Naman Shrestha
Netflix’s ‘The Yara Gambirasio Case: Beyond Reasonable Doubt’ dives deep into the disappearance and murder case of 13-year-old Yara Gambirasio of Brembatet di Sopra, Italy. The years-long investigation, the capture of the perpetrator through a DNA sample found on the victim’s body, and various other intricate details of the case are covered in the true-crime docuseries. Through the exclusive and in-depth interviews with officials who were involved in the investigation and the loved ones of Yara, the miniseries ensures to be an insightful watch for the viewers.
Yara Gambirasio Was Found Dead in a Field in Another City
Fulvio and Maura welcomed a little bundle of joy into the world in the form of Yara Gambirasio on May 21, 1997, in Brembatet di Sopra, Italy. The Italian girl grew up with her two brothers and developed a hobby of rhythmic gymnastics pretty early on in her short life. With the support of her parents, she even went to practice rhythmic gymnastics at a nearby gym on a regular basis. With a smile that could light up the entire room, the 13-year-old was a talented individual with a bright future ahead. Unfortunately, fate had other plans for her.
On November 26, 2010, Yara went about her day per usual and even went to the gym for her practice. However, when she left for home from the gym in the evening, around 6:44 pm, she never made it back home, which was merely 700 meters away. Concerned about Yara’s well-being, her family contacted the local police and reported her missing. In spite of conducting extensive searches for the missing teenager with the help of hundreds of volunteers and heavy press coverage, nothing of significance could be found. Finally, on February 26, 2011, a man who was flying his remote-controlled airplane over an empty field in Chignolo d’Isola, which is 10 kilometers away from her hometown Brembate di Sopra, came across a body.
When the police were tipped about it, they rushed to the field and confirmed that it was Yara Gambirasio’s body. Upon inspecting the body, which was in an advanced state of decomposition, the detectives assumed that she was killed not long after her disappearance. All across her body, there were multiple superficial cuts made from a sharp object. Besides that, the autopsy also revealed a severe head blow, which could be from falling on a hard surface or being hit with a rock. The cause of her death was revealed to be a combination of her head injury, several cut wounds, and hypothermia. While looking for the evidence around the body, the investigators found her belongings, including house keys, an iPod, her sim card, and the battery of her cell phone. However, they could not find her cell phone anywhere.
A DNA Sample Found on Yara’s Body Led the Police to the Killer’s Family
As the detectives found traces of lime in her respiratory passages and fibers on her clothes, they came to the conclusion that the perpetrator responsible for abducting Yara Gambirasio and killing her could be involved in the building trade. Moreover, the DNA of an unknown individual was found on the victim’s remains. This resulted in the authorities undertaking a DNA sweep of the country, taking DNA samples from everyone who went to a local nightclub on Friday and Saturday nights. Soon, they got a significant break in the case when they found a similar DNA match, leading them to a man named Damiano Guerinoni, who could be a possible relative of the perpetrator.
The next move of the investigators was to compile a complete genealogical family tree of the DNA sample. This led them to the brother of Damiano Guerinoni’s father — Giuseppe, who had passed away in 1999. So, to collect his DNA sample, the investigators visited his widow. Upon testing the sample, it was clear that Giuseppe was the father of Yara’s murderer. When both of his legitimate sons were not a perfect match to the killer’s DNA, they dug deeper into Giuseppe’s life and learned that he had an illegitimate son with a woman named Ester Arzuffi in June 2014. It turned out that Ester had birthed twins in 1970, a boy and a girl. The boy was Massimo Giuseppe Bossetti, a builder who was married and had three children.
The Police Nabbed the Killer Based on DNA Test Results
The police had known that Yara’s cell phone was last pinged in the city of Mapello, which is where Massimo resided. In order to collect his DNA sample smoothly, the police set up a roadblock in Mapello and sent the DNA to the laboratory for further examination. When the DNA sample came out to be a perfect match, the construction worker was arrested in 2014, almost four long years after the murder of Yara Gambirasio. However, the accused was quick to plead not guilty to the abduction and murder charges against him. During the trial, the prosecution claimed that the victim had not just been murdered but also tortured and treated with cruelty as she was struck in the head three times and stabbed numerous times before being left to die.
The defense and Massimo maintained his innocence and even challenged the scientific evidence presented by the prosecution. Before the verdict, he addressed the court, “I might be stupid, an idiot, ignorant, but I’m not a killer.” Despite his claims of innocence, on July 1, 2016, he was convicted of murdering Yara Gambirasio and received a life imprisonment sentence. After the guilty verdict, the family of the victim responded through their lawyers, saying, “Now we know who it was, even if we know that no one will bring Yara back to us.”
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