Relatives of former Fiorentina player Celeste Pin, found dead at his Florence hillside residence on July 22, firmly deny he took his own life. “He had profound love for his children and would never expose them to such violent trauma,” stated family lawyer Mattia Alfano, who represents Pin’s second son. Alfano will appoint a forensic consultant to observe the autopsy ordered by prosecutor Silvia Zannini, scheduled for Wednesday at Florence’s Institute of Legal Medicine.
The lawyer emphasized Pin’s four-decade battle with depression, managed with “extreme rigor,” calling the circumstances of death “so peculiar” that the family suspects either foul play or a traumatic event triggering “mental collapse.”
Florence prosecutors will formalize the autopsy assignment on Tuesday or Wednesday. The examination follows a murder complaint filed by Pin’s ex-wife, who demanded further investigations—including toxicology tests and cellphone analysis—via email. Prosecutors initially opened an involuntary manslaughter case after a relative alerted authorities on July 22. Early investigations pointed to suicide despite no farewell note, but the ex-wife’s objection temporarily halted the body’s release. The corpse has since been returned to the family after prosecutors dismissed the suicide dispute.