Wolfgang Abel and Mario Furlan
Encyclopedia
Wolfgang Abel and Marco Furlan were arrested for a series of murders in Italy
between 1977 and 1984. They claimed innocence, saying they were scapegoats for a police force that could not find the real criminals.
. Each had a slogan, such as "We are the last of the Nazis" and "Death comes to those who betray the true god", and explained the reason for each murder. According to the leaflets the victims were chosen because they were "sub-human"; being homosexual, prostitutes, drug addicts; and needed to be eliminated.
Abel and Furlan's criminal career together began in August 1977, when they burned a Gypsy drug addict alive.
Abel moved to Mestrino
and Furlan to Casale di Scodosia
. Furlan fled the country. He was captured in May 1995 living in Crete
under a false name and was returned to Italy. In the meantime the appeals court in Venice had sentenced both him and Abel to 27 years in prison. In prison Furlan attempted suicide.
In April 2008 Furlan appealed to be released into the care of social workers. This was refused, but arrangements were made for his release. He was released in January 2009.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
between 1977 and 1984. They claimed innocence, saying they were scapegoats for a police force that could not find the real criminals.
The crimes
At each of these crime scenes was a leaflet, written in Italian, headed with the name "Ludwig" over a Nazi eagle and swastikaSwastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
. Each had a slogan, such as "We are the last of the Nazis" and "Death comes to those who betray the true god", and explained the reason for each murder. According to the leaflets the victims were chosen because they were "sub-human"; being homosexual, prostitutes, drug addicts; and needed to be eliminated.
Abel and Furlan's criminal career together began in August 1977, when they burned a Gypsy drug addict alive.
- In PaduaPaduaPadua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
they stabbed a casino worker to death. This was followed shortly by the beating and stabbing of a homosexual waiter in VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
who died from his thirty-four knife wounds. - In VicenzaVicenzaVicenza , a city in north-eastern Italy, is the capital of the eponymous province in the Veneto region, at the northern base of the Monte Berico, straddling the Bacchiglione...
they axed a 51 years old prostitute and crushed the skulls of two priests with a hammer. - They burned a sleeping hitch-hiker to death in VeronaVeronaVerona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
. - In TrentoTrentoTrento is an Italian city located in the Adige River valley in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. It is the capital of Trentino...
a homosexual priest was killed with a nail hammered in his forehead, followed by a chisel with a wooden cross on it. - On March 3, 1984, in Castiglione delle StiviereCastiglione delle StiviereCastiglione delle Stiviere is a town and comune in the province of Mantua, in Lombardy, Italy, 30 km northwest of Mantua by road.-History:During the War of the Spanish Succession, the French under the duc de Vendôme occupied it....
Abel and Furlan, dressed in PierrotPierrotPierrot is a stock character of pantomime and Commedia dell'Arte whose origins are in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne; the name is a hypocorism of Pierre , via the suffix -ot. His character in postmodern popular culture—in...
costumes, were caught dousing the carpet and furniture in a crowded discotheque with gasoline.
Trial and after
Despite being arrested in March 1984, their trial did not begin until December 1986, the intervening time spent in jail. The trial lasted until January 1987 when they were found guilty of 10 out of 27 counts of murder, and in February they were sentenced to 30 years in prison. However, in the appeal procedures both men were released on bail.Abel moved to Mestrino
Mestrino
Mestrino is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 45 km west of Venice and about 9 km northwest of Padua...
and Furlan to Casale di Scodosia
Casale di Scodosia
Casale di Scodosia is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 70 km southwest of Venice and about 40 km southwest of Padua...
. Furlan fled the country. He was captured in May 1995 living in Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
under a false name and was returned to Italy. In the meantime the appeals court in Venice had sentenced both him and Abel to 27 years in prison. In prison Furlan attempted suicide.
In April 2008 Furlan appealed to be released into the care of social workers. This was refused, but arrangements were made for his release. He was released in January 2009.