Life sentence confirmed on appeal for two guards for the double murder among the oranges in Lentini.

Last Updated: March 31, 2024

Duplice omicidio fra le arance a Lentini, confermato in appello l'ergastolo per due custodi

The Court of Appeal of Catania confirmed the life sentence for Giuseppe Sallemi, 45, and Luciano Giammellaro, 73. They are the two caretakers from Lentini accused of the double murder of Massimiliano Casella, 47, and Agatino Saraniti, 19, and the attempted murder of Gregorio Signorelli, crimes that took place in February 2020 in an agricultural area on the border between Lentini and Scordia, among the citrus groves of the Catania Plain.

According to police investigations, the three men from Catania went to steal oranges from a plot of land, but the defendants allegedly fired shots from a rifle, killing Saraniti and Casella, while Signorelli managed to survive and was transported to a hospital in Catania. During the trial, there was a change in the narrative as Sallemi blamed Giammellaro and his son for the murders, but neither the prosecutor nor the judges believed his version.