Gelsomina Verde (; 5 December 1982 – 21 November 2004) was a victim of the

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type org ...

who was tortured and subsequently murdered during the

Scampia feud Scampia (, ) is a modern suburb in the far north of Naples, whose population is about 80,000. To its south are the suburbs of Piscinola-Marianella, Miano and Secondigliano. It was built during the second half of the twentieth century. History ...

in the city of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

on 21 November 2004, aged 21.

Murder

Verde, a leather factory worker, was abducted and tortured by members of the

Di Lauro clan The Di Lauro clan () is an Italian crime clan, part of the Camorra in Naples. The clan operates in the neighbourhoods of Secondigliano, Scampìa, Miano, Marianella, Piscinola, and in the adjacent municipalities of Casavatore, Melito, Arzano, ...

, in an effort to make her disclose the whereabouts of her former boyfriend, a Scissionisti clan member, Gennaro Notturno. Gelsomina and Gennaro had broken up weeks prior to her abduction.'The blood is running': Mafia wars erupt again
The Independent, 8 December 2004Roberto Saviano sul delitto di Gelsomina Verde
robertosaviano.it An autopsy conducted on her corpse revealed that she had been killed with three shots to the neck after enduring hours of torture. The killers then set her body on fire inside her car, in order to hide the torture she had suffered and not to cause public commotion after her death.

Aftermath

Public reaction

Verde's death caused widespread public revulsion and led to a major crackdown by the authorities. The president of the

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

region (of which Naples is the capital) Antonio Bassolino said: "This challenge must be met and the state must pay attention." Two days later, Home Minister

Giuseppe Pisanu Giuseppe "Beppe" Pisanu (born 2 January 1937 in Ittiri, province of Sassari) is an Italian politician, longtime member of the Chamber of Deputies for the Christian Democracy (1972–1992) and then for Forza Italia (1994–2006). Biography Pi ...

dispatched 325 extra police officers to the city which already has a higher ratio of police to people than any other in the country.Naples police in huge mafia swoop
BBC News, 7 December 2004 This contributed to the end of the feud in September 2005.

Trial

Verde's family was a civil party in criminal proceedings that ended on 4 April 2006. It resulted in the life imprisonment of Ugo De Lucia, considered to be one of the most brutal killers in the Di Lauro clan. Another Di Lauro clan member, Pietro Esposito who testified against his former cohorts, received a prison term of seven years and four months for his involvement in the murder. On 13 December 2008, Cosimo Di Lauro, was sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the murder of Gelsomina Verde.Di Lauro, ergastolo per il delitto di Gelsomina Verde che Saviano aveva raccontato in Gomorra
, La Repubblica Napoli, 13 December 2008 Di Lauro died in prison on June 13, 2022. An autopsy was ordered.

Legacy

Verde is mentioned in the 2006 book '' Gomorrah'' by

Roberto Saviano Roberto Saviano (; born 22 September 1979) is an Italian writer, essayist, journalist, and screenwriter. In his writings, including articles and his book '' Gomorrah'', he uses literature and investigative reporting to tell of the economic reali ...

, while she is also the inspiration behind a character named Manu (played by Denise Perna) in the television series of the same name, who appears in the ninth episode entitled "Gelsomina Verde".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verde, Gelsomina 1982 births 2004 deaths People from Naples People murdered by the Camorra People murdered in Italy Italian murder victims People murdered in Campania