Bergamo court rejects Massimo Bossetti's request for new DNA testing in Yara Gambirasio murder
The Court of Assizes in Bergamo has rejected a motion by Massimo Bossetti's defense team to re-examine key biological evidence from the 2010 murder of Yara Gambirasio.
Court decision on biological evidence
The Court of Assizes in Bergamo, acting in its capacity as judge of execution under presiding judge Patrizia Ingrasci, dismissed an application on 5 October 2026 to conduct new technical and scientific tests on biological evidence from the Yara Gambirasio murder investigation. Massimo Bossetti, 55, who was definitively sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018 for the 2010 killing of the 13-year-old girl, attended the closed-door hearing via video link from the Bollate correctional facility in Milan. The court issued its ruling on the afternoon of 5 October 2026, hours after hearing arguments from the defense, the prosecution led by Letizia Ruggeri, and legal counsel representing the victim's family.
- Yara Gambirasio disappears from Brembate di Sopra.
- Victim's body is discovered three months after her disappearance.
- Massimo Bossetti receives a definitive life sentence.
- Defense is permitted to inspect 54 sample tubes containing DNA.
- Defense receives RIS photographs, electropherograms, and investigation records.
- Bergamo Court of Assizes rejects motion for new DNA analysis.
The defense technical filing
Defense attorneys Claudio Salvagni and Paolo Camporini presented arguments based on a technical report prepared by forensic geneticist Marzio Capra. The filing centered on two main pieces of evidence: biological sample 31G20, found on the victim's underwear and identified during the investigation as the mixed DNA profile labeled Ignoto 1, and genetic material identified on her jacket. Capra stated that high-resolution photographs supplied to the defense in June 2025 revealed chronological inconsistencies between when sample 31G20 was photographed and when the genetic profile was generated. Furthermore, the defense argued that visual evidence indicated the potential presence of seminal fluid on the jacket, requesting direct physical access for re-examination because original testing occurred four years before Bossetti was identified as a suspect.
Opposition from civil parties
The prosecution and civil party representatives opposed any reopening of forensic examinations on the preserved materials. Lawyers Enrico Pelillo and Andrea Pezzotta, representing the victim's parents, Maura Panarese and Fulvio Gambirasio, argued against permitting fresh scientific interventions on the evidence. Outside the courtroom, Pezzotta addressed reporters regarding the defense efforts to reopen the forensic aspects of the case.
They want to create a Garlasco 2, but we will do everything possible to prevent it.
Planned appeals and procedural history
Following the denial, the defense team confirmed it would challenge the ruling before higher courts. Salvagni noted that the defense had spent seven years seeking access to photographic records, pursued eight appeals before the Court of Cassation, and submitted more than 400 pages of execution-phase filings before securing Monday's hearing.
We have filed eight appeals, we will absolutely file the ninth.
Salvagni added that the defense team plans to bring the matter before the competent public prosecutor's office. Under previous rulings, the defense had been granted permission in May 2024 to inspect 54 sample tubes containing DNA material, followed in June 2025 by access to RIS Parma photographic files, electropherograms, and data from 25,000 reference DNA samples gathered during the original investigation. The court's rejection leaves Bossetti's life sentence unchanged while defense lawyers prepare their next appellate filing.
