Italian Who Staged His Own Murder in Albania: I Went Out in Vlora and Said I Was a Writer

After leaving behind a crime scene that needed to be solved, Davide continued his journey.

Italian and Albanian media were awash with reports about leads that were being dismissed just as quickly. Davide says he was rediscovering himself in Bosnia.

Davide Pecorelli: I stayed with the priests for four months, and I call that my rebirth. I began to think about the important things, about a life that no longer seemed like a failure to me. I worked, prayed, grew tomatoes and lettuce. In short, I changed my life completely, lost weight and grew my hair long in the meantime. Then, in April, I began to miss my family and my children. I wanted to go home, no matter what happened; I did not care. I mean, I did not even want to know what had happened with the investigation. I knew nothing about what was being said because I did not have a phone. I was almost certain they thought I was dead because no one had seen me. My mobile phone was inside the car we used, along with the watch and the human bones. I thought they had already held a funeral, but no, there had not been one.

But while Davide saw it as an escape from his problems and debts, for the police it remained a crime scene that was as contradictory as it was mysterious. Even today, experts have been unable to determine what type of fuel was used to burn the vehicle or where the remains came from.

Fatbardh Kuliçaj: We found a car burning at the side of the road.

Davide claims that, during conversations with the priests who hosted him in Bosnia, they asked him to travel to the island of Montecristo, which is inaccessible to visitors. In fact, the island’s name is closely linked to the legend of a hidden treasure.

Davide Pecorelli: At first, I thought about it and did not want to go, but then I said: I have lost everything in Italy. I do not own any property in Italy because the bankruptcies took everything I had, all my money, everything. I had many properties. I had 15 apartments and shops; we are talking about millions of euros. That is why I was depressed. So I returned to Albania to resume my boating lessons at sea. The priest had contacts in Vlora, and so, in early May, I traveled by car. I crossed the border illegally. I was the passenger. The priest was driving; they knew him and did not say anything to us. That is why I cannot reveal his name, because, in any case, the priest was a good man who saved my life.

In fact, there is still no evidence establishing where Davide Pekoreli stayed during those nine months—whether he took refuge only in Vlora or also fled to Bosnia. Although investigators do not mention Bosnia or the journey from Albania and back, this would later have resulted in another charge against him: illegally crossing the Albanian border.

Davide Pecorelli: I had no documents, nothing. I had no money. I was the only Italian in Vlora who was not paying for anything. I had very few lek, but I played football there. I went out. I became friends with Rapo Tao and others. They all knew me as Cristiano, the writer.

Authorities in the two countries began communicating through letters rogatory, but that was not enough. A group of Italian investigators arrived in Puka, but there were still no new developments.

Fatbardh Kuliçaj: The car had been burned to such an extent…

Davide Pecorelli: I had lost 25 kilograms. I had long hair, so no one recognized me. I did not have a phone, but I began regularly following the news on other people’s phones. Some said the Albanian mafia had killed me. I laughed because I was not a mafioso. The Italian police had even opened an international drug-trafficking investigation, as though I were Pablo Escobar. I never understood why, because I had always been an athlete. So they placed my wife under surveillance to find out whether she had any contacts, since she is Albanian. Also, one of your fellow journalists was on the beach with us and, at one point, he wanted me to present the book I claimed I was writing.

Mikel Marsi, journalist: I met him through other people, and he told me he was writing a book about Sazan Island and a treasure. He introduced himself as a writer. Whenever I went to meet him, he kept avoiding an interview with me.

Meanwhile, the police were questioning dozens of people.

In fact, Vasil Ruçi, the legendary Flamurtari footballer, was also included in the new case file opened after Davide was found.

Vasil Ruçi, testimony dated October 21, 2021: In September of this year, a friendly match was organized in Greece between several former Flamurtari footballers from the 1980s and 1990s and a team of former footballers from the same generation in the town of Paramithia. During one of the training sessions we held for this match, Rapo Tao asked me to allow a person he had recently met, an Italian, to join the team and play in Greece. I agreed, and I saw the Italian national only that day. I also gave him a jersey for the match. The following day, this person did not show up at the place where we held our training sessions. A few days later, we left for Greece for the sporting event, and several days after that, I saw reports in the media that an Italian national who had been reported missing in Albania since January 2021 had been found alive in Italy.

Bardh Kuliçaj: We suspected that the fire and the bones might have contained something.

Davide Pekorelli was found near the island of Montecristo in Italy on September 17, 2021. He says he had traveled to Rome with pilgrims from Medjugorje and had assumed the identity of a geologist to escape his debts.

Davide Pecorelli: At first, I told them I was Giuseppe Mundo, and they called him. The real Giuseppe was having lunch with his family. After two or three hours, I told them: All right, I will tell you who I am, but let me make a phone call.

Anila Hoxha: Whom did you call?

Davide Pecorelli: The only number I remembered was my ex-wife’s, and that is an issue with my wife because I do not remember phone numbers. The police commander called her and said: “Mr. Pecorelli is here and wants to speak to you.” When he handed me the phone, I was subjected to insults for at least two or three minutes. What can you say to an ex-husband whom you thought was dead, only to find out he is alive and well? The funny thing I will always remember is that the Carabinieri officer had just divorced his wife and, when he heard the conversation, said: “They are all the same.”

Anila Hoxha: I cannot believe it.

Davide Pecorelli: I swear to you, it is a true story.

Fatbardh Kuliçaj: He was caught on an island in Italy. All the investigative leads collapsed after that.

In Albania, Davide was convicted of two offenses—desecrating graves and destroying property by fire—and acquitted of three others.

Davide Pecorelli: They brought me here on May 7, 2025. They handed me over to Prison 313, Jordan Misja. I will remember it for the rest of my life.

Anila Hoxha: Was that your second or third life in prison?

Davide Pecorelli: It was the second life of the new Davide. I view it positively, even though it was one of the most difficult periods. If I had not had an Albanian wife, I do not know whether I would have made it. There was injustice there. Although there were people who had made mistakes, everyone must pay for the mistakes they make, but Jordan Misja is not a normal prison. When I was arrested in Perugia, I spent time in prison, but compared with this, it was paradise. I do not know—there are people in Jordan Misja living in conditions that are not at all hygienic. I contracted hepatitis there. Even a senator in the Italian Parliament spoke about the critical conditions in the prison.

When the court convicts them, everyone is remorseful, but it is too late. Many do not admit to their crimes for decades. Davide has decided to share the lesson he learned from this adventure with anyone facing difficulties.

Davide Pecorelli: The case is now before the Supreme Court. I admit that I made a mistake, but I am not a criminal. My only regret is that I made people suffer. I want to tell anyone who is having problems in life that everything can be resolved. I am living proof of that. I have left the old Davide behind, and now I am different. When I think about the people in prison who spend five months living eight to a cell, I feel more Albanian than Italian, and I am obtaining Albanian citizenship because I am married. I do not believe the Supreme Court’s ruling will prevent me from doing so.

Anila Hoxha: Have you learned how to operate the dinghy?

Davide Pecorelli: No. First, I will learn Albanian, and I am trying. /Top Channel