A genetic test ordered by Florence prosecutors has established that Natalino Mele—who at age six survived the August 21, 1968, killings attributed to the “Monster of Florence”—is not the biological son of convicted murderer Stefano Mele. Instead, La Nazione reports Natalino’s father was Giovanni Vinci, elder brother of Francesco and Salvatore Vinci, both previously investigated and cleared in the serial killer probe.
The 1968 double homicide claimed Natalino’s mother, Barbara Locci, and her lover Antonio Lo Bianco as they sat in a car near Signa. Natalino, asleep in the rear seat, was inexplicably spared before fleeing barefoot through darkness to seek help a kilometer away.
Giovanni Vinci, never formally investigated in the “Monster” case involving eight double murders until 1985, died years ago and cannot provide insight. Natalino confirmed he never met Vinci. The DNA analysis, conducted by geneticist Ugo Ricci in 2018 during a since-dropped probe into ex-legionary Giampiero Vigilanti, now raises questions about potential case developments.
Key mysteries persist: why the assailant spared Natalino and how the child navigated the perilous escape remain unresolved.