Anger in Italy over plan to reopen church where murdered teenager’s body was hidden for 17 years

Gildo and Filomena Claps, the brother and mother of murdered teenager Elisa

Credit: Rocco de Benedictis/ROPI 

The family of a murdered Italian teenager whose body was stashed in a church garret and remained undetected for 17 years are objecting to the church being restored and reopened as a place of worship.

Relatives have accused the Catholic Church of covering up the murder of 16-year-old Elisa Claps, who was killed by Danilo Restivo, an acquaintance of hers, in the southern city of Potenza in 1993.

Claps went missing in September 1993 after leaving her home to go to mass at the Church of Santissima Trinità (the Most Holy Trinity) in Potenza in the southern region of Basilicata.

Elisa Claps went missing in Potenza in 1993

Credit: EPA

She had arranged to meet up with Restivo, who was then aged 21 and had a fetish for women’s hair, cutting off clumps when sitting behind them in the bus or in the cinema. The teenager disappeared without trace.

It was only 17 years later, in March 2010, that her mummified remains were found in a cramped space beside the bell-tower of the 15th-century church by maintenance workers who were repairing a leak in the roof.

She had been stabbed 12 times and shreds of her hair were in her hands. The discovery provoked fury and disbelief among many Italians and there have always been unanswered questions about why it took so long to find her body and whether anyone else knew of the killing.

The local priest, who has since died, initially refused the police permission to search the church.

The church has been closed for the last decade but Monsignor Salvatore Ligorio, the local archbishop, has announced plans for a €2.4 million restoration, after which it will reopen for services, christenings and weddings.

Claps’ family is deeply unhappy about that, accusing the Catholic authorities of maintaining a shameful omertà or silence over the murder.

Danilo Restivo was found guilty of murdering Elisa Claps during a trial in absentia

Credit: ROPI 

Her brother on Wednesday accused the church of “17 years of lies and omissions of the truth”.

Gildo Claps, who runs an English school in Potenza, demanded that Catholic officials “offer a mea culpa and, most important of all, lift the veil of omertà that has covered this whole affair for far too long.”

“There’s always been the suspicion that the Church knew about the murder years ago but didn’t report it to the authorities,” said Tobias Jones, a British author who wrote a book about the case, Blood on the Altar.

“The identity of her murderer is an open and shut case but there are questions as to the silence and degree of collusion on the part of the Church.”

Police inspect the crime scene at the Holy Trinity Church

Credit: Rocco Esposito/ROPI 

The murder investigation was sluggish and Elisa’s family, who were of modest means, faced an uphill battle to discover the truth. “There were some powerful characters arraigned against them,” said Mr Jones.

Restivo initially got away with the killing and moved to Britain. He settled in Bournemouth, where he brutally murdered and disfigured a 48-year-old dressmaker, Heather Barnett, in her home in 2002.

Restivo was eventually found guilty of both murders. For the killing of Barnett he was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole by a court in Winchester in 2011.

For the murder of Claps he was given a 30-year prison sentence after being tried in absentia by an Italian court.