Italian court sentences Salvatore Ocone to life imprisonment for killing wife and son with rock

Court ruling in Benevento

The Court of Assizes of Benevento sentenced 59-year-old Salvatore Ocone to life imprisonment on Wednesday, exactly one year after the fatal attacks on his family. The first-instance ruling accepted the full sentencing demand submitted by Benevento Chief Prosecutor Nicola D'Angelo. Judges also ordered eight months of daytime solitary isolation alongside standard statutory accessory penalties for the defendant. Ocone had previously confessed to investigators that he carried out the fatal attacks inside the family residence. The two surviving children, including the daughter who survived the assault and the 23-year-old eldest son, sat in the courtroom to hear the verdict.

The assault and flight to Molise

The killings took place during the early morning hours of 30 September 2025 in the town of Paupisi, located in the province of Benevento south of Naples. Ocone attacked his 49-year-old wife Elisa Polcino and their 15-year-old son Cosimo with a large stone while they were asleep in the home. He also struck his teenage daughter Antonia with the heavy rock, causing life-threatening cranial trauma. After the assault, the defendant placed Cosimo and the critically injured Antonia into his personal vehicle and fled across regional boundaries toward Molise. Carabinieri officers apprehended Ocone nearly 12 hours later while he was wandering across agricultural fields near Ferrazzano in the province of Campobasso. Investigators discovered the 15-year-old boy dead inside the vehicle, while emergency medical personnel transported Antonia for immediate neurosurgery.

Medical recovery and psychological evaluation

Antonia was admitted to the Neuromed Institute in Pozzilli, where medical staff kept her in an induced pharmacological coma for several days following cranial surgery. She completed six months of specialized hospital care and physical rehabilitation before returning home in March 2026. Her 23-year-old brother, who had escaped the assault because he was away working in Rimini on the night of the crime, received her upon her release. Medical records presented during the proceedings documented that Ocone had a history of severe depression, past treatment for chronic psychosis, and a compulsory medical treatment order dating back to 2011. During pre-trial psychiatric evaluations, Ocone stated to doctors that he had killed his wife because he believed she was possessed by the devil. The court-appointed psychiatric expert determined that the defendant maintained his core psychological faculties and was fully capable of understanding and intending his actions at the time of the killings.

Defense reaction and next steps

Defense attorney Giovanni Santoro had formally asked the Court of Assizes to order a renewed psychiatric assessment to re-evaluate the defendant's mental state during the crimes, but the bench rejected the motion. The defense team confirmed to reporters from the LaPresse news agency that it would examine the formal judicial justification once published before deciding on procedural next steps.

We will wait for the reasoning and to understand the fundamental reason for the rejection of our request, and then evaluate an eventual appeal.

Santoro did not rule out filing an appeal before the appellate court once the complete written motivation of the sentence becomes available. The life sentence concludes the first-instance judicial phase in Benevento.