A Split and Deadly End — The Case of Danilo Restivo
Who let a man so dangerous travel freely throughout Europe?
Danilo Restivo liked to cut hair. No, not in the traditional sense, after licensing and years of cosmetology school. He enjoyed, or moreso found a sick perversion in, slicing off the strands from unsuspecting girls’ and women’s heads, and taking the locks as souvenirs for his guilty pleasure. He gave objects of his affection gifts or, when they rejected him, played them the soundtrack to the Italian thriller Profondo Rosso, in which a killer musically tortures his victims before their demise by his own hand.
Italy was not safe for its female citizens who’d inevitably cross paths with Restivo, otherwise known as “The Barber of Potenza.” Hailing from Sicily, the man had a convincing nature about him, and in his lengthy trail of terror, a priest, a schoolgirl and a neighbor all found themselves trapped in his gravity.
In Potenza, a horrible crime would occur, locked away in a church attic for years.
Elisa Claps wanted to be a physician. The teenager, 16, found herself in a predicament. A strange, somewhat older man had asked her on a date. They had a five year age difference. She was hesitant, but according to The Guardian, she felt bad for him. On September 12, 1993, Claps begged her…
