Roberto Spinetti

Roberto Spinetti (born 1965), known as The 7.65 Caliber Killer , is a Swiss serial killer who murdered three prostitutes and wounded one more in northern Italy from October to November 2003 during robberies, which he carried out to pay off his gambling debts. Found guilty on all counts in three separate trials, he was sentenced to a life term and 56 years imprisonment.

Early life Roberto Spinetti was born in 1965 in Lucerne, Switzerland, to Italian parents from Abruzzo. Little is known about his childhood, but at one point he moved to Zürich, where he married, had two children and operated a successful real estate business. Spinetti was known as an avid gambler, spending a lot of time in casinos in Monte Carlo, Venice and Saint-Vincent. In 1999, he permanently moved to Italy, supposedly to evade prosecution for large-scale real estate fraud and other financial offences in his native Switzerland.

Murders During the fall of 2003, Spinetti embarked on a crime spree that would leave three prostitutes dead and another with permanent injuries. The first of these was 31-year-old Catena Molino, who was picked up in Châtillon and found shot to death in a forest between Montjovet and Champdepraz on October 12. Spinetti then stole her purse and cell phone.

On October 25, he picked up 41-year-old Graziela Fabbri in Ravenna, who was also robbed and found to death near the Mirabilandia water park.

Arrest, trial, and sentence Soon after stealing Todorova's phone, Spinetti placed a phone call to a brothel in Siderno, unaware that the phone was being traced by the authorities. After questioning some witnesses, investigators identified Spinetti as the prime suspect in the attempted murder of Todorova, as he was seen picking her up in his red Volkswagen Passat.

In the subsequent interrogations, Spinetti readily admitted to the murders, claiming that he was desperate for money to pay off his gambling debts. In addition to this, his public defenders attempted to argue that their client was not the killer, citing the fact that the only surviving victim - Todorova - had trouble identifying him due to the fact that he had shaven and no longer had a beard.

In the end, it was decided that Spinetti would be tried for the respective crimes in separate trials, corresponding to whatever region they were committed in. He was found guilty on all counts in each, receiving a life term for the murder of Molino; 30 years for the murder of Fabbri; and a combined 26 years and 4 months on a manslaughter and attempted murder charge in the Rosin-Todorova case. The reduced sentence in the latter trials came from the fact that Spinetti was diagnosed with a borderline personality disorder, but was still fully aware of what he was doing.