Ex-Grosvenor Casino Employee Murders Colleague and Fiancée

A young man from Italy who was living in the United Kingdom and killed two of his friends was recently sentenced. The chilling crime that saw 22-year-old Andrea Cardinale kill two of his friends by bludgeoning them to death dates back to December last year. The culprit and his 26-year-old friend with the initials A.C. were from Sicily, Italy. The duo arrived in the UK back in 2019 and started to work as dealers at the Grosvenor Casino.

The fiancé of A.C., a 20-year-old woman identified with the initials F.D.D., was visiting him just before Christmas last year. At the time, A.C. and Cardinale shared a residence that was a pub converted into flats in Stockton.

On the night of the crime that happened on December 21 last year, Cardinale entered the room of his 26-year-old friend and repeatedly hit him with a hammer while he was sleeping. The victim was also stabbed multiple times and passed away due to the severity of his wounds.

The victim’s fiancé had a similar terrifying faith. The young woman woke up and attempted to escape Cardinale. Sadly, the culprit caught the young woman, and her body was found in the basement. She was murdered in a similar method to A.C. after being hit with a hammer and stabbed with a kitchen knife.

After the crime, Cardinale left the house and visited a gas station nearby where he purchased diesel fuel as well as a lighter. Upon returning to the Stockton home, he sprayed the room of his dead friend with diesel fuel and thought of lighting the place on fire.

An Undiagnosed Paranoid Schizophrenia

The murderer decided not to start the fire for some reason and went out. Cardinale was arrested while walking around in Stockton. This week, the murderer was sentenced to indefinite detention at a secure mental facility. In light of his crimes, he may never be released.

Upon investigating the crime and after he was arrested, the culprit was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia by multiple psychiatrists. In November last year, Cardinale was back in Italy, and this is when he visited a psychiatrist. At the time, the medical expert said that the person suffered from depression but before making a final diagnosis, Cardinale left the country and returned to the UK. Amid fears for the mental health of their son, Cardinale’s father arrived in the UK. He was living near the murderer’s home and he was the one that discovered the dead bodies.

According to Donald Grubin, a professor at Newcastle University who testified in court, Cardinale’s mental illness was so severe that “his culpability for the killing was minimal.”

After Cardinale was arrested, he claimed that the two people he murdered tried to put a spell on him. The investigation uncovered that the 22-year-old searched for information online on “how to remove the evil eye,” as well as details regarding voodoo.