The following podcast may not be for all listeners.
Listener discretion is advised. In the early 2000s, Italy
experienced a horror beyond its wildest nightmares.
This true tale will shake your faith in the inherent goodness
of youth. Teenagers barely out of
childhood, yet already embracing a malevolence so profound it's
almost inhuman. They called themselves the
beasts of Satan. Their actions would haunt a
community, leaving a trail of death and terror that still
lingers. They would commit atrocities
that seemed to spring from the very depths of hell itself.
The group had a chilling belief in the dark powers they felt
they served. The beasts of Satan weren't your
average teenage delinquents. They were a cult united by a
twisted devotion to Satanism. Join me while I explore how
these impressionable minds were warped and how a fascination
with the occult blossomed into unspeakable evil.
The early beginnings of The Beasts of Satan were marked by a
unique bond between two boys, Fabio Tolis and Mario Machoni.
They were not just friends but shared a common status as
misfits and outcasts, a bond that would shape their future.
While Fabio's life was brightened by a loving family, a
cozy home, and a love for music and graphic design, Mario's
world was veiled in shadows. His father's absence cast a long
shadow over his life, and his days were marked by poverty and
a fascination with the occult. From these vastly different
backgrounds, a pact was formed. They would create a rock band, a
vessel to express the turmoil brewing within them.
Mario created dark music with satanic undertones and themes.
Fabio wasn't convinced of the occult and often mocked his
friend. Despite his reservations and
mockery of Mario's obsession, Fabio was drawn to the raw power
it brought to their art. Mario's fascination with the
occult didn't just grow, it consumed him like a malevolent
entity taking hold. Seance's once a novelty, became
an obsession, a desperate attempt to bridge the gap
between the world's. The boy's innocence was shed
like a skin outgrown. In its place, they donned the
macabre attire of their newfound faith.
Inverted crosses, clothes as dark as their souls.
Cemeteries, once just a somber resting place, transformed into
playgrounds for their twisted explorations.
And the only music that could fill the void within them was
heavy metal. As time went on, the two boys
met Paolo Leone. He also loved heavy metal music
and wore dark clothing. While Mario and Fabio acquired
their taste for the dark and twisted, Paolo was taught this
lifestyle. In 1985, Paolo's father, Carrado
Leone, was remanded to a mental institution.
Corrado had murdered Madelina Russo, a nightclub singer.
The murder was shocking, brutal. Corrado went by the name Satan
and also wore dark clothing, inverted crosses, and would
often speak in tongues. It was often believed that
Corrado was a Satanist, though he was later diagnosed as a
paranoid schizophrenic. Paolo was extremely violent and
unpredictable. He was known to have savagely
beat his girlfriends, and during a fight he didn't hesitate to
growl and bite the flesh of his victim.
Paolo was often between jobs, picking up various jobs such as
bartending or tile setting. He had no musical skills but
enjoyed hanging around Mario and Fabio when they rehearsed their
band named Ferocity. In addition to Mario and Fabio,
Paolo had met Nicola Saponi. The two had grown up in similar
impoverished environments and they clicked instantly.
Nicola had dropped out of school at 14 and attempted to work for
his father's plumbing company, but mostly he preferred to drink
beer, smoke marijuana and flirt with girls.
At this time, Italy's drinking age was 16.
In time, the group would welcome Andre Volp.
Along with his destructive personality.
He brought along various drugs for the group to experiment
with. Like most of the group, Andre
would have various menial jobs, but more often be unemployed to
make money. He sold drugs, but he was an
addict, so he would often take them more than sell them.
Despite his troubles, he was able to find a woman from a good
family and create a relationship.
Marie Angela Pisoda. She would do anything for Andre.
She would give him money, put up with his terrible moods,
cheating and his abuse. Sometime in 1996, the two would
break up, but Mary Angela couldn't stay away.
Despite the breakup, Andre could still get her to run to him for
anything he needed. It is unclear when the group
began to perform full on satanic rituals or consider themselves a
cult, but the group went on to add others, Marco Zampolo, Eros
Monterosso, Pietro Guerreri, and Andre Bontari.
Within the group there were ranks.
The following individuals would be allowed closest to the
ceremonies and rites. Paolo Leoni, Nicola Zaponi,
Mario Machoni, Eros Monterosso and Marcos Zampolo.
Pietro Guerarian, Andre Vulp, Fabio Tolis and Andre Bontade
were not allowed inside the pentacle.
They were considered junior members.
Like other group members, Mark Zampolo came from a difficult
home life and his best friend Eros was diagnosed with
borderline personality disorder at one time.
Pietro Guerreri was the oldest of the group at 22, and would
often provide drugs, alcohol, and other items used in their
rituals. The rituals within the cult
consisted of a series of tests. One must demonstrate a
willingness to risk their life for the group.
For example, the urination test asked for a member to urinate in
public. In the early 2000s, urinating in
public in Italy was a criminal offense.
This act proved a member's loyalty.
Another test was risking one's life by crossing a busy street
with cars speeding by. A test of courage was also
required, and it consisted of going into the woods and being
cut. Punishments within the cult at
times included being used as an ashtray by the rest of the
members, a form of humiliation. Women were not part of the
group, though Paolo Leone's ex-girlfriend Serena joined for
a short time. Later, a childhood friend of
Paolo Leone joined Chiaro Moreno.
She was the only woman to be an official part of the Beasts of
Satan. She took part in their satanic
rituals, She dressed as they did, wore an inverted cross, and
followed Satanism heavily. The only difference between her
and the other members was that she did not use drugs and she
had a steady job as a phone operator.
Since Kiara was the only woman in the cult, she was required to
perform sexual favors with any and all members, at times
joining in threesomes with members.
The group kept Chiara on a very short leash.
She continued to work, but her money went to the group.
She could not have outside friends, and she would be forced
to endure the group's abuse. At one point, Mario Machoni
stated that a demon told him Chiara was the Virgin Mary
reincarnated. Fabio Tolis was tasked with
gaining Chiara's trust as the group prepared to sacrifice her
to Satan. Though over time, Fabio began to
develop feelings for Chiara, the rest of the group noticed this
and felt Fabio was not as loyal as he claimed to be.
They feared he would attempt to leave the cult with Chiara in
time. There was a bit of animosity
toward Fabio. He was talented, a musician.
He played outside of the group with another band.
Through jealousy and anger, drug fueled rage, it was decided that
Fabio would be murdered as well. The group made multiple attempts
to end Kara's life. One plan was to inject her with
drugs and state it was an accidental overdose, though this
would be hard to sell as she didn't do drugs.
Another plan was to have Fabio and Chiara have sex in the car
and then the beasts would blow it up.
Clearly, neither of those plans came to fruition.
By January 17th, 1998, the Beasts of Satan would make their
first kill. Babio Tolis was 16 years old and
Kiara Marino 19. The two went to the Midnight Pub
that evening to listen to music and party with friends.
It wasn't uncommon for the group to continue partying after a
night at the pub. This evening, the group would
relocate their party outside the town of Selma Lombardo.
The area was heavily wooded, providing a perfect hideaway to
continue drinking and using drugs.
Around 11:00 PM, Fabio called his father and said he would
stay the night with his girlfriend Kiara, since Fabio
was only 16. His father told him no and told
Fabio he needed to come home. His father noticed something
about Fabio's tone. It almost sounded as if someone
was telling him what to say. He assumed his son was under the
influence of drugs or alcohol. He offered to come pick Fabio
up. It took Fabio's father about 30
minutes to arrive at the pub. He was unable to locate Fabio
but was approached by Paolo Lyon.
Not only was Paolo a member of the cult, but he worked at the
Midnight pub as a waiter. He tells Mr. Tolis that Fabio
and Kiara left to use the phone at the Bistro next door since
the pub doesn't allow phone use. After questioning the Bistro
owner, it was confirmed that Fabio did enter the Bistro, but
it was extremely crowded and the owner could not be sure if he
was with others or had used the phone.
Fabio's father was not familiar with Kiara, and when Paolo told
him that maybe the two had run off to be alone, Mr. Tolis
became concerned. Obtaining Chiara's parents phone
number, he learned that the two had not even returned to her
home. Paolo and a few other Beasts of
Satan members accompanied Mr. Tolis to the outlying areas
around the pub as well as other pubs.
They searched for Fabio and Chiara till about 1:30 AM.
The members of the Beast of Satan said their farewells to
Mr. Tolis and stated they were sure Fabio would turn up
eventually. Little did Mr. Tolis know his
son Fabio and Chiara were being murdered just a few blocks away.
Fabio and Chiara partied the night away in the pulsating
darkness of the woods, oblivious to the shadow of death looming
over them. Andrei Volp craved dominance
over this twisted cult and felt Fabio threatened his leadership.
Volp set a sinister plan in motion that night.
He would tell Fabio that he planned to sacrifice Chiara
Marino in a ceremony and Fabio would be forced to watch.
Fabio intervened as she was being dragged away for a
sacrifice, but the members quickly turned on him.
Fabio was held down and beaten to death with a hammer.
Chiara was also held down and stabbed in the chest with a
knife. This battle they were doomed to
lose, their bodies being dumped into the cold, unforgiving
ground. The large hole had been dug in
preparation for the two bodies about a week before the murders.
The murder of these two wasn't enough, the group would go on to
desecrate their bodies. Nicola Sopone placed a chestnut
inside of Fabio's throat to stifle the gurgling sounds
coming from him. Then he slit Fabio's throat,
moving on to Kira, he nearly decapitated her.
Then he dipped his cigarette in their blood, smoked it, and when
they began shoveling dirt back into the hole, he taunted the
dead, saying now you're both the zombies, try and get out now.
He didn't stop there. Nicola went on to urinate on the
grave of Fabio and Chiara on the night of the murders.
Andre Bontade was to join the group, but he cowered away and
hid at home that night. Andre was a drummer who had been
brought into the Beasts of Satan by Nicola Sapone.
He began to dress in black, had a demon tattooed on him and
drank heavily with the group. He knew the beasts were mad that
he had not joined them that night.
He had violated their oath. He attempted to stay away from
them, but they followed him everywhere.
Ultimately, they began emotionally abusing him, pushing
him to kill himself. By September 1998, Andre Pontare
was dead. He had run his car into a wall.
Authorities ruled it an accident, though most believe it
was suicide. It is speculated that this cult
is responsible for many more murders between 14 and 18 more.
But authorities could never link the murders back to the beasts
of Satan. The last murder they would
commit would lead to their arrest.
Andre Volp's former girlfriend Mary Angela would become their
last victim. Though the two had broken up
quite some time before. She had an attachment to Andre.
She would go to him when he called, no matter the
circumstances. On January 24th, 2004, Andre
Volp called his former girlfriend Mary Angela.
He asked her to drop off a borrowed VHS tape.
Andre had a new girlfriend, Elizabetta Ballerin.
She was extremely young and was in his home that night.
When Mary Angela arrived that night, Andre opened the door
with a gun in hand. She inquired about the gun and
he explained they were concerned about intruders, but the truth
was Mary Angela knew too much about the deaths of Fabio and
Chiara and she was actively trying to pull away from Andre.
After an explosive argument, he shot Mary Angela in the throat.
Andre called Nicola Zaponi to assist in hiding the body.
They drove the body to Elizabetta's home and met with
Nicola Zaponi, who beat Mary Angela with a shovel as he
believed her to still be alive. She was then buried in the
greenhouse at the back of the property.
After using more drugs, the two would dispose of Mary Angela's
vehicle. Elizabetta drove one car and
Andre followed her. The plan was to dump the car in
a body of water, but what happened next led to the end of
this murderous cult. Elizabetta wrecked the car.
And Andre Volp stopped his car not far from her.
When approached by authorities, he created a story.
He stated he and his girlfriend had been attacked by thugs and
she was stuck in the car. Still, they found the vehicle
Elizabetta was in. It had crashed into a wall and
she was slumped over the steering wheel.
The car Andre had been driving skidded to a stop near the
accident. Andre and Elizabetta were taken
to a nearby hospital. Andre immediately began to
prepare a story to tell authorities.
But just a few rooms away, Elizabetta would confess to the
murder of Mary Angela. The authorities rushed to the
Ballerin property and found Mary Angela's body buried in a
shallow grave in the greenhouse. It was later determined that she
did not die of the gunshot wound, but from the beating of
the shovel. Mary Angela's murder was widely
publicized throughout Italy. Framio told us his father sat on
the edge of his seat watching reports.
He went to the authorities once he knew this was tied to Andre
Volp. It had been six years since his
son Fabio and girlfriend Chiara had disappeared.
Mr. Tolis information assisted authorities in tying these
crimes to the Beasts of Satan cult.
Andre Volp would finally lead authorities to the grave of
Fabio and Chiara. Authorities would describe the
deaths as ritualistic human sacrifice in a diary Andre Volp
had written. We are wicked individuals.
We plague the people and we play with their lives.
We know no pity pitiless. We will eliminate and cleanse
donating the ash of our enemies to who sits on the throne.
On February 22nd, 2005, Andre Volk was sentenced to 30 years
in prison for the murder of Mary Angela Pasoda, as well As for
the murder of Fabio Tolis and Kiera Moreno.
Pietro Guerreri was sentenced to 16 years.
Other group members were prosecuted over time.
Nicola Zaponi, the suspected leader of the cult, was
sentenced to life in prison. Paolo Leone, Marco Zampolo, Eros
Monterosso and Elizabeth Ballerin received sentences of
24 to 26 years for their roles in these murders.
The group chose to appeal their sentences in 2007, but it didn't
assist them. In fact, it increased Paolo's 26
year sentence to a life sentence and Marcos Ampolo's 26 year
sentence to a 29 year sentence. Eros Monterosa went from 24 to
27 years, though Elisabetta's decreased by one year.
Unfortunately, this isn't where the story ends.
Most of these individuals are now out of prison and walk
amongst us. Most are living quietly in
various parts of Italy. Nicolas Saponi is still serving
his life sentence but is not so quiet.
He now declares he's innocent of any of the crimes.
Andre Volpe only served 16 years.
He apologized to Fabio's father, though that wasn't received
well. He turned his life to
Christianity and earned a teaching degree.
He was released in April 2020 during the middle of the global
pandemic. How do you feel knowing most of
those killers are now walking free?
Yes they served their time, but are they rehabilitated?
Seems like Andre Volt maybe, not sure about the rest of them.
This case tested the boundaries of human cruelty and the
darkness within us that is laid bare.
What we know about cult members is that they tend to suffer from
addiction, abuse, poverty, some type of mental illness.
But when they are so incredibly young, we definitely have to
take a step back and look at what may be happening to our
youth. Well, that's all for this
journey into the dark heart of this satanic cult.
As we leave the shadows of the unknown, remember that the line
between fascination and obsession is thin.
Tread carefully, my friends, lest you fall into the clutches
of the unknown.