Altavilla massacre: Barreca tried exorcism on inmate, transferred from Pagliarelli for safety

Last Updated: March 31, 2024

Il massacro di Altavilla, la criminologa Bruzzone: «Il lucido delirio di Barreca, è convinto che la sua famiglia sia in paradiso»

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The prison police officers from Palermo took him away quickly on Friday evening to bring him to the Enna prison. Not even his lawyer, Giancarlo Barracato, was informed of the urgent transfer. The lawyer was notified after the fact. Officially, Giovanni Barreca had to leave his cell in Pagliarelli prison to be housed in a facility with a reduced population that could provide him with better control and assistance. In reality, the move was allegedly decided for his safety, as the painter – accused of exterminating a family with the complicity of his daughter, Sabrina Fina, and Massimo Carandente in the massacre in the villa in Altavilla Milicia – could have provoked the resentment of some other inmates in his prison section.

The man, who fell into some sort of mystical delirium after the murders of his wife Antonella Salamone and children Kevin and Emanuel, aged 16 and 5, even behind bars continued to see the devil. In recent days, despite being in isolation, he had heard some moans coming from a neighbor, suggesting performing an exorcism to liberate the companion from possession through prayer: an attitude that could have strained the delicate balance among the inmates, thus increasing the risk of possible retaliations. For this reason, he would have been temporarily moved.

Carandente, shortly after being locked up in Pagliarelli prison, had reported being threatened and intimidated: a clear sign of how low the level of tolerance is towards those who are identified as the perpetrators of an inconceivable massacre.

Barreca’s lawyer has already filed a petition to request that the measure be revoked: firstly because Enna would not have the same psychological support as the Palermo prison and secondly because the distance from the capital would pose difficulties for the defense, which will listen to him with his consultants next month to prepare the expert report.

In the meantime, the blame game continues among all the protagonists of the story. Barreca (in the photo with his wife Antonella on their wedding day), hinting that he was drugged, recounted that the “brothers of God” were in contact with an alleged instigator, to whom they would have asked for instructions on what to do. The seventeen-year-old daughter admitted to participating in the violence, although she accused Sabrina and Massimo of instigating both her and her father. The two from Palermo, for their part, swore to be innocent, pointing the finger at the other two and attributing to them the blame for the three murders.

The couple is expected to meet with their lawyers next Friday. Shortly after, they could be heard by the deputy public prosecutor of Termini Imerese, Manfredi Lanza, to present their version: a crucial summons because the magistrate – beyond their narrative – will be able to confront them with the evidence collected, starting from the results of the examination on the call logs and cell phones, from which videos, audios, and chats were extracted. But also the report of the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsies on the victims and the outcome of the initial investigations by the Ris of Messina on the seized objects could nail each one down to their own responsibilities. At this stage, Barreca could remain silent due to his psychological condition. The daughter, who confirmed helping bury the charred remains of her mother in the garden and tormenting the two brothers, has added further details, on which strict confidentiality is maintained, that could give the definitive turning point to the investigations.