Background
Disappearance
On 5 January 2021, Benno Neumair, a 31-year-old teacher and body builder, went to the Carabinieri barracks in Bolzano to report the disappearance of his parents, Peter Neumair and Laura Perselli, aged 63 and 68. The family lived together in Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol. The two missing persons were both retired teachers, and in the last period they had dedicated themselves to practicing some types of sports, in addition to walking every day in the mountains. For this reason, at first it was hypothesized by the investigators that the two had been victims of an accident in a mountain environment. Another lead that police followed was that of a landslide that had occurred the same day. [8] It had destroyed part of the Hotel Eberle located near the city. [9] Initially during the searches, Benno co-operated with the investigators, providing information on the paths that his parents regularly took during their mountain walks. He also consented to the entry of sniffer dogs into the apartment where he lived with his parents.
After a short time, the Carabinieri investigated further and discovered that the victims' cell phones had been turned off since the evening before the disappearance. Once they arrived at the site of the landslide and found nothing suspicious, the Carabinieri began to investigate the son Benno. To ensure the veracity of the reconstruction of events offered by the young man, the investigators began to collect some testimonies regarding Benno's character and personality. It was immediately discovered that he had recently returned to live with his parents and, previously, in Germany he had experienced a serious psychiatric episode that had led to his hospitalization. As it later emerged, Benno had developed a relationship of dependence with his parents alternating with moments of estrangement when his requests were not met and all this had caused strong arguments between the parents and their son. From the age of 21 he had developed a pathological approach to sports training, also starting to take steroids. During his stay in Germany he had also threatened the girl he was living with. A psychiatric evaluation later diagnosed a narcissistic personality disorder. [10]
Investigation
While the search for the missing couple was still ongoing, Benno was stopped by the Carabinieri at a car wash, shortly before his car was being washed. The car was seized and, during checks in the trunk, the investigators found a canister of hydrogen peroxide. Subsequently, on the north side of the Ischia Frizzi bridge, a yellowish blood stain was found; the investigators handed the sample over to the Scientific Investigations Department (RIS) for analysis, from which the stain turned out to belong to Mr. Peter Neumair. [11] Having also acquired more information regarding the telephone usage, the investigators concluded that on the evening of the crime, Benno's mobile phone was located precisely at that point. After this discovery, Benno was entered in the register of suspects , accused of double homicide and concealment of a corpse. The evidence collected almost immediately led to the hypothesis that the young man had thrown his parents' bodies into the river, in order to erase any trace attributable to him.
The villa owned by Benno where he lived with his parents was seized by police for further inquiry. Subsequent investigations revealed that Benno, on the night he committed the crime, had gone to sleep over at a friend's house, and had given her some of his clothes to wash. These clothes were allegedly hidden during the RIS inspection, which also led to her being placed on the list of suspects, accused of aiding and abetting, although she was later cleared of all charges. Another woman also risked being placed on the list of suspects. She was a teacher Benno had met on Tinder, with whom he was having a relationship, and who, following the disappearance of his parents, Benno had invited to his house, asking her, among other things, to help him clean it.
Charged by the prosecution, on 28 January, 24 days after the crime, Benno showed up at the barracks to turn himself in, but proclaimed his innocence. [12] Only on 11 February did he confess to the double homicide, claiming to have strangled both his parents with a climbing rope. [5] Benno was subsequently subjected to a psychiatric assessment by the Preliminary Investigation Judge (GIP) experts , who assessed that the young man was semi-insane during the murder of his father Peter, while he would have been capable of understanding and willing during that of his mother. From this it was deduced that Benno had voluntarily killed his mother, probably to avoid her being an inconvenient witness. Subsequent investigations confirmed that the two victims both died by strangulation, through the use of a "cord", which Peter probably used during his mountain excursions. The two bodies were then loaded into the family car and taken to the bridge, and then thrown into the river one at a time. The entire investigation was completed in a short time. On 10 April 2021, Benno Neumair was sent for trial for the crimes of multiple homicide and concealment of a corpse. During the hearing, the request by Benno's lawyers to proceed with the abbreviated procedure was rejected; in fact, with the entry into force of law no. 33/2019, a summary judgment is not permitted for crimes punishable by life imprisonment.
The search of the river continued around the area of the Mori dam. [13] The body of Laura Perselli was found near Neumarkt on 6 February. [4] Four months following the murders the body of Peter Neumair was found on 27 April. [5] It was found at the Albere district of Trento. [14] A boy was walking his dog in the area when he spotted a body on the surface of the water. [15] The joint funeral of Peter Neumair and Laura Perselli was held on 18 June 2021. [16]