The Monster of Florence and the real-life mystery of a 'ritualistic serial murderer'

The Monster of Florence is on Netflix and the limited series tells the story of a serial killer who targets couples and strikes terror in Italy.

With the killer on the loose, authorities explore a case from 1968 that may be key to finding The Monster of Florence.

The name was coined by the Italian press for an unidentified serial killer who was active between 1968 and 1985.

The Monster killed 16 victims, who were usually young couples in secluded wooded areas.

Despite the nickname, none of the murders were actually committed in Florence itself.

An investigation was launched by the Florence Prosecutor's Office in the early 1990s and several connected people were convicted for their involvement.

However, the identity of the main perpetrator remains a mystery and their motives remain unclear.

Some people were sent to trial and served time for the crimes, including Mario Vanni and Giancarlo Lotti, who were convicted of four of the eight double murders committed.

Multiple weapons had been used including a handgun and knife, and in half of the incidents, a large portion of the skin surrounding sexual organs was taken from the bodies of the female victims.

Espresso Media branded the case as involving "the ritualistic serial murder of eight young couples in the country lanes around Florence".

The Monster case was the first known case of serial murders against couples in Italy and was often called the first modern serial killer case in the country.

The victims included Antonio Lo Bianco (29) and Barbara Locci (32), Pasquale Gentilcore (19) and Stefania Pettini (18), Giovanni Foggi (30) and Carmela De Nuccio (21), Stefano Baldi (26) and Susanna Cambi (24), Paolo Mainardi (22) and Antonella Migliorini (20), Wilhelm Friedrich Horst Meyer (24) and Jens Uwe Rüsch (24), Claudio Stefanacci (21) and Pia Gilda Rontini (18), and Jean Michel Kraveichvili (25) and Nadine Mauriot (36).

It was not until the murders of Foggi and De Nuccio in 1981 that the police realised the killings were connected.

After digging out an article about the Gentilcore-Pettini murder from 1974, police performed a ballistics test and confirmed the same gun had been used.

Due to the complexity of the case, the Monster of Florence has become part of popular culture, with films and TV shows like Hannibal and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders taking inspiration.

The Monster of Florence is on Netflix