True Crime Time Hop ep. 28: "Murder of a Nun"

Hiiiiiii so ya know how I said in my last video that I will be consistent even if it's just a few times a week and not every day that I post videos? Well, immediately after I said that, I slacked off at both my yt series AND this blog im attempting to start back up. Apparently the problem is I shouldn't talk about things before they're done. You'd think I'd have learned that lesson enough times by now but here we are. I AM consistent at being inconsistent. I'd like to sit here and tell you this won't happen again, but this is the behind the scenes of what its like to have big dreams and bigger dysfunctions. I am neurodivergent, unmedicated, and my mental health has been tanking lately, but talking about it openly often opens the door for myself coming out of my depressive episodes so here we are. If I get somewhere with all this, it could make for a pretty inspiring before picture if nothing else. If I look at this a year from now and haven't made any progress that wouldn't be very inspirational but lets not bet on THAT outcome.

So, part of my slacking resulted from watching my last episode during and after editing and coming to the conclusion that I need to liven up my delivery here with these stories. Please excuse my lackluster presentations I am trying to find balance between somber, sleepy vibes for night listeners, and enough depth and complexity to entertain those tuning in during the day. I really am just flying by the seat of my pants AND IT SHOWS haha.

I showed back up though! Eager to work way too hard for little to no instant gratification. If it weren't for my kids inspiring me to want to keep them inspired, I'd stop trying to find my niche in the online community but the idea of cracking the code and making good money from home is just too enticing to give up that easily.

So, today we will be discussing a tragic and bazaar chain of events that took place in Chiavenna, Italy on June 6 of the year 2000. This attack on a beloved nun would go down in history as a satanic sacrifice that put the mother superior on the path to sainthood.

This is True Crime Time Hop. Episode 28.

Teresina Elsa Mainetti was born on August 20, 1939 in Villatico, Italy. She was the last of 10 children. Sadly, her mother Marcellina Gusmeroli lost her life just 12 days after giving birth to the little girl. Despite the obvious challenges associated with growing up without her mother, she grew to be devout and determined to provide care and support to others. Along with her siblings, she attended catholic school. Within days of turning 18, she began her postulancy. 2 years later, she made her first vows before the evangelical council, taking the sister name "Laura" in honor of a fellow sister's late daughter. She made her final vows in La Puye on August 25 of the year 1964. She taught in primary schools run by the Sisters of the Cross in Vasto, Rome before eventually becoming Mother Superior of a convent in Chiavenna which specialized in providing guidance for juvenile delinquents.

Around 10pm on June 6 of the year 2000, Mainetti left her convent to meet a young girl in a local town square. The girl, who was previously a student of the woman, requested an appointment in search of guidance because she had been raped and she was pregnant as a result, so she was considering abortion. At least that was the story she concocted to lure the woman to her aid. Veronica Pietrobelli, who was 16, coaxed her unsuspecting victim down a nearby alley where her similarly aged friends, Milena De Giambattista and Ambra Gianasso awaited. Once they set their sinister plan into motion, they began stoning the poor nun and verbally abusing her. As they beat the life out of her, she prayed over and over for God to forgive them. After the attackers were satisfied with how much they tortured her, De Giambattista pulled a kitchen knife out that she had brought with her specifically for the occasion.

The girls took turns stabbing the poor 60-year-old, giving her 6 slashes each which they intended to represent the number of the beast (666). One of them stabbed her an extra time, however, thus proving the passion behind the murder. The girls didn't necessarily worship the devil or practice satanism, but they wanted to give the impression that it was a sacrifice for Satan to spite their old catechism teacher and the principles she dedicated her life to uphold.

Now, that last bit is just my opinion. Many folks in the media as well as within the Catholic church were quick to chalk it up to an actual satanic ritual and in the name of stifling ignorance, I feel the need to shed some light on the subject for those who just go with whatever the majority says without doing their own research. The actual Church of Satan does not encourage the sacrifice of animals or any other living beings including humans. Rituals may include pentagrams and candles, yes, but the spilling of blood was never part of the deal. And yes, a big part of Satanism is rejecting organized religion but that's not limited to Christianity, and they would never glorify violence against a person regardless of religious affiliation.

That's not to say a few teenagers couldn't have killed in the name of Satan. Obviously that is what they did, but leave the actual religion of satanism out of it. These kids, like many others, just used the sensationalized idea of devil worship as described in heavy metal music to justify sinister acts they carried out.

I am by no means an expert on this, or any other subject, but I know enough to know that ritualistic sacrifices have no real basis in true satanism.

Anyway, Maria Mainetti's last words were her continued prayers on behalf of her attackers. Therefore, it was named a martyrdom when she died of her 19 stab wounds right there on the ground. She was found the next morning by a passerby.

Three weeks later, the girls were arrested on suspicion of the murder after two of them were heard discussing it over the phone. They were being wiretapped at the time of the admissions because shortly after the attack a witness placed them with Mainetti leading up to the crime. While in custody, the girls initially said they killed her as part of a game but then they went with calling it a satanic sacrifice. They later divulged to investigators that they initially wanted to kill the parish priest but settled on Mainetti once they deemed her an easier target.

Now, there is no excuse. Don't get me wrong violence and murder are never ok. However, the fact that they originally wanted to take down the priest does make me wonder what kind of abuse may have been going on behind the scenes at the school. I know that a few bad catholic priests don't represent the church as a whole, but various forms of corporal punishment and sexual abuse were commonplace in many of these types of institutions from what I've heard. So playing devil's advocate for just a moment, I can't help but wonder if the teens were victims themselves before resorting to murder. It still wouldn't make it ok. But it is food for thought.

On the 9th of August 2001, De Giambattista and Pietrobelli were convicted of murder and ordered to serve 8.5 years in prison. The sentence length was influenced by the fact that the girls were found to be partially insane at the time of the crime. Gianasso, who was initially found not guilty by reason of insanity, was later deemed competent to stand trial and sentenced to 12 years. All 3 were released in 2008 due to their participation in community service.

As far as the legacy of the innocent Mother Superior, Mainetti's funeral was attended by 2,500 mourners. On 23 October 2005, Alessandro Maggiolini, Bishop of the Diocese of Como, opened the diocesan phase of Mainetti's beatification process at the Collegiate Church of Saint Lawrence in Chiavenna. On March 20th of 2008, he announced that the request for the initiation of her beatification process had been approved. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints officially declared her a martyr at this time, which eliminated the need for recognition of a miracle. The Congregation declared her a martyr again on 19 June 2020. She was beatified on 6 June 2021, the twenty-first anniversary of her murder. But Ashley, what is beatification?

Well, first I thought this was the process of a person entering sainthood, which is not entirely false but beatification by definition is the declaration by the Pope that a dead person is in a state of bliss, constituting a first step toward canonization and permitting public veneration. Canonization is the official admission of a dead person into sainthood so I was kind of right. Veneration is basically the act of honoring someone's greatness. So there's your vocabulary lesson for today.

Rest in Peace to Maria Laura Mainetti. A person who lived and died by the understanding that true worship is to work for justice and care for the poor and oppressed.

Let me know if you have any thoughts below about the catholic church, satanic rituals, or anything else you feel is relevant down below. I'll see you on the next one, where we will revisit a more recent tragedy which led to a highly publicized trial. I'll give you a hint: his name rhymes with Shmallex Shmurdaugh. So be sure to tune in aaaaand make sure your notifications are on so you don't miss it because I function best in a space of chaos and can't stick to a predictable schedule to save my life. Thank you so much for joining me for another episode of True Crime Time Hop.

Stay weird.