Man killed and set on fire in his house in Prato, alleged killer goes to police station and confesses

The victim is a man of Chinese nationality, found dead in an apartment in via Marini, in the Chinatown of the Tuscan city. His body was shot and then set on fire: the authorities arrived on site after reporting a fire in the house. Shortly afterwards, a 53-year-old compatriot of the victim spontaneously showed up at the police station to confess to the crime

Murder in an apartment in Prato. A man of Chinese nationality was found dead late this morning in via Marini, in the Chinatown of the Tuscan city. The victim, who has not yet been identified, according to initial information, was killed with two gunshots and his body was then set on fire. An attempt, investigators hypothesize, to erase the traces of the crime. A compatriot of the victim was arrested for the murder: the 53-year-old man, shortly after the discovery of the body, showed up at the police station to confess to the crime.

The reporting

The police arrived on site late this morning following reports of a fire in the house. The firefighters, who intervened to put out the flames, discovered the body in the attic of the building, a room that may have been used as an unauthorized dormitory. Also on site were the carabinieri, the police and the Flying Squad investigators, together with the forensic specialists and the magistrate on duty.

Alleged killer confesses

Shortly afterwards a man, a compatriot of the victim, showed up at the police station and confessed to the murder. The man, a 53-year-old Chinese citizen, is illegal on national territory and has a history linked to drug dealing. He told the investigators what happened in the apartment, took responsibility for the crime and also told the investigators where to recover the used gun that had been abandoned in the street. The confessed offender was then arrested and interrogated by the Public Prosecutor's Office in the presence of the defender, providing an initial reconstruction of the facts. However, the circumstances of the murder and the motive remain to be verified: according to initial reconstructions, perhaps the victim was filming the murderer while he was taking narcotics. A violent argument would have ensued which would have resulted in murder.

The reconstruction

Confirmation of the suspect's statements came from the analysis of the images from the surveillance cameras outside the building. The investigators identified the place where the gun, a 7.65 caliber gun, had been abandoned, then recovered inside a glass collection bell, precisely in the point indicated by the self-confessed 53-year-old. The man, after shooting, attempted to set fire to the luggage: the intervention of the firefighters prevented the flames from spreading and even the victim's body was not directly affected by the fire, suffering only a burn.