Body of sports journalist found badly burnt in abandoned car

 ROME – The body of Italian sports journalist, Luigi Esposito, was found badly charred inside of a car abandoned amid burnt brush on the side of a farm track in Eboli, Salerno, police said.

 The body of Luigi “Luca” Esposito, 53, was found by firefighters responding to a vegetation fire caused by the car being set alight. The body was so badly charred that first responders could not immediately tell if it was that of a man or a woman.

 After finding shell casings near the car, the Salerno police initially said they believed Esposito was first shot and then his body was set on fire. However, an autopsy performed July 22 showed that the journalist had in fact not been shot and instead was "violently beaten", with fractures to his skull, his pelvis and various other parts of his body. Investigators have not ruled out the possibility that Esposito was burnt alive. 

 Carabinieri managed a breakthrough in the investigation after discovering Esposito’s abandoned car in a nearby area, linking the numberplate back to him before confirming the journalist had disappeared without a trace.

 Esposito worked as a freelance sports journalist for the newspaper La Città di Salerno and the TV station Otto Channel. He also was editor-in-chief of the website TuttoSalernitana, following Serie C team Salernitana.

 After his death, several of his colleagues in the sports journalism world commented on his role at the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPAC), however the ARPAC issued a statement denying any working relationship or involvement with Esposito.

 The location of his body has raised questions in the investigation. The day before his murder, he told colleagues he had been in Agropoli, he was originally from Nocera Inferiore and had been living in the Irno Valley. Esposito did not appear to have any ties to Eboli.

 CCTV footage from the surrounding areas in Eboli is being used to reconstruct the night of the murder. According to Corriere della Sera, one frame shows another man sitting with Esposito in the car, however the identity of this man is currently unknown. Esposito's mobile phone, which could contain documents useful for the investigation, is also missing. 

 The national president of the Order of Journalists, Carlo Bartoli, expressed “dismay and condolences over the brutal killing of our colleague.” 

 Investigations are ongoing into the motive for his murder.

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