The carabinieri's investigations, coordinated by the Salerno prosecutor's office, are continuing on all fronts into the murder of Luigi 'Luca' Esposito, 53, the sports journalist who was killed, set on fire, and found charred in the countryside near Eboli. The military investigators are reconstructing the final hours of the man's life (his last known contact reportedly dating back to Friday evening) and are examining his private and professional life in search of a motive for the particularly brutal crime. Esposito was shot and killed, then his body was doused with flammable liquid and set alight.
Registered as a publicist, he had never worked on crime or judicial investigations, which would appear to rule out criminal organisation involvement in the killing. He had always covered local football and was known for his contrarian positions, which had frequently brought him into conflict with groups of fans, though it seems unlikely that a verbal dispute in a sporting context could have escalated into murder. Investigators are interviewing friends, colleagues and acquaintances in order to also reconstruct Esposito's personal network of relationships.
The director of OttoChannel: 'An uncomfortable commentator, but never banal'
"The news of Luca Esposito's death leaves us shocked and saddened, but above all incredulous at the horrific execution of which he was a victim." These words were expressed in a statement by Pierluigi Melillo, director of OttoChannel, for whom Luca (Luigi on official records) Esposito, the journalist killed and found charred in Eboli, worked as a commentator. "Luca," the statement reads, "was for us a valuable collaborator as a commentator — certainly an uncomfortable one, but never banal, and above all always courageous in defending his opinions about the world of football. In this difficult moment we stand close to the family, who are living through such terrible grief, and we hope that law enforcement will be able to shed full light on a tragedy that is causing great concern among the public, bringing those responsible to justice. As Otto Channel we are deeply saddened also because Luca was set to be one of the leading commentators on our sports programmes for the coming season. Together with Annibale Discepolo he would have reformed an entertaining and brilliant duo on the programme dedicated to Avellino football. Luca was hugely popular and always sparked debate, no matter what. A warm embrace to his family from the entire Otto Channel and Ottopagine group."
Colleagues: 'He covered sport — it's hard to imagine that's the motive'
Those who knew him and worked with him describe him as someone who "spoke his mind and defended his ideas forcefully, especially when it came to sport." There is dismay within professional circles over the journalist's death, above all because of the manner in which he was killed. He was not married and had no children. Some rule out the possibility that the motive for the murder should be sought in a journalistic context, especially since he mainly covered sport. The crime took place in Eboli, a territory with which he does not appear to have had any connections, given that Esposito was from Nocera Inferiore and reportedly had recently been living in the Valle dell'Irno.
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