A Sicilian man confessed to killing his wife and two sons who he said were “possessed by the demon”, a case marked by sectarian tendencies, a Carabinieri spokesman told AFP on Monday.
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The triple murder occurred last week in Altavilla Milicia, near Palermo, as part of an “exorcism” session, the spokesman said.
Giovanni Barreca, a 54-year-old bricklayer, confessed to the Carabinieri that he had killed his wife Antonella Salamone (41) and their sons Kevin (16) and Emanuel (5).
“I wanted to free her from the demon,” this ardent evangelical declared upon his arrest.
The eldest, 17, is the couple's only surviving child. The mother's partially charred body was found half-buried in the garden of her home. The bodies of the children found in their beds showed signs of strangulation.
According to the Italian press, the father regularly invoked on social networks the name of a self-proclaimed evangelical pastor from Puglia (south), very present on Facebook and TikTok, where he claims that he is able to heal his believers and ” to hunt Satan.”
The carabinieri are trying to clarify his possible role in the alleged murderer's act, as well as that of a pair of family friends who were arrested and detained and in turn, according to the press, are suspected of having instigated him to kill his loved ones.
This couple belongs to an evangelical community that on Monday denounced “the horror” of the triple murder. “The evangelical community of Altavilla Milicia categorically distances itself from any form of violence,” she said in a statement.