Sports journalist shot and set on fire: murderer's identity sparks national outrage

Italian sports journalist Luca Esposito was apparently murdered by gunfire, after which a flammable substance was poured on his body and it was set on fire. On Sunday, several media outlets in Italy, including the Rai television station, reported that 53-year-old Esposito was found lifeless near the town of Eboli in the south of the country, and the prosecutor's office has begun an investigation.

Now, it has become clear who the murderer is: a 26-year-old Tunisian immigrant who has already confessed and managed to reenact the act. The suspect was then transferred to the prison in Salerno, where he is being held until the court hearing that will confirm his arrest.

"After the suspect was located and brought to the offices of the investigative unit of the Carabinieri command in the Salerno province, he decided to reenact what happened," an official statement said. "During an interrogation conducted by the prosecutor, who coordinated the investigation from its inception, and in the presence of his lawyer, he fully confessed and explained the motives for his actions."

"The man believed to be responsible for the murder of the Salerno journalist Luigi 'Luca' Esposito, found carbonized in Eboli, has been identified and detained. He is a 26-year-old, homeless."

The Tunisian immigrant was known to the authorities previously after he trespassed on an abandoned farm. The Carabinieri had a picture of him, and through a complex operation to locate his position using satellite means, it was determined that he was in the Cioppi area. After two days of searches, carried out with the assistance of the helicopter unit, the suspect was located. At first, he tried to escape, but when he realized he was surrounded, he barricaded himself inside the building until he was arrested. During the search of the building where he was hiding, Esposito's mobile phone and an electronic payment card belonging to him were also found.

According to the investigators' reconstruction, Esposito and the suspect had known each other for some time. The two spoke on the phone and then met on Saturday. During that meeting, a sharp argument developed between them, and for various reasons, the young man attacked Esposito with severe violence and beat him repeatedly, until he caused fractures in several parts of his body. After that, he set his body on fire using plastic sheets, a blanket, and dry branches. The autopsy revealed that at that stage, Esposito was still alive.

Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Matteo Salvini, responded to the arrest and wrote on the X network: "Thanks to the police forces for the quick arrest of the murderer. Now let him go to prison in his own country, not here at the expense of Italian taxpayers."

In a post he published, he added: "A breakthrough in the investigation. The murderer of journalist Luca Esposito is an illegal immigrant from Tunisia. He was hiding on an abandoned farm. Now it is urgent, as the 'League' party has been proposing for a long time, to deploy thousands of soldiers to protect our cities. No decent person should be afraid of seeing men and women in uniform everywhere."

"Thanks to the Law Enforcement Forces for the rapid capture of this murderer. Now let him go to prison in his country, not here at the expense of the Italians."

Esposito was a well-known sports journalist and commentator who worked for the newspaper La Città di Salerno, the Otto Channel television station, and also independently managed the website Tuttosalernitana.com.

Earlier this week, the European Federation of Journalists published a statement calling for a comprehensive investigation to determine whether the murder was related to Esposito's journalistic work. In the statement, the federation also expressed its condolences to his family and loved ones.