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Murder of Sarah Scazzi

SOLVED2010Avetrana, Province of Taranto, Italy3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

Fifteen-year-old Sarah Scazzi, a hotel-management student, was reported missing by her mother on 26 August 2010 in Avetrana, in the province of Taranto, Italy. She had left home around 2:30 p.m. to visit her cousin Sabrina Misseri, a few hundred metres away, intending to go to the seaside with her and a friend.

Early media coverage focused heavily on Sarah's private life, including her diary and Facebook profile, and some coverage suggested she might have run away. Her family, including Sabrina, publicly supported the kidnapping theory and made television appeals for her return. Investigators initially explored the possibility that she had been lured away by someone she met online.

On 29 September 2010, Sarah's mobile phone was found partially burned in a field near her home by her uncle, Michele Misseri, who claimed he could find his niece, drawing suspicion toward him. On 6 October 2010, after an interrogation lasting about nine hours, Misseri confessed to killing Sarah. He initially said the killing followed an attempted rape, a claim he later retracted after the autopsy found no evidence of sexual violence. He led investigators to a water-collection well in the Contrada Mosca countryside, where Sarah's body was recovered. The discovery was announced live on the Rai program Chi l'ha visto?, with Sarah's mother present as a guest. Sarah was buried on 9 October 2010 at the municipal cemetery of Avetrana.

Misseri subsequently revised his account several times. On 15 October 2010, he implicated his daughter, Sabrina, saying Sarah had died during an argument. Sabrina was arrested the next day on charges of complicity in murder. Investigators attributed her motive to jealousy over Sabrina's relationship with a young chef the cousins both knew. On 26 May 2011, Sabrina's mother, Cosima Serrano, was arrested on charges of complicity in murder and kidnapping. A key piece of evidence was the testimony of a florist who initially said he saw two women forcing Sarah into a car, though he later expressed uncertainty about whether he had witnessed this or dreamed it; courts at the first two levels found his account credible.

The trial opened before the Corte d'Assise of Taranto on 10 January 2012. On 20 April 2013, the court sentenced Sabrina Misseri and Cosima Serrano to life imprisonment for Sarah's murder, and Michele Misseri to eight years for suppression of a corpse and tampering with evidence; other relatives received shorter sentences for helping conceal the body. The Court of Assizes of Appeal of Taranto confirmed these sentences on 27 July 2015, and the Supreme Court of Cassation confirmed them on 21 February 2017, along with shorter sentences for other defendants convicted of aiding and abetting.

In its written reasoning, the Court of Cassation found that Sabrina Misseri and Cosima Serrano killed Sarah and staged her disappearance as a stranger kidnapping while helping to conceal her body. The court found that the strangulation, carried out with a belt, showed no sign of a struggle, indicating it required two people acting together, and that only Sabrina Misseri and Cosima Serrano were in the house at the time. The court described Sabrina's public appeals for Sarah's return as part of a deliberate strategy to mislead the investigation. In 2024, the European Court of Human Rights ruled an appeal filed by the two women inadmissible. Michele Misseri was released from prison in February 2024, having served a reduced sentence, and has since said in television interviews that he alone was responsible for Sarah's death.

Key facts

Victims
Sarah Scazzi
Date
2010
Location
Avetrana, Province of Taranto, Italy
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2010-08-26

    Sarah Scazzi disappears after leaving home to visit her cousin Sabrina Misseri; her mother reports her missing.

  2. 2010-09-29

    Sarah's mobile phone is found partially burned in a field near her home by her uncle, Michele Misseri.

  3. 2010-10-06

    Michele Misseri confesses to killing Sarah and leads investigators to her body, hidden in a well in the Contrada Mosca countryside.

  4. 2010-10-09

    Sarah Scazzi is buried at the municipal cemetery of Avetrana.

  5. 2010-10-15

    Michele Misseri revises his account and implicates his daughter, Sabrina Misseri, saying Sarah died during an argument.

  6. 2010-10-16

    Sabrina Misseri is arrested on charges of complicity in murder.

  7. 2011-05-26

    Cosima Serrano, Sabrina Misseri's mother, is arrested on charges of complicity in murder and kidnapping.

  8. 2012-01-10

    Trial opens before the Corte d'Assise of Taranto, with Sabrina Misseri, Cosima Serrano, and Michele Misseri as defendants.

  9. 2013-04-20

    The Court of Assizes of Taranto sentences Sabrina Misseri and Cosima Serrano to life imprisonment for murder; Michele Misseri is sentenced to eight years for complicity in suppression of a corpse.

  10. 2015-07-27

    The Court of Assizes of Appeal of Taranto confirms the life sentences for Sabrina Misseri and Cosima Serrano and the eight-year sentence for Michele Misseri.

  11. 2017-02-21

    The Supreme Court of Cassation confirms the life sentences for Sabrina Misseri and Cosima Serrano and the sentence for Michele Misseri, finalizing the convictions.

  12. 2024-02-11

    Michele Misseri is released from prison after serving a reduced sentence.

  13. 2024-11-29

    The European Court of Human Rights rules that an appeal filed by Sabrina Misseri and Cosima Serrano is inadmissible.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Sarah Scazzi

    VICTIM

    Fifteen-year-old student strangled in Avetrana on 26 August 2010.

  • Sabrina Misseri

    CONVICTED

    Victim's cousin; convicted of Sarah's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 21 February 2017.

  • Carmine Misseri

    CONVICTED

    Michele Misseri's brother; convicted of complicity in concealment of a corpse, sentenced to 4 years and 11 months per the Supreme Court of Cassation's 21 February 2017 ruling.

  • Vito Russo Jr.

    CONVICTED

    Sabrina Misseri's former lawyer; convicted of personal aiding and abetting, sentenced to one year and four months, confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 21 February 2017.

  • Cosima Serrano

    CONVICTED

    Victim's aunt and Sabrina Misseri's mother; convicted of complicity in murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 21 February 2017.

  • Michele Misseri

    CONVICTED

    Victim's uncle and Sabrina Misseri's father; convicted of suppression of a corpse and tampering with evidence, sentenced to 8 years, confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 21 February 2017.

  • Giuseppe Nigro

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of personal aiding and abetting, sentenced to one year and four months, confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 21 February 2017.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Avetrana, Province of Taranto, Italy

40.3433, 17.7284

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Fifteen-year-old Sarah Scazzi was strangled in Avetrana, Italy, on 26 August 2010 by her cousin Sabrina Misseri and aunt Cosima Serrano, who staged her disappearance as a kidnapping while her uncle Michele Misseri helped conceal the body. Sabrina Misseri and Cosima Serrano were sentenced to life imprisonment, a verdict the Supreme Court of Cassation confirmed on 21 February 2017.
Where did the murder happen?
Avetrana, Province of Taranto, Italy.
Who was convicted?
Sabrina Misseri (Victim's cousin; convicted of Sarah's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 21 February 2017.), Carmine Misseri (Michele Misseri's brother; convicted of complicity in concealment of a corpse, sentenced to 4 years and 11 months per the Supreme Court of Cassation's 21 February 2017 ruling.), Vito Russo Jr. (Sabrina Misseri's former lawyer; convicted of personal aiding and abetting, sentenced to one year and four months, confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 21 February 2017.), Cosima Serrano (Victim's aunt and Sabrina Misseri's mother; convicted of complicity in murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 21 February 2017.), Michele Misseri (Victim's uncle and Sabrina Misseri's father; convicted of suppression of a corpse and tampering with evidence, sentenced to 8 years, confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 21 February 2017.), and Giuseppe Nigro (Convicted of personal aiding and abetting, sentenced to one year and four months, confirmed by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 21 February 2017.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in Italy

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICMurder of Sarah ScazziWikipedia · 2026-07-12
  2. PRESSMichele Misseri released from prison: 'I didn't want to leave — I'm the guilty one, two innocents are in jail'Il Fatto Quotidiano · 2026-07-12
  3. PRESSSarah Scazzi case — Bari Repubblica coverage, 20 April 2013la Repubblica (Bari) · 2026-07-12

Record history

First published
JUL 13, 2026