Mama Mia Ucciso!

Ucciso! That was one of the first words I learned in Italy. When we first arrived, I would pick up a lot of vocabulary from watching the news (that was before the satellite hook up). The news would scroll Italian words below the news anchor and I would rush to look up the word in my handy dictionary. That was also before the day of the Google translator widgets.

Ucciso! means killed.

So we are at a party for Fabrizia's daughter Luce a few weeks ago and her mom tell us a story about a murder that happened the night before. Apparently a 9 months pregnant woman was killed last night in her home located in a borgo (small group of old homes) near Marciano (about 15 miles from Assisi). Her other two children were asleep. The husband, who operates coin laundry machines, was out collecting money. Someone broke into the home and, when confronted by the mother, stabbed her to death. Must have been someone who knew them.

I offer the US perspective. The husband did it.

Nope! Fabrizia's mom says not in this case!

Oh. I think to myself. Wow. Husbands sure get excluded from suspicion pretty fast here in Italy. No alibi. No forced entry. Maybe he said he didn't do it and cried real loud. I guess you had the be there.

I go on and tell them the Scott Peterson story of that guy in California who went fishing a hundred miles away on Christmas Day! 8 month pregnant wife disappears. Fishy. He sells her car. Months later, Laci's body is found near where he said he was fishing. Fishier. The police find Scott down in San Diego with blond hair (he said it was from swimming), a beard, several cell phones and 10,000 dollars in cash.

I also tell them about that guy down in Florida who told everyone he was going to med school. His wife had called the school to complain that they had not been assigned housing and was informed he was not admitted to that med school. The morning she disappeared, her husband had bought a new mattress. He had put her in a dumpster.

SO- Today we are at Grand Casa and we run into Christina who we had met at the party. We exchange greetings and she starts talking quietly in Italian and try really hard to follow what she is saying. I hear Marciano, ucciso - killed, moglie - wife. But Christina is talking quietly and I didn't remember the story. Finally Christina breaks down and tells me in English that the police suspect that the husband killed the wife. Ahhh.

So this tells me that the police skills in Umbria have improved significantly from the police portrayed in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Clue-- Thomas Ripley did it.