Police search Pietracatella home of ricin victims before it is released from seizure

Police return to the house

Officers from the Campobasso police headquarters arrived outside the Di Vita family home in Pietracatella shortly after 9 on the morning of 6 November 2026. At least ten officers were present, with operations coordinated by Marco Graziano, head of the Campobasso Squadra Mobile. Gianni Di Vita, the husband and father of the two dead women, arrived at 9:30. Reports said the house is expected to be released from seizure once the search is over.

The deaths and the investigation

The 50-year-old mother and her 15-year-old daughter were found dead between 27 and 28 December 2025 after ricin poisoning, which Rai News linked to a meal. Police had already entered the house while it was under seizure in December, again in January and once more during the summer. No official suspects have been named so far. Prosecutors from Larino and the Campobasso Squadra Mobile lead the inquiry, and Gianni Di Vita has been questioned by prosecutors.

A father who wants the truth

Gianni Di Vita, the former mayor of Pietracatella, spoke to the Rai 1 programme La Vita in Diretta and to the Molise broadcaster Teleregione. He said he is not afraid of the investigation because he has nothing to hide:

“I am not afraid of anything because I have nothing to hide. I just want this story to end as soon as possible.”

He also said he hopes the deaths were not a crime, and he explained his reasoning in terms of his own family:

“I do not want it to have been a murder; for me it would be a second tragedy.”

He said the family has moved four times in ten months and left Pietracatella so that the couple's other daughter could take her final school exams in Campobasso. He described himself as not formally a suspect, and complained that the press publishes a new story almost every day, including one about a secret the 15-year-old had kept and another about a politician said to be involved. He asked whether he could correct, every day, what the press invents or reconstructs.

What comes next

The search on 6 November is the latest in a series of police visits to the house, and it is expected to end the seizure of the property. Whether the search turns up anything new has not been reported. The inquiry remains open, and the cause of the deaths is still described in the coverage as ricin poisoning under investigation.