepicted a man with “a peculiar dilatation of the nostril, a depression of the upper lip …an unusual elongation of the mouth, a square but double chin, a certain massiveness about the region of the cheek bone, and the outline of a whisker.” The photograph was made by one of the Alinari brothers, famous nineteenth century photographers, who lived in Florence and specialized in copying art works, selling the prints to Victorians on the Grand Tour. As one writer, who described the murder and its aftermath “of which I was myself an eye-witness,” remarked: “When I mention that Alinari, the first photographer of Florence, and indeed possessing a European reputation, was the artist by whom the work was executed, I need say nothing more as a guarantee of the fidelity and care employed on the occasion.” The police already had their suspicions about the murderer’s identity. Benjamino Cosimi, a native of Velletri, was a suspect in several cases of murder in that town. He travelled to Corsica, then to Leghorn and on to Florence. He was seen close to the location of the first murder but had disappeared before he could be picked up for questioning. He reappeared in Florence at the time of the third murder. When arrested, Cosimi had in his possession articles belonging to all three women and a bloodstained knife.
Best regards,
Adam
On 13 April, 1864, a humble but respectable woman, Luisa Carducci, who let lodgings, was found murdered in her house in Florence. The corpse was found lying on the floor, with her throat cut from ear to ear. There was a pool of blood below her head but no blood marks in any other part of the house. Close to her body was a handkerchief, presumably dropped by her assailant. The house was also robbed of various objects, trinkets and cash. As no screams or cries of help had been heard by the neighbours, it was assumed, by the Florence police, that the murder had been committed by two men, who had obtained entry on the pretext of viewing and hiring one of her rooms. While one man placed a handkerchief over her mouth, stifling her screams, the other had slit her throat. At this point the police officer in charge of the investigation, Leopoldo Viti, applied tothe higher-administrative and legal authorities for permission to have the eyes of the murdered woman photographed on the possibility that the retina would depict an image of the murderer. Permission was refused. Two months later, on 2 June, another lodging house keeper, Ester Cellai, was found murdered in her house. All the details were identical. The body was stretched out on the floor of a room, the throat cut from ear to ear, the handkerchief close to the body, and valuables stolen from the house. Also, the woman was alone in the house at the time and there was no sign of a forced entry or struggle. It seemed as if the same murderer had claimed another victim. Viti again applied for permission to have the victim’s eyes photographed; again, permission was refused. On 22 August, a third murder was committed under almost identical circumstances. A lodging house keeper, Emilia Spagnoli, was found lying on the floor with her throat cut, with a handkerchief by the body. In this case there was a slight difference in that Spagnoli had resisted her attacker, and was stabbed and cut in many other parts of the body. There were seventeen knife wounds in all. Viti again insisted that the eyes of the murdered woman should be photographed. This time his request was granted. Luckily, for Viti, the body was lying on its side, with her right eye turned upward. Immediately after the discovery of the body, the eye was photographed, under the direction of the examining judge, and the negative image greatly enlarged. There on the final print was a two inch high human face, dim and nebulous but none the less recognisable. Itdepicted a man with “a peculiar dilatation of the nostril, a depression of the upper lip …an unusual elongation of the mouth, a square but double chin, a certain massiveness about the region of the cheek bone, and the outline of a whisker.” The photograph was made by one of the Alinari brothers, famous nineteenth century photographers, who lived in Florence and specialized in copying art works, selling the prints to Victorians on the Grand Tour. As one writer, who described the murder and its aftermath “of which I was myself an eye-witness,” remarked: “When I mention that Alinari, the first photographer of Florence, and indeed possessing a European reputation, was the artist by whom the work was executed, I need say nothing more as a guarantee of the fidelity and care employed on the occasion.” The police already had their suspicions about the murderer’s identity. Benjamino Cosimi, a native of Velletri, was a suspect in several cases of murder in that town. He travelled to Corsica, then to Leghorn and on to Florence. He was seen close to the location of the first murder but had disappeared before he could be picked up for questioning. He reappeared in Florence at the time of the third murder. When arrested, Cosimi had in his possession articles belonging to all three women and a bloodstained knife.
Best regards,
Adam
