A Satan-obsessed bricklayer in Italy tortured and murdered his family to ‘deliver’ them from the devil, it has emerged.
Giovanni Barreca murdered his wife, gagged his sons with rags, tied them in chains, beat them with a poker and strangled them with electrical wires.
It is believed his 17-year-old daughter, who was found hiding in her bedroom in a state of shock several days later, may have been drugged and forced to watch.
Barreca, convinced there was a demon in the house that needed to be expelled, began his sadistic rampage by killing his wife Antonella Salamone, 40, burning her body and dumping her charred remains in the backyard.
The murders, which took place in Altavilla Milicia, near Palermo, are said to have lasted several days, with Barreca passing over to his two sons, aged five and sixteen.
Using a fireplace poker and electrical wires, the deranged killer mercilessly beat and strangled his children and then buried them under several inches of dirt next to their mother.
Giovanni Barreca confessed to killing his wife and two sons a day after killing the latter
A day after the brothers were believed to have been murdered, Barreca turned himself in to the Carabinieri (Italian police) on Saturday, saying: “I killed my family, I’m waiting for you to come get me… was a demon in the house.”
An autopsy on the three victims will be performed on Saturday to determine the exact cause of death.
Salamone’s body was so badly charred and her murder so brutal that it is thought her exact cause of death may not be able to be determined.
Neighbors of the family reported to police and told them that Barreca had a complete obsession with Satan and would send them text messages about his deceptive satanic beliefs.
One of these beliefs was that cats are animals of the devil.
A witness, Salvatore Turco, who runs a private post office in the village, told reporters from the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that he has reason to believe that Barreca did not act alone.
Turco described him as a “gentle” person.
He said, “He must have been excited.”
Turco told reporters that given Barreca’s slim build, he could not have done what he is accused of on his own.
A couple, dubbed “religious fanatics” by locals and believed to be friends of Barreca, have since been accused of being complicit in the murders.
The couple, Massimo Carandente and Sabrina Fina, who Barreca originally met at an evangelical church, have been arrested on suspicion of complicity.
The police were able to track them down via Barreca’s telephone.
Carandente’s Facebook profile is full of religious slogans such as “Satan uses corrupt pastors” and “When the people pray, the devil trembles.”
Fina is said to be a ‘self-proclaimed mental coach’.
The couple, both from Palermo, were taken to the prosecutor’s office and face multiple murder charges.
Photos from the crime scene show police tape across the road in front of the family home, as well as police gathered outside some police vehicles
The killer is said to have believed that the house was haunted by a demon and that he had to banish it by killing his family.
Police are investigating whether the teenager was drugged and forced to watch the massacre, La Stampa reports, and have spoken to the girl.
She told the Italian newspaper La Stampa La Stampa: ‘He wanted to free us from the devil.’
“My father was convinced the house was haunted by the devil.”
The 17-year-old is currently being cared for in a sheltered community.