Have you heard about suitcase crime?

On October 7, 1928, Massilia steam was preparing to set sail from the port of Santos. When it was hoisted to the ship, one of the cargoes eventually broke and, thus, dropping a very heavy suitcase (one of those old wooden chests that resemble many chests). As it fell, the suitcase was damaged, opening a small crack, from which a dark liquid with an unbearable smell dripped.

Startled, the sailors opened the suitcase and discovered inside it the corpse of a girl, already in an advanced state of decomposition, the razor used in the crime and the fetus of a 6-month-old girl. The autopsy later revealed that the death was caused by asphyxiation; Then his neck and spine were broken and his legs were cut at the knee.

When faced with the suitcase, the sailors promptly called the police, who soon began investigating the crime. The suitcase was on its way to France for a sender who had nothing to do with it, and was placed on the ship by three Romanians, who were paid to dispatch it.

Unraveling the story

The investigation led police to Sao Paulo and an Italian named Giuseppe Pistone and his wife, Maria Féa - the girl found in the suitcase.

Maria Fea and Giuseppe Pistone met 3 years earlier aboard a ship from Italy to Argentina. The two were married in February 1928 and moved to Brazil.

In Sao Paulo, he went to work at a cousin's shop, who he wanted to become a partner in, saying he had part of his father's inheritance to receive. But the truth is that not only had Giuseppe already received this inheritance, but he had also spent it on tours, travel and the like.

In order to try to get society, he wrote a telegram to his mother in Italy, asking for the amount. Even though his mother refused to give it to him, Giuseppe insisted to his cousin that there was money to be received, intending to extort him later.

Maria Féa, knowing this, wrote a letter to her mother-in-law telling the whole truth about her husband's conduct. And it was at this point that everything went off for her at once. On October 4, Giuseppe discovered his wife's letter, lost his mind, and smothered it with a pillow.

When caught by the police, Giuseppe confessed to the crime but told a different story for his motivation. Pistone told police he was coming home when he saw a man hurrying out, and upon entering the room he found his wife "uncomfortable." The discovery would have made him run wild, move on her and choke her with a pillow.

This version was denied by the alleged lover of Mary, who claimed to have never had anything with the girl. In fact, he was only known to Pistone for working in a tailor shop where he would have had some suits made.

Outcome

Giuseppe was sentenced in July 1931 to 31 years in jail, but his sentence was found to be served in November 1948. Upon leaving prison, he found employment as a janitor and remarried. He died in 1956 at the age of 62.

Maria Féa, who died at the age of 21, is buried in the Cemetery of Philosophy in Santos, and her tomb became a place of religious pilgrimage. The crime bag is on display at the Crime Museum in the city of São Paulo.