The Yara Gambirasio Case: Beyond Reasonable Doubt

The kidnapping and murder of 13 year old girl Yara Gambirasio could turn out to be one of the most important cases in international criminal history. As one of the pioneers of DNA evidence, Peter Gill has said - 'DNA should never be used alone to convict a criminal, but with a combination of other evidence.'

Never before has a better case been made than in this tragic case, where a very likely probability is that there is currently an innocent man languishing in an Italian for a crime he may well not have committed.

Despite almost shooting itself in the foot, by presenting the facts of the case with two non linear time lines, this documentary never the less presents a balanced view of a case that Italy was so desperate to have an answer for, an innocent man may well have gone to prison for the crime.

The more likely scenario is that a serial killer is still on the loose in Italy who may have been responsible for more than one murder.

The victim, who quite rightly is often at the forefront of this story, was a bright dance student from a normal middle class Italian family. Yara disappeared on a cold winters evening while walking back from the local sports hall to her house, a walk which only would have taken 10-15 minutes.

From the word go several vital mistakes were made in the case. A proper search was not carried out of key premises, nor key potential witnesses including the janitor of the gym until some time later. The victim herself wasn't found for three months, in an area that was already searched several times, suggesting it was highly probable she was placed there at a later date.

A DNA profile was completed from a sample found on the victims body but the way in which was constructed appears to be flawed and convoluted, it was also evidence which later denied to the defence, and an order was given that would effectively destroy the last remaining samples. Other potential scenarios and perpetrators were not followed up, and the entire prosecution was flawed and evidence was manufactured to favour their case.

You really need to see this series for yourself and draw your own conclusions, but I have a feeling history will not be kind to those in this case who have put a local brick layer in prison.

But please, enough with the non-linear narratives.

This show is TERRIBLE to watch. Not because of the story. The story is sad. The production is terrible. It goes back and forth in time. Why??? It's pointless. Tell the story chronologically. Why not?

Plus, either do it all in ENGLISH or don't do it!! Do a version for Italy if you want to hear Italian. It's terrible to hear both English and Italian at the same time. Very hard to listen to.

They flash who the people are for one tenth of a nanosecond in Italian. Put it in ENGLISH. That is who the customers are in THE USA.

The news reporters are in Italian. Why?? Just do it all in one language. This really takes away from the documentary.

A missed opportunity for a powerful story The case of Yara Gambirasio is deeply tragic and undeniably compelling - a story that truly deserved a thoughtful and well-crafted documentary. Unfortunately, this production falls short on nearly every level.

Rather than providing clarity or insight, the film gets lost in a confusing maze of timelines, endless speculation, and a flood of unanswered questions. At times, it feels more like an episode of Lost than a serious true crime documentary - piling on mystery after mystery without resolving any of them.

The chaotic structure, lack of narrative focus, and questionable direction end up doing a disservice not only to the viewer, but to Yara's memory as well.

She deserved better.

Frankly speaking, a good reason to cancel the Netflix subscription.

The documentary exclusively supports the defendant's point of view and ends by claiming that the prosecutor is under investigation for fraud.

The reality is that criminal prosecution in Italy is mandatory when there is a complaint (and the defendant's attorney filed a complaint) but the action ended with the prosecutor's acquittal of all charges.

The evidence brought by the public prosecution in this case is indisputable. The genetic profiles of person of interest 1 and 2 were ascertained well before the people to whom they belong were identified. What is extraordinary in this case is that the genetic profiling of almost 20,000 volunteers made it possible to determine the existence of an illegitimate child, the result of an extramarital relationship of which no one was aware, except the mother of the accused and his natural father, who died 12 years earlier. This illegitimate child was found guilty of killing Yara Gambirasio.

Netflix documentary falsely claims the evidence of the defendant's van, circling 16 times around the gym, was fabricated. The reality is that a video released by investigators showed images shot by 5 different cameras. Only one provided images of such quality as to allow certain identification of the defendant's van. The images shot by the other four cameras only show a van "compatible" with the defendant's one. However, in the entire province of Bergamo (1,060 square kilometers in area and 1,115 million inhabitants) there were only three vans compatible with that of the defendant. The probability that other vehicles, compatible to the defendant's one, were circulating around the Yara gym, on the same day at the same time, thus reducing the identifications from 16 to "only" 5, was considered by the jury to be low and, ultimately, irrelevant. Bossetti's van was indeed circling around the gym when Yara disappeared, as for the evidence presented by the prosecution.

Much emphasis is placed on the trainer's genetic material found on Yara's jacket or on cell phone traces. The jury found these elements irrelevant. Yara and the coach met regularly at the gym. The genetic material may have been deposited on the vest days, or even weeks, before Yara disappeared.

The cell phones do not prove at all that the defendant was at home at the time of Yara's disappearance. No one confirmed his alibi, not even his family, and the defendant has no explanation as to why his van was circling around Yara's gym at the time of her disappearance.

Massimo Bossetti is rotting in jail and deservedly so.

Talented thirteen year old teenager Yara Gambiraso disappears from her home in a small Italian village. Yara is tragically found dead a few days later, and DNA links local man Massimo.

It's a very well made, balanced and thought provoking series, it makes you Talented thirteen year old teenager Yara Gambiraso disappears from her home in a small Italian village. Yara is tragically found dead a few days later, and DNA links local man Massimo Bossetti.

It's a very well made, balanced and thought provoking series, it makes you question all sorts of points and supposed evidence?

Is an innocent man languishing in a prison, or was some sort of science withheld, and a dodgy conviction brought in to condemn an innocent man? I can't answer that, but one thing is very clear, the trial was a farce all sorts of points and supposed evidence?

Is an innocent man languishing in a prison, or was some sort of science withheld, and a dodgy conviction brought in to condemn an innocent man? I can't answer that, but one thing is very clear, the trial was a farce.

If I had one criticism, it's this, at one point it talks about the glamorisation of those left behind, the victim forgotten, I felt there was an element of that here. At times it does jump about a little, the final two episodes are a lot easier to follow than the first two.

8/10.