Netflix: The Monster of Florence Fails to Mention This Character, Despite Starring in the Case

Warning, this article contains spoilers for The Monster of Florence series. If you haven’t seen it yet, go ahead.

The Monster of Florence is an Italian series that is currently buzzing on Netflix. Centered on the first serial killer of a couple in a transalpine country, it tells the story from the point of view of 4 potential suspects: Stefano Melli, Francesco Vinci, Salvatore Vinci and Giovanni Melli.

While we currently do not know who the man who killed 18 people between 1968 and 1985 really is, the police have made several advances since then, notably thanks to DNA tests that were not possible at the time.

If the Netflix series takes some liberties, the writers have chosen to cut out certain storylines or even characters. This is especially true of Giovanni Vinci, the head of the family and the brother of Francesco and Salvatore.

A discovery that makes you crazy

July 2025, thunder in the Italian press. Thanks to DNA tests ordered by the Florence prosecutor’s office and carried out by a specialist Cold cases Hugo Ricci, investigators discovered that Stefano Melli’s son was finally… not his.

So his real father is this famous third brother who appears for the first time in the files. If the Netflix series suggested that Stefano was not Natalino’s real father, everything pointed to a very troubled Salvatore. But in reality it is not so.

This discovery in any case makes it possible to maintain the suspicions of the police around the Vinci clan, which is directly related to the first victim, Barbara Lochi. But there is no progress in the investigation: Giovanni died, Salvatore and Francesco were tried and then acquitted (as shown in the series).

It’s still surprising that the Netflix series doesn’t mention the existence of this third brother, especially if he was connected to the first victim. In one of the last shots of episode 4, we see Salvatore trapped in an abandoned family home, holding a photo of him with his father and brother. There is no trace of the elder…

It’s also likely that the writers didn’t have time to integrate this storyline and the series was already over when the information went to press. It may be mentioned in the second season if Netflix renews it.

Who is the Monster of Florence?

Interviewed by criminologist Sergio Caruso Vanity FairNone of the Vinci brothers would be monsters of Florence:

“The monster chose couples and killed them, as if he wanted to punish them for their behavior. He saved the child (Natalino) because he was innocent, he had no atonement. Second, he punished couples in a flagrant, totalitarian Christian way.

Therefore, the missionary serial killer had to purify these couples at the moment of sin, i.e. sexual act. The only witness, little Natalino Mele, was saved and brought to the nearest house, because according to the extremist Christian vision, children are sacred and cannot be killed.” (So ​​she didn’t protect him because he was her father).

Is Caruso’s theory correct? The Netflix series examines the case through the prism of the first murder, and suggests that the Monster of Florence is part of Barbara Loach’s entourage. Now there are more questions than answers.