Salerno: 57-year-old arrested for attempted murder, stabbed 23-year-old in the back of the head

The 57-year-old Italian born in Switzerland, Costantino Puopolo, resident in Ariano Irpino, is accused of attempted murder, against whom the Salerno Prosecutor's Office issued an arrest warrant in relation to the attack on a 23-year-old, stabbed in the back of the head in the historic center of Salerno last 23 September.

The Flying Squad's investigations, coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office, started from the reconstruction of the attack and the analysis of the images from the video surveillance cameras. The investigators acquired videos relating to the time before and after the events, even in areas not immediately adjacent to the site of the attack, managing to identify a man compatible in terms of appearance and clothing with the perpetrator of the wounding. The victim, heard directly by the public prosecutor on 2 October, after being discharged from hospital, recognized the man identified by the investigators in a photograph.

At that point, extensive research activity was started throughout Salerno and the surrounding municipalities, without initially obtaining a positive outcome. The investigators therefore decided to distribute the photos to the other police forces and to the territorial branches of the State Police, until they decided to release the images to the press on 2 October, also relying on citizens' reports. The turning point came precisely thanks to the extension of the searches: the staff of the Ariano Irpino police station recognized the man subject to the arrest decree in the images, confirming his identity.

The 57-year-old was then tracked down in Ariano Irpino and arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. A personal and home search was also carried out on the man. During the operations, the clothing which, according to investigators, would have been used during the attack, was found and seized, as well as further documentary material considered useful to the investigations, including handwritten notes on which investigations are underway to verify the possible connection with the methods of the attack. The motive still remains to be clarified.