Unresolved Mysteries

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The original was posted on /r/unresolvedmysteries by /u/elmermarijo on 2023-12-30 14:05:28+00:00.

INTRODUCTION

1983 ended as a dark year in the history of Rome, with the disappearances of Mirella Gregori and Emanuela Orlandi along with the disappearances and deaths of other young people, 1984 would also hold a tragedy in its first month.

Catherine Skerl, was an "ordinary" 17 year old girl, daughter of a Swedish horror film director named Peter Skerl. at the time of her death, she lived with her mother and older brother in Rome, Italy.

Saturday, January 21, 1984, Katty leaves the house with a bag to go to a party. She is in the company of her brother Marco, with whom she arrives at a friend's house in Largo Cartesio.She arrives at the party around 4:30 pm, and is one of the first to leave, around 6:30 pm. She was going to spend the night at her friend Angela L.'s house, so they could have a snow day the next day in Campo Felice.

The two girls agreed to meet at the Lúcio Sestio stop, but Katty is late and the meeting place is an hour away, by public transport from where she is.

After leaving the party, she would have to face rain and darkness to get to the bus stop. Katty even insisted multiple times that her brother accompany her, but he categorically refused to leave the party.

Francesco Morini, her boyfriend who she met 21 days before on New Year's Eve, offered several times to accompany her, but she refused, he was worried as it was already dark but she was direct and replied: "no, I want to go alone"

Her friend Angela, with whom she had an appointment at 7pm, arrives at the subway station 15 minutes late. She reports to a journalist from Messaggero, that she waits half an hour for her friend. He then calls Skerl's house, where one of her brothers answers, because her hasn't come home yet. Upon hearing the news that her friend is not there, instead of waiting for her, assuming a possible, or rather probable, delay, Angela returns to her home.

It's 1984. Cell phones don't exist and public transport, then as today, is not exactly our national pride. Katty and Angela have a date at 7pm. Angela is at Lucio Sestio's house at 7:15 pm. He waits until 7:30 p.m., calls Skerl's house and leaves. Even though she could assume she was traveling, she doesn't expect that friend who has to sleep at her house and with whom she has to spend Sunday in the snow and who, after all, is only 30 minutes late.

From what her brother will report, after the 7:30 pm call, Angela will only call to check on her friend at 10:30 pm.

The lifeless body of Catherine Skerl was found at 9:30 on the morning of Sunday, January 22, 1984, among the rows of a vineyard in Grottaferrata, in via Rocca di Papá, 29 km away from home. He was found by a farmer, owner of neighboring land, Mr. Angelo Urbanelli. The land where the discovery was made is owned by Mrs. Renata Tuzi, whose house overlooks the land planted with vineyards in front. Mrs. Tuzi usually sleeps late, that night she was also awake, with the lights on, as she reported to the police. The old woman claims to have neither seen nor heard anything, and she is right: Tuzi is deaf and almost completely blind.

Curious, don't you think? It has been said several times that the killer knows that place. It's not even a road, it's a rural path with difficult access. Even less at night, even less in the rain. Ms Tuzi told investigators that she was in her kitchen – which overlooks the countryside – until late at night and with the light on. Tuzi may be blind, but not our killer. There are many vineyards and fields around, but there are actually no other permanent residents. Why then stop at the only place that is evidently inhabited?

The only answer I could get was that he knew the lady very well, that she was always alone and that her blindness and deafness made her completely harmless. The light from the window could help you not forget possible clues. Furthermore, there could have been someone on the holidaymakers' farms, even if it was a remote hypothesis.

THE BODY

Katty's body has marks and multiple bruises on her skull, she was strangled with a double twist of wire around her neck, and with the red strap of her bag, found a few meters away.There are no signs of rape . The white shirt, pants and black coat are in order. The swollen face was pressed with the foot into a puddle, so that the murder was committed by asphyxiation . The ribs and some vertebrae were broken by the killer's weight and strength. According to the legist she was killed between 10 and 11 p.m on the evening of January 21.

Unfortunately, despite several hypotheses, Skerl's case remained forgotten for years, until in 2018, it was discovered that her coffin had been stolen from the cemetery where she was buried. As a result, her family requested the opening of a new investigation that still is in progress.

QUESTIONS

• Why did she want to be accompanied only by her brother and refused to be accompanied by her boyfriend? Was there something she wanted to confide in just him?

-What path does Katty take? Where does she meet her killer? Many researchers do not think the idea of a ride, especially from a stranger, is likely.

-Why did her brother and friends, when questioned at the police station, give different times than Francesco? In fact, the boy reports that he arrived at the party at around 5 pm and that Skerl arrived 45 minutes later, therefore at 5:45 pm. The girl leaves her house in Largo Cartesio at 6:30 pm. Considering all this, he will only be at the party for three quarters of an hour. The version of the others present agrees with the time at which he said goodbye, 6:30 pm, but states that the girl is at Laura's house at 4:30 pm, that is, half an hour before Francesco.-

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