Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘The Monster of Florence’ is a four-part Italian true crime drama series that revolves around real-life events that took place in the span of nearly two decades in Italy. The show primarily focuses on the murders committed by the Monster of Florence, including those of Barbara Locci and Antonio Lo Bianco. Initially, the suspicion landed on the former’s husband at the time, Stefano Mele. While he was under scrutiny, he was questioned multiple times by the detectives, who suspected that he was involved with the double homicide.
Stefano Mele Relocated Multiple Times Across Italy For Work
Stefano Mele was born on January 13, 1919, to Palmerio Mele and Pietrina Murgia in Fordongianus, a small commune in the province of Oristano in Sardinia, Italy. At an early age, he endured a loss when his mother passed away due to complications from pneumonia at the age of 25. Following his mother’s passing, he grew up in a blended family that comprised a biological sister, Maria, as well as step-siblings Teresa, Antonietta, and Giovanni. Stefano was reportedly not a bright student and dropped out of school after third grade. When he came of age, he decided to serve the nation by joining the military. Post that, he found employment as a farm laborer and gradually went on to hold several demanding jobs, including those of a miner and bricklayer.
Over the years, the Mele family relocated multiple times to several locations across Italy. In 1930, when they settled in Teti, in the Province of Nuoro, Stefano took up a job as a shepherd. On October 28, 1952, they moved to Casellina in Scandicci within the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany. While residing at Via Pisana 124 in the area, Stefano served as a laborer at a farm as well as a construction worker until setting off to Via Pisana 166 a while later. From 1954 to 1957, he was employed under Emilio Frangipani/ne on the Pisani farm in Capannuccia. At the time, he was living at Via Romania 3, La Capannuccia.
Stefano Mele and Barbara Locci’s Marriage Was Reportedly Marred By Turmoil
In 1958, Stefano’s paths crossed with Barbara Locci, who was 18 years younger than him. It took them just a year to realize how much they meant to each other. On December 28, 1959, the two tied the knot at La Romola in San Casciano Val di Pesa. The newly married couple began their life together at the Mele residence at Via Romania 3, La Capannuccia, in Lastra a Signa. The town had a popular bar called the “Sardinian bar” in Piazza Mercatale, where Barbara was a regular customer. That’s where she reportedly stumbled upon Giovanni Vinci. According to reports, the two hit it off and allegedly began dating in January 1960. A year later, through Giovanni, Barbara and Stefano met Giovanni’s brother, Salvatore, who soon became a tenant in the Mele household. According to police investigations, it has been alleged that he also began an affair with Barbara.
In the same year, the Meles moved out and found a new home at Piazza Peschi 17 in Romola di San Casciano. Barbara and Stefano welcomed their son, Natale (Natalino) Mele, on December 25, 1961. Over two years later, in 1964, Stefano switched jobs again. The family ultimately moved in with Stefano’s father at Via Pisana 166 in Scandicci in August 1965. They continued to live there for nearly two years until they were allegedly asked to leave due to what has been described as Barbara’s alleged affair and Stefano’s apparent nonchalance regarding the same. The couple relocated to a small neighborhood in Lastra a Signa in April 1967.
By the following year, Stefano and Barbara’s marriage had deteriorated, with the latter allegedly being involved in extramarital affairs with Salvatore and Francesco Vinci. Around August 1968, she was having an affair with a younger man named Antonio Lo Bianco when the two were killed by the Monster of Florence in a car while her son, Natalino, was left alive in the backseat. During his police interview following the incident, Stefano reportedly told the authorities different stories before finally confessing to killing his wife and her lover in a fit of jealousy, but didn’t mention that his son was also present at the scene of the crime. As for the murder weapon, he claimed that he had thrown it in a nearby ditch. Thus, Stefano was arrested and charged with the double homicide. In 1970, Stefano was found guilty of killing Barbara and Antonio and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Stefano Mele Died Following a Critical Surgery in Ronco all’Adige
However, while Stefano Mele was incarcerated, the double homicide was linked to a few other similar couple-killings in the Florence area, leading the authorities to revisit his confession and conviction. In several of his interviews, he also shifted the blame to Francesco Vinci, one of Barbara’s lovers. Thus, he was released from prison as the detectives followed other leads, including Salvatore, Francesco, and Antonio Vinci. According to reports, Stefano was arrested again under suspicion in 1985, but was released shortly thereafter.
In later interviews, Stefano claimed he was coerced into confessing, alleging that he had a complex personal relationship with Salvatore Vinci that involved blackmail. He told the detectives that Salvatore had blackmailed him into confessing and accepting his sentencing. After his release from prison, he lived in a hospice for ex-prisoners located in Ronco all’Adige, Italy. Several years later, at the age of 76, Stefano Mele passed away from a heart attack after a major complication during the hernia surgery in Ronco all’Adige on February 16, 1995.
Read More: Barbara Locci and Antonio Lo Bianco Murders: How Did They Die? Who Killed Them?
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