In a shocking turn nearly three decades after the infamous Gucci murder, Benedetto Ceraulo—the man convicted of killing fashion heir Maurizio Gucci—was rushed to the hospital in critical condition following a violent Easter altercation with his own son.
According to reports from The Times and Italian outlets La Stampa and Il Tirreno, the 63-year-old, who once carried out one of Italy’s most sensational contract killings, allegedly shot his 37-year-old son Gaetano during a heated argument at his countryside home in Santa Maria al Monte, near Pisa. The incident reportedly took place during what was supposed to be a holiday visit.
Authorities say Ceraulo used a small-caliber pistol and attempted to shoot his son in the face. Gaetano was injured but managed to escape the home. Local media reports indicate that Ceraulo, who now lives alone, was critically injured in the aftermath—though the details surrounding his own hospitalization remain unclear.
Ceraulo gained international notoriety in 1995 when he fatally shot Maurizio Gucci, the last member of the Gucci family to helm the iconic fashion house. The ambush took place outside Gucci’s Milan office and stunned the fashion world. Ceraulo, a struggling restaurant owner at the time, was hired as the hitman in a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Gucci’s ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiani, with help from her friend Pina Auriemma.
The killing came less than a year after Gucci finalized his bitter divorce from Reggiani. Their marriage had unraveled in a tangle of resentment and betrayal. “She was unkind, always put him down,” said Sheree Loud, Gucci’s girlfriend at the time, during a 2021 interview with Dateline. “He said he didn’t love her anymore. He said he had just had enough.”
Reggiani was sentenced to 26 years for her role in the murder and served 17. In a moment that captured global headlines, she once refused early work-release privileges, saying, “I’ve never worked in my life and I don’t intend to start now.”
Ceraulo was given a 28-year sentence and was released on work release in 2017.
The twisted saga of wealth, betrayal, and ambition inspired the 2021 Ridley Scott film House of Gucci, starring Lady Gaga as Reggiani and Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci. The movie brought renewed attention to one of the fashion world’s darkest chapters, portraying the downfall of a family empire once synonymous with luxury and glamour.