A sports journalist was found strangled and burned in southern Italy, and a television reporter died in his apartment in Brazil, as separate investigations unfold across three countries. Spanish police have also concluded their inquiry into the fatal stabbing of an Argentine engineer, whose suspected attacker took his own life.

In Italy, Luigi “Luca” Esposito, a 53-year-old regional football correspondent, was discovered on 19 July in a charred field near Eboli, Salerno province. According to Italian prosecutors, an autopsy determined mechanical asphyxia from neck compression, along with fractures to the face, ribs, and pelvis. Medical examiners have not yet established whether Esposito was already dead when his body was set alight; Italian media cite forensic sources placing the probability that he was still alive at around 50 per cent. The investigation, led by anti-Mafia prosecutor Raffaele Cantone, has uncovered unexplained discrepancies in Esposito’s personal life: he had told friends he was employed by a regional environmental agency and registered as a biologist, claims both denied after his death. His mobile phone remains missing, but WhatsApp activity on the device after his death suggests it was turned on or moved, Italian news outlets report.

In Brazil, Caíque Verli, a 33-year-old crime reporter for Globo affiliate TV Gazeta, was found dead on the floor of his Vitória apartment on 23 July. Authorities in Espírito Santo state said initial evidence points to a health-related death. Verli had a history of convulsive seizures and had recently undergone tests to determine their cause, according to Brazilian media. Colleagues discovered his body after he failed to arrive for work; security footage shows he returned home alone the previous afternoon. The Civil Police stated that the natural-causes hypothesis is being prioritised, pending the results of a full autopsy.

In Spain, police in Málaga province have closed the case of Facundo Rico, a 37-year-old Argentine engineer who was stabbed 13 times in his apartment earlier this year. Investigators determined that a 65-year-old neighbour, who believed Rico was having an affair with his wife because both attended the same gym, entered the flat, incapacitated him with pepper spray, and attacked him with a 20-centimetre knife. The suspect killed himself the next day, according to Spanish authorities.

All three cases have prompted expressions of shock among colleagues and local communities. The Italian and Brazilian deaths remain formally under investigation as authorities await further forensic analysis.