
After 17 years of mystery, Italian authorities have discovered the head of a corpse, which was found on February 21, 2008 inside a cardboard box on the edge of the Brennero motorway.
The case, which had remained unsolved for years by the Bolzano prosecutor's office, has now taken a new turn thanks to investigations by German authorities and cooperation with Italian colleagues.
"La Repubblica" reports that the body has recently been identified as Mustafa Sahin, a young man killed in Germany by his father-in-law, Alfonso Porpora, 61.
The latter had never accepted his daughter's relationship with Sahin, despite forcing her to marry him after she became pregnant.
According to investigators, the murder took place in the German town of Sontheim an der Brenz, where Porpora then loaded the body into a car and abandoned it near the highway in Italy.
He recounted the incident during a stint in prison in Germany, where he is also convicted of two other murders: another partner of the girl and a 59-year-old man to whom he had rented an apartment.
However, Porpora never admitted to cutting off the victim's head and did not provide any information about its location.
The discovery of the head was made by chance by the new owner of the house where the perpetrator once lived. He found a skull under some concrete slabs, which investigators suspect belongs to Sahin. DNA tests and other forensic examinations will be carried out to confirm the identity.
The serious case has shocked public opinion in Italy and Germany, while authorities hope that they will soon have enough evidence to finally close this matter that has lasted almost two decades.