Breakthrough in the Cold Case of Gaetano Impellizzeri

 One of the few certain points in the Gaetano Impellizzeri case is that at 8 a.m. on February 10, 2014, he landed at Bergamo/Orio Al Serio airport on a flight from Trapani. Then, the sales agent vanished into thin air.

For nine years, there was no news, despite the appeals from his daughters and the efforts of the television program "Chi l'ha visto" (Who has seen him). Until yesterday, when a body buried under 50 centimeters of soil was discovered in a plot of land in Castelnuovo Sotto, in the province of Reggio Emilia, believed to be that of Impellizzeri.

The man, who was 47 years old at the time of his disappearance, was a sales agent dealing with appliances and automobiles. He lived in the Palermo area and frequently traveled for work, including overseas trips, particularly to Spain. He had two daughters, and in 2013, a year before his disappearance, he separated from his wife to live with his new partner.

On the morning of February 10, he departed from Trapani airport at 6:45, headed for Bergamo, where he arrived at 8 a.m. Based on what he told his family, he had an important business deal to conclude in Lombardy. Upon arrival, he called his ex-wife in the morning and several times throughout the day he called his new partner. The last call to the woman was at 5 p.m. on that February 10th. From that moment, darkness prevailed.

The breakthrough came yesterday, Wednesday, July 12th: while investigating Impellizzeri's disappearance, the Carabinieri identified a plot of land behind a farmhouse in the countryside of Castelnuovo Sotto, in the Reggio Emilia area. The area was scanned using an echo scanner, and shortly after, a body was located buried under approximately half a meter of soil. The body was wrapped in a plastic bag and showed wounds consistent with those inflicted by a firearm.

Is the cold case of Gaetano Impellizzeri heading towards a resolution with the discovery of the body? The body was wrapped in a bag and found buried under half a meter of soil in a field in Castelnuovo Sotto, in the province of Reggio Emilia, believed to belong to Gaetano Impellizzeri, a sales agent who disappeared in February 2014, presumably murdered.

The corpse was found behind a farmhouse, with the owners of the property not being involved in the investigation. The Carabinieri of Reggio Emilia used an echo scanner to scan the land, and during excavation, the body was uncovered.

Investigators have maintained utmost confidentiality regarding the source of the information that led them to dig and find the body in Castelnuovo Sotto.

The context in which the crime took place is not yet clear. According to initial findings, the burial dates back several years; it is not recent. Therefore, it is likely that the body was buried in the Lower Reggio region shortly after the crime. An autopsy is scheduled for the day after tomorrow, followed by a DNA test. The public prosecutor has opened a case for murder and concealment of a body, with three suspects identified. According to reports, the murder is not related to organized crime.

"The daughters of Mr. Impellizzeri have not yet received any communication regarding DNA testing. From what we understand, the investigators have little doubt about the identity of the body," said Giuseppe Accardo, the lawyer representing the now thirty-year-old daughters. "The news of the discovery was a bolt from the blue for us," say the two women. "We didn't even know that there were ongoing investigations into our father's disappearance."