When the firefighters forced the front door of the house and entered the apartment they found the now lifeless bodies of the husband and wife in front of them. Pietro Delia66 years old, and Laura Lupo, 62, an officer of the Palermo municipal police, were lying not far away on the floor, surrounded by blood caused by gunshots probably fired from her service pistol, still clutched in her hand. The woman she would first point the gun at her husband and then kill herself. This is the investigative hypothesis on which the Palermo Carabinieri are working to provide a key to understanding what happened on Saturday 4 May, early in the morning, in an apartment building in via Notarbartolo.
«It’s too early to make assessments, next week there will be theautopsy» said the medical examiner as he left the apartment. Based on an initial reconstruction of the facts, however, there would seem to be little doubt that it was a crime murder-suicide. From an initial medical-legal examination it would appear that the man was reached by four shots gunshot to the chest and abdomen. The woman has two gunshot wounds to the head.
On the second floor of an apartment building in via Notarbartolo
The 118 health workers soon arrived at number 49 of the street and were only able to confirm the death of the two spouses. The investigations will establish how things actually went in that apartment in central Palermo. It was the couple’s daughter who raised the alarm due to silence coming from the house on the second floor of the building, who after knocking and calling several times decided to call the fire brigade. It was she, who worked with her father in the accounting firm, who accompanied her parents last night, after a few hours spent together, to the apartment in via Notarbartolo. Everything seemed to be absolutely normal and nothing made us think of the tragic epilogue.
The drama would have taken place during the night. The couple has another son who is away for work and is returning to Palermo. Laura Lupo served in the offices of the Justice of the Peace. Pietro Delia was an accountant and also worked on behalf of a bank.
«A very bad story that took us all by surprise. No one could have imagined such a dramatic epilogue. Our colleague was a person characterized by great calmness and elegance in her features and behavior. She carried out her work in the offices of the Justice of the Peace with great professionalism and preparation. She is an irreproachable municipal police officer”, commented the commander of the Palermo municipal police Angelo Colucciello once you arrive in via Notarbartolo.
