Lavitola remains in custody. The judges have upheld the aggravating circumstance of ‘mafia-style methods’.

Valter Lavitola remains in custody. The Rome Court of Review, rejecting the defence’s submissions, has upheld the pre-trial detention order for the former publisher, the confessed instigator of the attack outside Sigfrido Ranucci’s home. The judges also confirmed the aggravating circumstance of ‘mafia-style methods’. During last Monday’s hearing, Lavitola made unsolicited statements, asserting that he and Ranucci ‘had a close friendship and I hoped that this relationship might also rehabilitate my reputation and bring me social redemption’. The fixer once again accepted 'full responsibility' as the instigator of the attack, explaining that 'the idea for the bomb' had come from Clesio Gomes Tavares, to whom he had given 'carte blanche, specifying that he must not harm anyone'. In their application, Lavitola’s defence lawyers, Sergio and Arturo Cola, had requested house arrest for their client at a property in Basilicata, but the request was rejected by the Review Court. 

The lawyers have announced their intention to appeal. “The Review Court has upheld the interim order; clearly, we fully respect the decisions of the judiciary, even though we do not agree with them at all, either in fact or in law,” said Cola. “We will now await the grounds for the decision, which are due within 45 days, but we will lodge an appeal today with the Court of Cassation – an interlocutory appeal – against the investigating judge’s order rejecting our application regarding the loss of effectiveness of the pre-trial detention, which we believe is amply substantiated.”

Meanwhile, the investigation into the attack on Ranucci on 16 October 2025 continues. According to findings emerging from the investigation by the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office, there appear to be alleged gaps in the communications between Lavitola and the journalist. This has been confirmed by an analysis of the mobile phones and the computer seized from the fixer accused of – and who has confessed to being – the instigator of the bombing. Essentially, these appear to be suspicious deletions in chat histories, both in the period leading up to the attack and afterwards: evidence that is prompting the investigators – who have entrusted the case to the Investigative Units of the Carabinieri in Rome and Frascati – to carry out further checks.