On Saturday, July 2, 1983, two little girls – Barbara Sellini and Nunzia Munizzi – who lived in the Incis neighborhood of Ponticelli (Naples, Italy) disappeared around 7 p.m.

The two little girls, after being kidnapped, were tortured, raped and finally murdered. Their bodies would be found semi-carbonized the next day in the Pollena riverbed.

The Prosecutor’s investigation proved chaotic and managed with the alternation of several deputy prosecutors until the arrest in the early days of September 1983 of 3 boys known as “the Ponticelli monsters” who were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Restrained in prison for 27 years, then on conditional release with obligations since Oct. 21, 2010, they are currently free citizens due to extinction of sentence following an Order of the Court of Supervision of Perugia, issued on Feb. 11, 2016.

Since then, the 3 boys have always professed their innocence.

Over the years, as many as 3 Requests for Review of the trial were submitted: in 1989, 1999 and 2012. All of the aforementioned Requests were unsuccessful.

The third Revision was filed by the Stefani Law Firm in June 2012, after the completion of considerable and impressive defense investigations. In January 2013 the Firm was notified of the decree of setting a hearing following which the defense counsel filed a witness list indicating as many as 47 witnesses and, on 02/18/2013, the Rome Court of Appeals authorized their admission.

Unfortunately, the Court during the hearing, after opening the so-called rescissory phase, did not allow the hearing of the witnesses indicated by the defense and, on 30.05.2013, rejected the Review.

This is one of the most serious miscarriages of justice in the history of our country and, for this very reason, the Firm also prepared the request for a fourth Review.

The Ponticelli Case, despite the passage of time, has been of interest to National investigative journalism lately.