Leonarda Cianciulli was a horrific serial killer that used her victims bodies to make teacakes and soaps. Not a fun way to start this post, but it is what it is.
Leonardo Cianciulli was born on April 18, 1894 in Montella, Avellino, Kingdom of Italy. Cianciulli had anything but a happy childhood. Her birth was the product of rape and Cianciulli's mother was forced to marry her rapist since she became pregnant with his child. Which led to her mother emotionally and physically abusing young Cianciulli. Her childhood took such a toll on her that Cianciulli tried to commit suicide on two different incidents at a very young age.
Her tragic life continued even when she left her parents home. In 1917, Cianciulli married a much older registry clerk Raffaele Pansardi. Cianciulli believed their marriage was cursed from beginning since her mother did not approve of their marriage. Cianciulli became pregnant 17 times, 3 of those pregnancies unfortunately ended in miscarriages, 10 of her other children died in youth, which led to her becoming a very over protective mother to her surviving children. The tragedy her family suffered did not end there.
The family's money trouble started to increase as their family was growing. In 1927, found herself in jail due to fraud. Through my research, I was unable to find what exactly she did to end up in jail, but I could only imagine she was trying to make money for her family and was resorting to anything possible to give her family a good life. Once she was released from jail, Cianciulli and her family moved to Lacedonia.
More tragedy struck Cianciulli and her family in 1930, when a earthquake (still described as one of the most destructive earthquakes in Italian history) caused her home and much of the village to collapse. Thousands of homes were lost. With this new loss, Cianciulli decided that her and her family needed another fresh start, so they moved to Correggio.
In Correggio, the family started to have some real financial security. Their new life, allowed Cianciulli to opened her soap shop. Her shop became a staple of the village creating a very comfortable life for the now well respected family.
Then in 1939, WWII began with Italy looking to join on the side of Germany. Cianciulli's eldest son Giuseppe Pansardi (which many reported to also be her favorite of the surviving children) was drafted into the Italian military. This led Cianciulli down her twisted path. She started to believe that the only way she could protect her son while he was fighting in the war, would be to sacrifice humans. Not sure how she jumped to this conclusion, but nevertheless, she thought that was her only option. Some reports state that the believing her mothers curse on her marriage and the death of her 10 children led to her become extremely superstitious and this superstition led to the belief that human sacrifice was her only option.
With this mind set she set to find her victims. Her first victim was a village spinster Faustina Setti. Cianciulli was able to lure Setti to her home by tell Setti that she had found a husband for her. She advised Setti to write her family and let them know she was going to meet this man abroad. Cianciulli then served Setti drugged wine and waiting for Setti to pass out. Once Setti hit the floor, Cianciulli began to hit Setti with an axe. She then proceeded to chop Setti up into nine pieces:
She later confessed:
"I threw the pieces into a pot, added seven kilos of caustic soda, which I had bought to make soap, and stirred the whole mixture until the pieces dissolved in a thick, dark mush that I poured into several buckets and emptied in a nearby septic tank.”
“As for the blood in the basin, I waited until it had coagulated, dried it in the oven, ground it and mixed it with flour, sugar, chocolate, milk and eggs, as well as a bit of margarine, kneading all the ingredients together. I made lots of crunchy tea cakes and served them to the ladies who came to visit, though Giuseppe and I also ate them."
Cianciulli was able to lure her second victim in a similar way as Setti. She promised Francesca Soavi, that she found a job in all girls school in Piacenza. Like Setti, Soavi sent letters to her family and friends detailing her plans of moving and taking this new career. Before Soavi took off on her new adventure, she stopped by Cianciulli house for a final farewell and a thank you. She would never leave to Piacenza as Cianciulli drugged the wine they shared and took an axe to Soavi's head. Soavi body was turned into the same soaps as Setti's.
Her final victim was Virginia Cacioppo. Cianciulli claimed to have a job for her as a secretary for a mysterious producer. Like the first two victims, Cacioppo had to keep her new job a secret. When she arrived at Cianciulli's the day before her supposed trip, she met the same fate. Drugged wine and an axe. The only difference between the first two and Cacioppo, Cacioppo's body was melted down.
All the victims were turned into soap and victims of cannibalisms. Cianciulli made over 50,000 lire off the soaps she sold. She also sold the victims clothing and jewelry.
Families of the victim became suspicious, especially the sister in law of Cacioppo. She last saw Cacioppo walking into the house of Cianciulli and reported it to the authorities who quickly arrested Cianciulli.
When Cianciulli was initially arrested, she denied being involved. After, she finally confessed, she became almost cocky about her crimes. While on trial, she would correct the lawyers, witnesses and even the official record of her crimes. Cianciulli was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison and two years in an insane asylum. While in the asylum, at the age of 76, Cianciulli died. The evidence collected at the scene of the crime, including the pot used to melt down the victims, is on display at the crime museum in Rome.
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