Carlo Giannini: Inquest reveals murdered Sheffield chef's gambling troubles and drug use to heartbroken family

The exhaustive efforts by police to solve the murder of a Italian chef in a Sheffield park were laid bare at an inquest today.

It has been two years since the body of Carlo Giannini, 34, was discovered in Manor Fields Park on the morning of May 12, 2022. He was stabbed once in the chest and may have been dead up to four hours before he was found.

However, no one has ever been charged with his murder, and his killer or killers are still at large.

Now, the extensive efforts by South Yorkshire Police to crack the case have been revealed today, Tuesday, April 23, at an inquest into Carlo’s death.

It also revealed possible substance abuse and gambling problems Carlo was facing in the lead up to his death - none of which was known to his mother and father, Rosalba Galluzo and Antimo Giannini, who were listening to the hearing over a live video link from Italy.

After hearing the evidence, Mrs Galluzo said through an interpreter that Carlo was a “good man” and stated: “I just wanted to say Carlo wasn’t a bad person.

“He was a good person who maybe fell into some trouble.

“We hear a lot about these things happening but we never thought it would happen to us.”

Here’s everything we learned about Carlo Giannini’s death from the inquest today.

Subscribe to The Star’s newsletter for all the latest news in Sheffield direct to your inbox

Who was Carlo Giannini and how did he die?

Carlo Giannini, 34, an Italian national, was found dead at 5am on May 12, 2022, when he was discovered by a member of the public in a wooded area on Manor Fields Park, close to City Road, Sheffield.

In tributes after his death, Carlo was described as a “cheerful and funny guy”, “lighthearted” and having a “good heart”.

It is believed he entered the park at 1.08am that morning, but his movements up until his death are unknown. No CCTV footage was ever discovered that captured the incident.

Police discovered Carlo had his passport on him when he died, but a family member later identified his body as well.

A post mortem revealed Carlo was killed by a single stab wound to his upper right chest. A further slash wound was found close to the stab wound. He suffered no blunt force injuries and there were no defensive wounds pointing to a fight or struggle. As a result, a murder investigation was launched.

Assistant coroner Katy Dickinson said at the inquest that it is believed Carlo died “quickly” after suffering the stab wound.

An 18-year-old-man and a boy, 17, were arrested on suspicion of murder within a week of his death but were both released, on bail and with no further charge, respectively.

A 27-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of murder in June 27 and also released.

An appeal through BBC’s Crimewatch in October 2023 revealed how Carlo, who worked in a pizzeria in Broomhill, was reportedly given a lift by a work colleague after finishing his shift.

The exhaustive investigation into Carlo Giannini’s death

At Carlo’s inquest at the Medico Legal Centre in Sheffield today (April 23), DC Fiona Barker laid bare the extensive investigation by South Yorkshire Police over the past two years to catch the 34-year-old’s murderers.

A total of 594 physical exhibits were assessed by officers for evidence. None of them cracked the case.

A complete search of Manor Fields Park - which saw huge areas cordoned off by police with dozens of officers pictured at the scene - turned up not just one but several knives. None of them were linked to the murder.

Working street by street, a complete trawl of CCTV in the surrounding area produced over 60,000 hours of video evidence. DC Barker said: “Unfortunately, CCTV of the incident occurring has not been captured due to where Carlo was - it was a wooded area.”

However, one camera did capture something - the sound of a disturbance with no footage at 1.23am that possibly involved multiple people. This audio was sent for enhancement by a specialist team - but this did not help to identify anyone.

Over 80 recently contacted phone numbers were recovered from Carlo’s mobile and also investigated, but turned up nothing officers could use.

As well as the Crimewatch episode in October 2023, there were at least two media appeals to find as many as six people seen in footage. DC Barker said: “Through identifying themselves or from others contacting police, anybody we could identify from those appeals has been spoken to.”

And, for the first time, DC Barker revealed a number of people were formally identified as suspects - but none of them could be nailed down as Carlo’s killers.

The officer said: “The investigation identified several individuals as suspects for Carlo’s murder. Those have all been located and subjected to interview under caution. Information that we thought linked them to the murder was put to them.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough evidence to show their involvement in the murder.”

New details about Carlo Giannini

DC Barker then turned to two matters relevant to the hours before Carlo Giannini’s death and unknown to his mother and father listening over the live link - cocaine use, and apparent troubles with money and gambling.

Assistant coroner Katy Dickinson shared the results of a toxicology report that found evidence that Carlo had cocaine in his system when he died. This did not contribute to his death.

DC Barker said: “We conducted enquiries into the financial picture of Carlo.

“Carlo appeared to be in financial difficulty.

“Several accounts were overdrawn and it did appear there was a lot of gambling transactions.”

The court heard how in the space of 24 hours on May 11, 2022, there were nine transactions to gambling site William Hill. The last of these was at 12.07am, just over an hour before he entered the park and met his death.

“Any third parties identified using those transactions have been spoken to,” said DC Barker.

Questions and tributes by Carlo’s family

Throughout the hearing, Carlo’s mother and father, Rosalba Galluzo and Antimo Giannini, appeared tearful and emotional as the evidence was read out to them.

Mr Giannini said through an interpreter: “We want to thank the detectives for their excellent work they have done.

“If they can give us hope in the future we would be grateful.”

Carlo’s mother said: “I just wanted to say he wasn’t a bad person.

“He was a good person who maybe fell into some trouble.

“He was very proud of us - maybe this was something that prevented him from sharing with us and asking for help.

“We didn’t know he was using substances. If he had told us and shared with us maybe it wouldn’t have ended like this.

“It has been very difficult today but we had to be present so that people know he wasn’t a bad person. We hear a lot about these things happening but we never thought it would happen to us.”

Has the murder investigation over Carlo Giannini’s death been closed?

After two years of extensive investigations, the case of Carlo Giannini’s murder will soon be passed from South Yorkshire Police’s Major Crime Unit to the Major Incident Review Team.

It means the force has, practically, closed the case and is not pursuing new evidence, but may take action after reviewing what they already have.

DC Barker said: “Carlo will not be forgotten about by us.”

His cause of death was ruled as an unlawful killing.

Anyone with information is asked to call South Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 122 of May 12, 2022. Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers, free and anonymously, on 0800 555 111.