Pietracatella, one in six residents interviewed in the ricin case.

The investigation into the double murder of Antonella Di Ielsi, 50, and her daughter Sara, 15, who were poisoned with ricin after Christmas, is entering a crucial phase. In Pietracatella, in the province of Campobasso, the police have already interviewed over 200 people, roughly one in six residents of the town of 1,185 souls. All were heard at the police headquarters in Campobasso as individuals with information on the case.

Next Tuesday, investigators from the Mobile Squad and the Central Operational Service will examine the 71 computers (laptops and desktops) at the Agricultural Institute of Riccia, twenty kilometers from the town. The hypothesis is that someone used those devices to search for information on ricin, the powerful poison found in the blood of the two victims.

The case originated last Christmas, when Antonella Di Ielsi and her daughter Sara, residents of Pietracatella (Campobasso), died under mysterious circumstances. It wasn't until mid-March, from toxicological analyses, that the truth emerged: ricin, a lethal toxin extracted from castor beans, was identified in their blood. This poisoning has triggered a complex investigation involving the entire small Molise community.

The investigation, coordinated by Larino prosecutor Elvira Antonelli, initially focused on the family unit and close acquaintances. All family members were interviewed, the parish priest Don Stefano (three times), and even a professor friend of Gianni, the former mayor of the town and husband and father of the victims. The focus has now shifted to the Agricultural Institute of Riccia, where castor plants were already sought months ago, without success. Police suspect that online searches to procure or learn how to use the poison may have originated from the school's computers, used by people connected to the family.