75-year-old man kills wife and attempts suicide in Benevento province on Ferragosto

The incident

A 75-year-old retired man, Faustino Cardillo, stabbed and killed his wife, Maria D'Alessandro, during an argument at their home in Sant'Angelo a Cupolo, in the province of Benevento, on the afternoon of 15 August 2026, the Ferragosto holiday. The attack occurred around 14:30 inside the couple's villetta in via Capasso Torre di Caprara, in the Pastene fraction of the municipality. No other people were present in the house at the time, and the motives remain under investigation.

The incident began as a discussion between the two spouses, both 75 years old and both retired, inside the walls of their home. The situation escalated rapidly when Cardillo grabbed a kitchen knife found in the house and attacked his wife, stabbing her violently and striking her multiple times. Maria D'Alessandro died on the spot from the severity of her wounds. When carabinieri reached the villetta, Cardillo turned the weapon on himself, attempting to cut his veins, but was rapidly blocked and disarmed by the officers.

Emergency response and medical care

The 118 emergency number was called immediately after the stabbing, but when paramedics reached the villetta, there was nothing they could do for Maria D'Alessandro. The medical personnel could only confirm her death at the scene. Her body was found lying on a sofa inside the house, where the attack had taken place. Cardillo was medicated on the spot for the wounds to his wrists and then loaded into an ambulance that immediately departed for the Rummo hospital in Benevento. He was admitted in serious condition and placed under arrest, receiving care from the hospital's medical staff while in custody.

The victim's body was transferred to the San Pio hospital morgue in Benevento, awaiting autopsy to be performed by medical examiner Emilio D'Oro.

Investigation and background

The investigation is led by prosecutor Maria Colucci, with carabinieri from the Compagnia di Benevento handling the case. Investigators are working to reconstruct the exact dynamics of the incident and determine the motive behind the argument that preceded the killing. According to information gathered by investigators, Cardillo had recently undergone a neurological examination and had been showing an evident state of malaise for several days prior to the incident, to the point of seeking specialist medical attention. The specific reasons for the argument between the spouses remain under scrutiny, and the full reconstruction of events is still ongoing. The carabinieri are examining the scene and gathering evidence from the villetta.

The couple and discrepancies

Cardillo and D'Alessandro were both 75 years old and retired, though one account gives the victim's age as 76. They lived in a villetta in the Pastene fraction of Sant'Angelo a Cupolo, a municipality in the Sannio hills of Campania, in the province of Benevento. The perpetrator's surname appears in some accounts as "Cardino" rather than "Cardillo."