At least eighty-one Italian mafia members were arrested over alleged association with the brutal murder of Maria Chindamo, a widow and a mother. She was killed in Limbadi on May 6, 2016, and the mafia gangsters were behind it. After her husband’s death, Maria was left with valuable land, and she tried to rebuild her life through business.
According to the investigation, she was attacked by ‘Ndrangheta in Vibo, Calabria, only because she “wanted to be a woman and a free entrepreneur.” The mafia brutally slaughtered her and then dismembered her body using a tractor, and then the remains were fed to the pigs.
A recent operation was launched against the infamous ‘Ndrangheta in Vibo by the anti-mafia police in Italy. It led to the prosecutors in charge of Maria’s case discovering some shocking evidence in relation to her murder. This new evidence provided greater insights into the horror the widow went through, as reported by The Mirror US.
“Maria Chindamo was killed exactly one year after her husband’s suicide when she allowed herself to post photos with her new partner. Two days after the shot, she was killed in an inhuman, tragic way,” Nicola Gratteri, the chief prosecutor of her case, told Fanpage.It.
“She killed and fed to pigs, and her remains ground up with a crawler tractor to make all traces disappear.”
The prosecutor added, “She was killed because she wanted to be a woman and a free entrepreneur [She] thought of becoming an entrepreneur, looking after the interests of the land and her children, and even enrolled in university.”
Il sorriso di Maria Chindamo. Per tutti quelli che dicono, con spocchia, che “le mafie non uccidono più”. Oppure per chi sostiene che “le mafie non uccidono donne e bambini”.
Lei, Maria Chindamo, soltanto 42 anni: sequestrata, uccisa e data in pasto ai maiali, dopo essere stata… pic.twitter.com/T7dBzRA1QC
— Paolo Borrometi (@paoloborrometi) January 7, 2025
Gratteri noted that the investigation gravely depended on intercepted communications. In addition, detectives also interviewed 18 informants who blew the whistle on some of their fellow mafia members who could be linked to the crimes against Maria. According to the prosecutor, these informants provided more specific details about what happened, which helped the authorities solidify the case further.
Vincenzo Chindamo, Maria’s brother, said, “There is a scene of justice in the area.” Expressing his relief, he said, “We are waiting to carefully read the documents of this segment of the investigation, but I would like to point out one thing immediately: having pursued the search for the truth about my sister’s killing for all these years, I finally have my results.”
He added, “I have never stopped believing in the work of the judiciary, even when there might have been some moments of discouragement. And what has emerged today is rewarding that perseverance.”
Gratteri, who dedicated most of his life fighting the ruthless ‘Ndrangheta, said, “They did not forgive her freedom and the management of the land she inherited, on which the appetites of a ‘Ndrangheta family rested. And also his new love. So Maria, three days after posting the photo with her new partner on social media, vanished into thin air.”
