Triple murder-suicide at family restaurant in Benevento

A family tragedy unfolded today in Apice, in the Benevento area, where three brothers were found dead from gunshot wounds in their restaurant-hotel. The incident, which occurred before opening for lunch, has been classified as a double homicide followed by a suicide.

The victims are Gianni, Franco, and Donato Licciardi, aged 56, 61, and 65. Two bodies were found outdoors, the third inside the building. The Carabinieri, coordinated by the Benevento prosecutor's office with prosecutor Carmine Pignatiello, are investigating to reconstruct the reasons for the argument that erupted between the three brothers this morning.

The Licciardi restaurant, located in the hills of Apice, is a large and well-known venue in the area for weddings, banquets, and ceremonies. Military personnel from the Carabinieri arrived on the scene for initial investigations.

Today's tragedy unfolds against a backdrop of unresolved family tensions that reached a fatal conclusion within a successful family-run business. The Licciardi hotel-restaurant, with its spacious halls, garden, and pool, represented not only a source of livelihood but also a shared asset among the three brothers, a factor that may have contributed to underlying conflicts.

The precise sequence of events is still under investigation: it has not yet been determined which of the three brothers fired the first shot, triggering the chain of violence that involved them all. Investigators are working to reconstruct the timeline of events and the motive, also examining any previous disputes or inheritance issues. Similar episodes, though rare, highlight how unresolved family conflicts can explode tragically, especially when intertwined with the shared management of a business.