Danilo Restivo

Danilo Restivo (born 3 April 1972) is an Italian convicted murderer and suspected serial killer. Restivo is serving a life sentence with a 40-year tariff for murdering his neighbour Heather Barnett in Bournemouth, England, in November 2002.

Investigators' suspicions that Restivo had murdered Barnett were raised because of his alleged involvement in the 1993 disappearance of Elisa Claps in Potenza, Italy; he was not charged due to insufficient evidence. Subsequent to the 2010 discovery of Claps's body, Restivo was tried for the murder of Barnett, with evidence of similarities in ritualistic placing of hair on the bodies of Claps and Barnett being heard by the English court. He was found guilty of murdering Barnett, and later found guilty for murdering Claps by an Italian court. He is additionally suspected of committing at least six or seven further murders.

Background Danilo Restivo Restivo was born in the town of Erice, in the province of Trapani, in Sicily, Italy. He then moved with his family to Cagliari, Sardinia; by the time he was 10, Restivo and his family had moved to Potenza, Basilicata, situated approximately 100 km (62 miles) east of Naples and 362 km (225 miles) south of Rome, containing high-rise apartments and factories. The move to the mainland was due to his father Maurizio's occupation as the Director of the National Library. He was well connected in the community and was considered an influential figure in Potenza. Although they were not particularly rich, the Restivo family were part of the "Potenza Bene" (Potenza's most powerful and influent families).

Authorities in the United Kingdom later described Restivo as "a bit dippy, rather pathetic, slightly childish and very hypochondriac".

Elisa Claps Elisa Claps, the 16-year-old daughter of a tobacconist and a clerk, was a student in the third year of the liceo classico (the oldest public secondary school type in Italy) in Potenza, with ambitions to become a physician and work with Médecins Sans Frontières.

A month before Claps disappeared, Claps was on holiday in Montegiordano, a village on the Ionian coast. While walking along, Claps squeezed her brother Gildo's arm, noticing that Restivo was in the same village. She recounted to her brother about having to meet Restivo on holiday, as well as having seen him back home. Asking her if there were issues, Claps told her brother that Restivo had been insistent with her previously. On discovering that he had bought her a present for passing her retakes, Claps felt sorry for Restivo, agreeing to meet him at the 15th-century Chiesa della Santissima Trinità in the centre of the city the following day.

Meeting Restivo

On 12 September, the day of her disappearance, Claps and her friend Eliana De Cillis left the Claps residence, with the plan for the pair to go to mass at the Chiesa della Trinità. Instead of going to mass, Claps met with Restivo. Claps felt bad for Restivo and despite being hesitant, Claps had "begged" her close friend De Cillis, to accompany her for support. They went to meet Restivo at the church, arriving at approximately 11:30 a.m., just as Mass had ended. When she did not return home, Claps' elder brother, Gildo, telephoned Restivo's family residence and was told that Restivo was out of town due to university tests and had no knowledge of Claps's whereabouts. had suddenly left for some days, taking with him the only key giving access to the upper storey of the church building. Sabia later opposed police searching the church. After Claps had gone missing, Sabia closed the church and went on an extended retreat.

On 21 September, when providing a further statement to the office of the public prosecutor, Restivo claimed that Claps had left the church and prior to leaving, told him that she was supposed to be at her family's countryside home by 12 noon. In the 21 September interview, Restivo said "there's nothing I can say about Elisa's disappearance". The assumption that Claps had subsequently left the church moved the focus of the investigation away from the church building and onto other lines of inquiry; the church was not thoroughly searched.

Claps' elder brother, Gildo, alleged that the investigation into his sister's disappearance had been hindered by deference to prominent community figures. The prosecution appealed the acquittal of Claps' friend, and at a second trial she was found guilty on a charge of perjury and sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment; Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation later overturned the conviction.

Murder of Heather Barnett Background of Barnett

Barnett was born in August 1954, growing up in Sturminster Newton in Dorset. When Barnett was younger, she experienced a house fire at her home in Sturminster Newton, losing many of her possessions. She was described as "feisty" and "independent" by her family and a "hardworking woman who would do anything for anyone that needed help". Barnett lived frugally, shown by her not watching much TV, stating that she did not want to waste electricity. She shared a bedroom with her daughter. Barnett was previously in a relationship with David Marsh, the father of her children, until the early 1990s, when the couple split. The couple had two children: Terry, born 1987, and Caitlin, born in 1991. Also known to people as "Bunny", Barnett worked from her ground floor flat of 211 Capstone Road in the Richmond Park area of Bournemouth as a seamstress. In the flat above, lived her former mother-in-law and grandmother.

Restivo arrives in England

In March 2002, Restivo arrived in England to move in with an italian woman, Fiamma Marsango, who had been living in Bournemouth for years and that he had met on an internet chatroom. Prior to his arrival in England, in 2001, Restivo had a thyroidectomy, where, during surgery, his vocal cords were paralysed, affecting his voice until he was treated by injections. From a dosage of thyroxine, Restivo described he developed photophobia, making his eyes look bulging, developing proptosis. The pair lived at 93 Chatsworth Road, on the corner of Capstone Road. In an email to her sister, Barnett explained that after a client had visited, her spare set of keys were missing and suspected that he had taken them – Barnett was referring to Restivo, as the email mentioned a client who wanted "custom curtains". At 08:37 GMT, Barnett's white Fiat Punto was seen on CCTV turning into her road, shortly after the school run, less than ten minutes later.

Arriving home from school just before 16:00 GMT, Barnett's daughter Caitlin called out for her mother, but there was no answer. The radio was still on and Barnett's sewing machine had been knocked over. As Barnett worked from home, it was unusual for her not to be there. Caitlin looked around the house, with the final room being the bathroom. Knocking on the door of the bathroom, there was no answer. Caitlin entered the bathroom first, screaming as she located her mother on the floor. Terry then saw her body, later stating in his police interview that he was not scared, as "there [was] nothing I could do about it". He told police that he opened the door of the bathroom halfway and saw his mother lying on her back, with blood "absolutely everywhere", which made him think it was not an accident.

A neighbour saw them upset and shouting "Mummy's dead, she had been cut up". Restivo told police that at either 08:10 a.m. or 08:20 a.m. on the morning Barnett was killed, he had left home, buying a bus ticket at 08:44 a.m. in Richmond Park Road (which he showed police) and took a bus to his training course by the crime-reduction charity Nacro at the Lion Works building on Wallisdown Road. Restivo stated that he had been at the Nacro building until 15:45. Restivo appeared to have quickly provided an alibi for the morning that Barnett was killed, which was strange, as he was not a suspect at that stage. On 13 November, the computer that Restivo had claimed to have been using on the day of the murder was seized. Restivo was described by a member of staff at Nacro as not being "able to connect" and it being as if "he was closed, not there almost". It had been heard he had been told off for insistently staring at a female student. While the family requested flowers at the funeral were only to be given by Barnett's family, donations were suggested to be sent to the World Wide Fund for Nature. In the light of Restivo's connection to Claps' disappearance and suspicious behaviour, On 6 May, officers saw Restivo wearing "dark clothes with the hood of a jacket pulled tightly around his face so that only his glasses and nose were visible". At that time, a lone female was in the area. They are used when there is intelligence of the threat but there is not enough evidence to justify the police arresting the potential murderer. If a person chooses to ignore the warning, they are asked to sign to confirm they have been warned. Police explained to Fiamma that her life was at risk if she stayed living with Restivo. Police also warned hospitals where Restivo had applied for work.

Victims of haircutting approach police

An appeal in summer of 2004 saw four women approach police stating that they had their hair cut while travelling on buses in the Bournemouth area between 2000 and 2004.

Shopworker Claire George watched the murder investigation being featured on the follow-up Crimewatch programme, including the CCTV of a man walking away from Capstone Road. She contacted police, stating she could identify the man walking away from the road where Barnett lived at the time of her murder, naming him as Danilo Restivo. An officer searching his address, DC Michael Davies, located a lock of brown hair, at the bottom of a chest of drawers in a plastic bag that also contained photographs. The hairs were given the tag . Despite having samples from Luciano, Gildo and Filomena Claps, David Marsh, Marsango, Barnett, and Restivo, the hairs were not a match. DSU Phil James later stated that even as the years progressed, police did not leave the case, working "long hard days", and that "you were always thinking about that case, about the children, about the horrific scene" as well as "the ongoing risk this man, who was walking about, driving about Bournemouth, presented to the public".

In 2008, new techniques led to an examination of a bloodstained towel left at the murder scene. Police located Barnett's DNA profile on the green towel. There were very weak reactions indicating that there was saliva present, with this being shown to be from Barnett; however, the quantity of blood on the towel suggested that it had been used by the murderer to wipe blood from his face or hands. This led to a mixed profile between DNA from Barnett and another person, confirmed to be Restivo. It was estimated the chance the DNA components had not come from Restivo as one in fifty-seven thousand. Restivo claimed to have left it on the visit to the home of Barnett on 6 November as a colour match for the curtains he stated he wanted her to make. The evidence was still judged insufficient for a prosecution.

Restivo's trainers are forensically examined Another new technique was used to examine Restivo's trainers that police had earlier located bleached in his bath. This showed that the inner sole had trace amounts of blood stains on them, showing that a person had placed their bloodstained feet into the shoes, with blood being present in the left shoe, right inside near the big toe. One explanation was that someone with wet blood on their feet had put their foot into the shoe, alongside the hypothesis that the killer had changed his trainers. Due to the shoes having been bleached, negatively impacting the ability to obtain a DNA profile, the blood could not be linked to a specific person.

Body of Claps is discovered Don Mimmo Sabia died in 2008, and denied ever being acquainted with Restivo; however, a photograph of Restivo's 18th birthday party later emerged showing Sabia had been one of the guests. Claps' mother was shown photographs of various objects taken at the scene, identifying a white top she had knitted for her daughter, also recognising her daughter's glasses and sandals. Restivo was arrested at 06:40 GMT on suspicion of Barnett's murder and taken to Poole police station for questioning. On 27 May, Restivo made another brief appearance at Winchester Crown Court, where he was remanded in custody for a future hearing on 24 September.

Trial and conviction

In a move that the prosecutor said was unrelated to the Italian investigation, it was decided that the evidence against Restivo was sufficient for a prosecution. When the body of Claps was discovered, it became clear that her friend had been telling the truth, and she later testified via a video link at Restivo's trial. Two months after the remains of Claps were found, Restivo was charged with the murder of Barnett. It was ruled that the English court could hear evidence that Restivo had murdered Claps in Italy, and about the similarities of that murder with the murder of Barnett. Italian investigators testified to the English court that DNA recovered from the clothes on the body of Claps matched Restivo and was consistent with blood.

Initial proceedings On 11 May, Restivo appeared at Winchester Crown Court, only speaking to confirm his name. The judge, Mr Justice Burnett, heard legal arguments, as well as granting permission for the press to use Twitter to report during the course of the trial, after legal arguments were presented from the Daily Echo. 12 jurors were chosen out of a potential 64. This was narrowed down to 27 when Mr Justice Burnett asked the jury panel to consider whether they would be able to partake in the trial, given that it may go on until the middle of July 2011. Finally, a jury of five women and seven men were chosen, most appearing to be in their twenties. The prosecution believed that Restivo had murdered and mutilated Barnett, having gained access to Barnett's address, either from Barnett opening the door or Restivo opening it himself, using the keys that had gone missing the week before. It was the prosecution's case that Barnett had been murdered in a premeditated attack and that Restivo had made a "deliberate attempt to remove any forensic link to the scene of the murder", by placing his shoes in bleach. As for the towel located inside the scene, the prosecution alleged that Restivo may have used this to wipe Barnett's blood from him and had forgotten to take the towel with him when he left the scene. The prosecution further argued that Restivo had to be responsible for Barnett and Claps' deaths due to how "strikingly similar" the two cases were. Italian forensics expert Colonel Giampietro Lago of the Carabinieri explained to the jury that "male DNA found on the jumper of Elisa Claps was likely to have been blood rather than saliva", and that her jumper was "DNA rich with both male and female components".

In relation to Restivo's alibi that he had caught a bus on the morning of Barnett's murder and had shown police a bus ticket to prove that, the prosecution stated that it only established Restivo had purchased a ticket and that he could have immediately gotten off the bus and walked to Barnett's flat. From CCTV footage and a shop worker identifying Restivo, the prosecution argued that Restivo was at Barnett's address by 08:55 a.m., where he murdered and mutilated her, before changing his clothes, and before being seen again on Charminster Road by 09:24 a.m. The prosecution stated that it was after the murder that Restivo went on to his training course at Nacro. Furthermore, the prosecution provided evidence that although Restivo had claimed in a police interview that he had arrived at Nacro at 9 a.m. and immediately logged onto the computer, the computer records showed that the computer had not been used between 09:09 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. Other locations included prominent CCTV locations, as well as the bus stop on Richmond Road, where Restivo alleged he had purchased a bus ticket. The jury also visited Nacro in Wallisdown Road, where Restivo alleged he was at the time of the murder, as well as Pig Shoot Lane in Hurn and Throop Mill, where police had put Restivo under surveillance, watching him 'wandering around for hours at a time'. Due to Restivo having changed his story or refused to answer several matters over the years of the investigation for both Claps' and Barnett's cases, Restivo's defence counsel confronted Restivo's lies and inconsistencies themselves rather than the prosecution doing so when Restivo took the stand. Jeremy said that Restivo was "often in the habit of exchanging a bad lie for an even worse one", admitting how Restivo had "self destructed in the witness box"; however, this did not make Restivo a killer – Restivo's defence counsel questioned whether Restivo's personality "matched that of the person who had killed Heather Barnett and Elisa Claps", describing the crimes as of "almost inhuman depravity".

Restivo repeated the same line in Italian: "lo, il dodici novembre duemiladue, ero al Nacro", which translated to "I, on 12 November 2002, was at Nacro." When the verdict was read to the court, Restivo was emotionless, as some of Barnett's family were in tears.

Aftermath Family, police, and expert reaction In an exclusive interview with the Bournemouth Daily Echo, Caitlin spoke at the end of the trial, stating that she and Terry had "not really ever talked about what happened", adding that Terry found it "difficult". She stated there were times that she thought "there would never be any justice", with her emotions moving from "sadness for her mum, to anger at what Restivo has done, to bewilderment", as to why her mother was murdered and what made Restivo "choose the lady across the road". Caitlin stated that Restivo had "dragged [Barnett] into the bathroom and shut the door and it was a process of elimination that this would be the last room [her and her brother] would get to", adding it was "very cruel to calculate her children would find her". Initially thinking her mother's murder was a "random attack" and that someone had "broken into the house and just stabbed her", Caitlin stated that she and Terry "never really knew who had killed their mother" until becoming aware that Restivo was the main suspect in 2008. Appealing against the whole life term, Restivo's lawyers argued the judge was wrong to take the Claps' murder into account when sentencing Restivo for the murder of Barnett, as Restivo had not been convicted of it at that time. On 21 November 2012, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Restivo and altered his minimum sentence to 40 years but said it was "highly improbable" he would ever be released.

Restivo appeals sentence and conviction for Claps' murder On 18 March 2013, Restivo arrived in Italy to attend a court trial to appeal his conviction and sentence in absentia for the murder of Claps. On 20 March, the appeal trial began at a court in Salerno.

Immigration hearing In April 2014, Restivo appeared at a special immigration court in Bradford, West Yorkshire, after then Home Secretary Theresa May issued an order for him to be deported to Italy. Restivo challenged the order, claiming that he was entitled to remain in the United Kingdom, as well as stating that it would be unfair for him to be sent to Italy, as he would not be able to see his wife. Despite at the time being in prison in Yorkshire, over 320 km (200 mi) away, Restivo stated that he needed to be near to his wife, who had arthritis. As of 2014, Restivo's wife Fiamma was reportedly still living in the house she shared with Restivo. This was later confirmed in 2021, when she left the house while a BBC reporter filming a documentary was outside the address. The reporter added that she had stayed with Restivo despite his convictions. The Home Office dismissed Restivo's claim as an "exaggeration", after he stated that he would not be able to speak or even write to his wife due to how strict Italian courts were.

Cost of keeping Restivo in United Kingdom prison The Bournemouth Daily Echo reported in 2014 that the British taxpayer would face the cost of £2 million if Restivo is kept in a United Kingdom prison for the duration of his 40-year sentence. In June 2011, DSU Mark Cooper stated: "We are not connecting Restivo with any other crime at this moment."

Disappearance of three young women in France Through the Internet, Restivo allegedly came into contact with three young women living in France, two of whom were found dead in Perpignan between 1995 and 1998, after having previously disappeared. Tatiana Andújar, a 17-year-old who lived with her family in a town located a few kilometers from Perpignan, was last seen on the evening of 24 September 1995, while leaving the small station of the city; her body has never been found. On 20 December 1997, Mokhataria Chaïb, a 19-year-old sociology student, left the station of the city and the following day her body was found naked on the edge of rue Nungesser-et-Coli, between the station itself and the neighborhood Les Portes d'Espagne. According to the medical examiners, she was not raped but her breasts had been removed (which also happened five years later to Barnett) and her anus was missing as well; these two parts of her body have never been found.

Disappearance of Erika Ansermin Searching Restivo's house after either one of his arrest in 2004 and 2006 for the murder of Barnett, police looked onto Restivo's computer, locating a picture of a missing 27-year-old Italian woman, Erika Ansermin, who had disappeared from Courmayeur, Aosta, on Easter Sunday in 2003. On 20 April 2003, Ansermin disappeared after she was expected at the restaurant in Courmayeur for Easter lunch with her boyfriend and her mother-in-law. After years of investigations by the Aosta Prosecutor's Office, which never led to any conclusion, the case was closed with the declaration of presumption of death in July 2014.

Jong-Ok Shin

During the 2014 Court of Appeal hearing, Omar Benguit's legal team argued that Danilo Restivo could have been a more likely suspect in the Jong-Ok Shin case, partly because Restivo lived nearby. However, the appeal judges dismissed this theory, noting that despite arguments of circumstantial similarity, there was no firm evidential basis connecting Restivo to Shin's death.

Media How They Caught: Danilo Restivo. Crimewatch. BBC TV. 12 September 2006. Chi l'ha Visto? (in Italian). 2008. Litchfield Michael (2011). The Cutter. John Blake Publishing Limited. Sciarelli, Federica; Claps, Gildo (2011). Per Elisa: Il caso Claps. 18 anni di depistaggi, silenzi e omissioni (in Italian). Milan: Rizzoli. Jones, Tobias (2012). Blood on the Altar: In Search of a Serial Killer. London: Faber & Faber. Maurizio, Pierangelo (2012). L'uomo che amava uccidendo. La storia di Danilo Restivo (in Italian). Rome: Koinè Nuove Edizioni. Unsolved: The Man with No Alibi. BBC TV. 25 March 2018. Britains Most Evil Killers. Series 2. Episode 10. 22 April 2018. "Elisa Claps & Heather Barnett". Casefile. Episode 114. 15 June 2019. Trincia, Pablo; Spagnoli, Riccardo; Rafanelli, Alessia (2023). Dove nessuno guarda. Il caso Elisa Claps (in Italian). Sky Italia, Sky TG24, Chora Media. Pontecorvo, Marco (2023). Per Elisa – Il caso Claps (in Italian). Rai 1. Amendolara, Fabio; Di Vito, Fabrizio (2023). Elisa Claps, Indagine nell'abisso della Chiesa della Trinità (in Italian). Potenza: EdiMavi.