Rimini, September 16, 2026 – Three months after the acquittal of Louis Dassilva, investigators return to where it all began. This morning, Wednesday, public prosecutor Daniele Paci and the men of the Rimini mobile squad carried out a new inspection at via del Ciclamino 31, the condominium where on the evening of October 3, 2023, Pierina Paganelli was killed.
The starting point was once again the underground garage, the scene of the murder of the 78-year-old retiree. A return to the crime scene comes while the first instance trial ended with Dassilva’s acquittal “for not having committed the act” and the Prosecutor’s Office is already preparing the way for the appeal. Dassilva, after 694 days spent in prison, has returned to freedom and to his work.
Where the investigations were carried out
However, this morning’s investigations were not limited to the garage. The prosecutor and investigators also revisited the man’s route captured by the so-called Cam 3 of the San Martino pharmacy, one of the most debated points of the entire investigation.
This is the area covered by the camera under which, according to the reconstruction carried out by the prosecution, Dassilva would have passed a few minutes after the murder. A piece that had significant weight in the investigative framework, but which had already sparked a tough confrontation before the trial began. An expert report ordered by the Rimini Court had indeed questioned that reconstruction, reaching conclusions incompatible with the identification of the man filmed with Dassilva.
Now the investigators have returned there. They retraced those meters and re-examined the places, at a very delicate stage of the case. However, to fully understand the meaning of the new investigations, one will have to wait. At the moment, there are no elements to talk about a new lead or a new suspect.
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Where the investigation stands
The picture remains that of the investigation that led to the trial against Dassilva and his subsequent acquittal. The Rimini Prosecutor’s Office has already announced its intention to appeal the sentence, while the judges’ motivations are not yet available. Their filing is expected by December 7, after an extension granted beyond the initially scheduled deadlines. The Prosecutor’s intention to appeal was announced right after the verdict.
It is therefore plausible that the inspections and new technical investigations serve to re-examine some of the steps of the old investigation in view of the future battle before the Bologna Court of Assizes of Appeal. Any new elements could indeed enter the procedural confrontation that will open after the filing of the motivations and the presentation of the appeal.
Opening a new file is unlikely
It is more difficult, at the current state, to hypothesize the opening of a new file against unknown persons for Pierina’s murder. There are currently no elements pointing in this direction. What is certain is that, despite the first instance acquittal, the case of via del Ciclamino is far from closed. And almost three years after the murder, the Prosecutor’s Office and investigators have once again returned to the garage where Pierina was killed with 29 stab wounds.
