The Murder of Willy Monteiro Duarte

Willy Monteiro Duarte was a 21-year-old Italian man of Cape Verdean family background who worked as an apprentice cook. During the night of September 5–6, 2020, he encountered a confrontation in central Colleferro and tried to help a friend. He was then attacked by a group of men and died from his injuries.

Willy Monteiro Duarte

Coverage of the case often emphasized the speed and intensity of the assault, but Willy should not be reduced to those final minutes. He was remembered by relatives, friends and his community as a young man building a future in the hospitality trade. This page therefore uses only the level of detail needed to understand the criminal case.

The investigation

Police quickly identified four men who had taken part in the assault: brothers Marco and Gabriele Bianchi, Francesco Belleggia and Mario Pincarelli. Prosecutors argued that the defendants had acted together in a violent attack that caused Willy's death. All four were eventually found criminally responsible for intentional homicide.

The prosecution treated the defendants' roles separately where the evidence required it. That is important because group liability does not mean every participant performed the same physical act or received the same sentence.

First-instance convictions

In 2022, the first-instance court convicted the four defendants. Marco and Gabriele Bianchi initially received life sentences, while Belleggia and Pincarelli received lengthy fixed prison terms.

Those sentences did not remain static. Appeals focused both on the legal classification of aggravating and mitigating circumstances and on the proper punishment for each defendant.

Supreme Court ruling in 2024

In April 2024, Italy's Court of Cassation made an important distinction. It allowed the findings of criminal responsibility for intentional homicide to become final, but ordered a new appellate hearing concerning the generic mitigating circumstances applied to the Bianchi brothers. The convictions of Francesco Belleggia and Mario Pincarelli became final at 23 and 21 years respectively.

This means later proceedings concerning the Bianchi brothers were not new trials about whether they had killed Willy. Their guilt for intentional homicide had already been definitively established; the remaining dispute concerned the sentence.

Second appellate round and 2025 Cassation decision

In March 2025, the Rome Court of Assize of Appeal imposed life imprisonment on Marco Bianchi and 28 years on Gabriele Bianchi. The case returned to the Court of Cassation.

On November 26, 2025, the Court of Cassation made Marco Bianchi's life sentence final. It ordered another appeal only for Gabriele Bianchi, limited again to the issue of generic mitigating circumstances. The court did not reopen the final finding that Gabriele was criminally responsible for Willy's murder.

Third appellate ruling in June 2026

On June 8, 2026, the Rome Court of Assize of Appeal, sitting for the third appellate round, sentenced Gabriele Bianchi to life imprisonment after removing the mitigating circumstances that had previously reduced his punishment to 28 years.

Italian public broadcaster Rai reported the next day that Gabriele's defense had announced a further appeal to the Court of Cassation. As of this review, that means the responsibility for homicide is final, while the June 2026 life sentence for Gabriele may still be subject to further review.

Why the procedural distinction matters

A simple headline such as “four men convicted” hides the different procedural positions. Belleggia's 23-year sentence and Pincarelli's 21-year sentence became final in 2024. Marco Bianchi's life sentence became final in November 2025. Gabriele Bianchi's guilt is also final, but his punishment was relitigated and reached a new life sentence in June 2026, with a further Cassation appeal announced.

Describing those stages separately prevents a pending sentencing issue from being mistaken for uncertainty about who was convicted of the homicide.

Timeline

1. September 6, 2020
   Willy is killed in Colleferro

   Willy Monteiro Duarte dies after a group assault while intervening in a confrontation.

2. 2022
   First-instance convictions

   Four defendants are convicted of intentional homicide; the Bianchi brothers receive life sentences.

3. April 2024
   Cassation confirms responsibility

   Criminal responsibility becomes final; Belleggia and Pincarelli receive final fixed sentences, while the Bianchi brothers return to appeal on mitigating circumstances.

4. March 14, 2025
   Second appellate judgment

   Marco Bianchi receives life imprisonment and Gabriele Bianchi 28 years.

5. November 26, 2025
   Marco's life sentence becomes final

   Cassation leaves Marco's life sentence intact and orders another appellate hearing only for Gabriele's mitigating circumstances.

6. June 8, 2026
   Gabriele receives life sentence

   The third appellate court removes the mitigating circumstances and imposes life imprisonment; a further Cassation appeal is announced.

Current status

The case is solved and adjudicated as to criminal responsibility. All four defendants stand convicted of intentional homicide. Belleggia, Pincarelli and Marco Bianchi have final sentences. Gabriele Bianchi was sentenced to life imprisonment again on June 8, 2026, and his defense announced another Cassation appeal limited to the remaining sentencing issue.