Leonardo Cazzaniga

{{Infobox serial killer

| name = Leonardo Cazzaniga

| image =

| image_size =

| caption =

| alt =

| birth_name =

| alias = "Doctor Death"

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1956}}

| birth_place = Saronno, Lombardy, Italy

| death_date =

| death_place =

| cause =

| conviction = Murder x9
Aiding and abetting

| sentence = Life imprisonment

| victims = 9–15

| beginyear = 2010

| endyear = 2014

| country = Italy

| states = Lombardy

| apprehended = 29 November 2016

| imprisoned = Unnamed prison in Alessandria, Piedmont

}}

Leonardo Cazzaniga (born 1956), known as Doctor Death ({{langx|it|Dottor Morte}}), is an Italian serial killer and former anesthesiologist who murdered between nine and fifteen patients at a hospital in Saronno between 2010 and 2014, some with the help of his lover and accomplice, Laura Taroni.

Convicted in nine of the cases he was accused of, Cazzaniga was sentenced to life imprisonment, while Taroni was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.

Murders

Between 2010 and the summer of 2014, a long series of suspicious deaths of elderly patients occurred at the Saronno Hospital.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ilgiorno.it/varese/cronaca/saronno-morti-ospedale-80ec5758|title=Morti in corsia a Saronno, Cazzaniga: "Nessun omicidio, solo etica"|author=Gabriele Moroni|work=Il Giorno|date=30 June 2018|trans-title=Deaths in Saronno ward, Cazzaniga: "No murder, only ethics"|language=it|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20250427123239/https://www.ilgiorno.it/varese/cronaca/saronno-morti-ospedale-80ec5758|archivedate=27 April 2025}} These deaths were brought to the attention of the authorities at the behest of physician Clelia Leto and vice-primary physician Radu Iliescu, who had recently started noticing strange and even threatening behavior from their senior colleague, Leonardo Cazzaniga.

Following the authorities' intervention, all nurses at the Saronno Hospital were questioned. This eventually led to the arrest of Cazzaniga and his lover Laura Taroni, with the latter being held for the murders of her husband, mother and father-in-law, who died between June and October 2013.{{Cite web|url=https://www.responsabilitasanitaria.it/rassegna/allegati/1529426926005832700.pdf|title=Cazzaniga e i morti sospetti «Sì, sapevo del protocollo»|author=Pino Vaccaro|work=La Provincia|date=19 June 2018|trans-title=Cazzaniga and the suspicious deaths "Yes, I knew about the protocol"|language=it|via=Responsabilita Sanitaria}} All three victims had received doses of drugs that were unsuitable for their conditions.{{Cite web|url=https://www.agi.it/cronaca/news/2020-01-28/dottor_cazzaniga_omicidi_corsia_ergastolo_saronno-6957871/|title=Storia del medico di Saronno che si fece angelo della morte|author=Manuela D'Alessandro|date=28 January 2020|work=Agenzia Giornalistica Italia|trans-title=Story of doctor from Saronno who became an angel of death|language=it|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20250425043006/https://www.agi.it/cronaca/news/2020-01-28/dottor_cazzaniga_omicidi_corsia_ergastolo_saronno-6957871/|archivedate=25 April 2025}}

According to the authorities, Cazzaniga claimed that he wanted to "ease their suffering and make death less painful" by carrying out his so-called "Cazzaniga protocol" – a term he used to administering a cocktail of drugs to his patients, consiting of a mixture of opiates, benzodiazepine and sleeping pills.{{Cite web|url=https://milano.fanpage.it/morti-sospette-nell-ospedale-di-saronno-arrestati-un-medico-e-un-infermiera/|title=Saronno, arrestati per omicidio medico e l'amante infermiera: "Se vuoi uccido anche i bambini"|author=Francesco Loiacono|work=Fanpage.it|date=29 November 2016|trans-title=Saronno, doctor and nurse mistress arrested for murder: "If you want I'll kill children too"|language=it|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20250427121303/https://milano.fanpage.it/morti-sospette-nell-ospedale-di-saronno-arrestati-un-medico-e-un-infermiera/|archivedate=27 April 2025}}

Investigation and arrest

Cazzaniga was arrested on 26 November 2016, and charged with a total of 15 murders. The alleged victims all died in the emergency room of the Saronno Hospital, and three of them (Massimo Guerra, Luciano Guerra, and Maria Rita Clerici) were killed with the complicity of Laura Taroni, who, from what emerged from wiretaps, killed her family to continue her extramarital affair with Cazzaniga and expressed willingness to do the same thing to her own children if needed. It was later revealed that she administered a fatal dose of medication to her husband Massimo, causing his death in the process. The death was disguised as the supposed result of diabetes, with Taroni being the designated beneficiary of Massimo's life insurance policy.

In addition to Cazzaniga and Taroni, police also investigated five other employees at the hospital (general manager Paolo Valentini; medical director Roberto Cosentina; medical examiner Maria Luisa Pennuto; ER director Nicola Scoppetta and oncologist Giuseppe di Luca). The five were accused of having prior knowledge of the "Cazzaniga protocol" and intentionally hampering investigations by not reporting the suspicious deaths to the authorities.

Trial and imprisonment

At the first trial, the prosecution held Leonardo Cazzaniga responsible for all the deaths that occurred at the Saronno Hospital. The victims were victims were as follows:

class="wikitable centre" style="margin-bottom: 10px;"

! scope="col" |Name

! scope="col" |Age

! scope="col" |Date of death

Pietro Oliva

|84

|7 November 2010

Federico Mascazinni

|75

|14 December 2010

Pier Francesco Ferrazzi

|Undisclosed

|4 January 2011

Antonietta Balzarotti

|88

|August 2011

Giacomo Borghi

|88

|winter of 2011

Giuseppe Pancrazio Vergani

|71

|18 April 2012

Antonino Isgrò

|93

|30 April 2012

Luigia Lattuada

|77

|15 February 2013

Virginia Moneta

|91

|17 March 2013

Mario Volontè

|83

|April 2013

Angelo Lauria

|69

|9 April 2013

Luciano Guerra

|78

|20 October 2013

Maria Rita Clerici

|61

|4 January 2014

Domenico Brasca

|82

|18 August 2014

The first of the two accused to go to the trial would be Laura Taroni, as he opted for an abbreviated trial.{{Cite web|url=https://www.quotidianosanita.it/cronache/articolo.php?articolo_id=59342|title=Trent'anni di carcere per l'infermiera di Saronno per aver ucciso marito e madre e rinvio a giudizio per il medico-amante accusato anche di nove morti sospette in ospedale|work=Quotidianosanità|date=23 February 2018|trans-title=Thirty years in prison for the nurse from Saronno for killing her husband and mother and referral to trial for the doctor-lover also accused of nine suspicious deaths in hospital|language=it|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20250425043033/https://www.quotidianosanita.it/cronache/articolo.php?articolo_id=59342|archivedate=25 April 2025}} On 23 February 2018, she was convicted of killing her husband and mother, but acquitted of killing her father-in-law, resulting in a 30-year sentence. She is currently imprisoned at the Bassone Prison in Como.

On 27 January 2020, the Busto Arsizio Assize Court found Cazzaniga guilty on 12 of the 15 fifteen counts of murder, with him being acquitted in the deaths of Isgrò, Clerici and Brasca. He was then sentenced to life imprisonment and three years of solitary confinement.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2020/01/27/saronno-morti-in-corsia-lex-viceprimario-leonardo-cazzaniga-condannato-allergastolo/5686955/|title=Saronno, morti in corsia: l'ex viceprimario Leonardo Cazzaniga condannato all'ergastolo|author=Pino Vaccaro|work=il Fatto Quotidiano|date=27 January 2020|trans-title=Saronno, deaths in the ward: former deputy head physician Leonardo Cazzaniga sentenced to life in prison|language=it|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20250425043042/https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2020/01/27/saronno-morti-in-corsia-lex-viceprimario-leonardo-cazzaniga-condannato-allergastolo/5686955/|archivedate=25 April 2025}}

The remaining five employees at the hospital received much more lenient sentences, with Valentini, Cosentina, Pennuto and Scoppetta each receiving 2 years and 6 months imprisonment. The only defendant to be acquitted was Giuseppe di Luca, who was initially charged with failure to report suspicious circumstances regarding the hospitalization of Angelo Lauria.

=Appeals=

On 13 April 2021, the Milan Court of Appeals ruled on an appeal filed by Cazzaniga and his lawyers - in it, he was further acquitted of killing Moneta, Vergani and Borghi, but had his life sentence upheld for the remaining murders.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ansa.it/lombardia/notizie/2021/04/13/morti-in-corsia-confermato-ergastolo-per-cazzaniga-_97572920-793b-4d19-b26f-e74b092f5041.html|title=Morti in corsia: confermato l'ergastolo per Cazzaniga|work=Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata|date=13 April 2021|trans-title=Deaths in the ward: life sentence confirmed for Cazzaniga|language=it|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20250425043052/https://www.ansa.it/lombardia/notizie/2021/04/13/morti-in-corsia-confermato-ergastolo-per-cazzaniga-_97572920-793b-4d19-b26f-e74b092f5041.html|archivedate=25 April 2025}}

On 27 June 2023, the Second Assize Court of Milan retried Cazzaniga for the murder of Domenico Brasca, for which he was found guilty and sentenced to a second life term.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fanpage.it/milano/uccide-i-pazienti-con-un-mix-letale-di-farmaci-lex-medico-cazzaniga-e-responsabile-di-nove-decessi/|title=Uccide i pazienti con un mix letale di farmaci: l'ex medico Cazzaniga è responsabile di nove decessi|author=Giorgia Venturini|work=Fanpage.it|date=27 June 2023|trans-title=Killing Patients With Lethal Drug Mix: Ex-Doctor Cazzaniga Is Responsible for Nine Deaths|language=it|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20250425043014/https://www.fanpage.it/milano/uccide-i-pazienti-con-un-mix-letale-di-farmaci-lex-medico-cazzaniga-e-responsabile-di-nove-decessi/|archivedate=25 April 2025}} His lawyers then filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Cassation against the conviction, but it was rejected on 23 February 2024.{{Cite web|url=https://www.varesenews.it/2024/03/per-leonardo-cazzaniga-confermato-un-altro-ergastolo-condannato-in-via-definitiva-per-la-morte-di-domenico-brasca/1860183/|title=Per Leonardo Cazzaniga confermato un altro ergastolo: condannato in via definitiva per la morte di Domenico Brasca|work=VareseNews|date=1 March 2024|trans-title=Another life sentence confirmed for Leonardo Cazzaniga: definitively sentenced for the death of Domenico Brasca|language=it|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20250427124301/https://www.varesenews.it/2024/03/per-leonardo-cazzaniga-confermato-un-altro-ergastolo-condannato-in-via-definitiva-per-la-morte-di-domenico-brasca/1860183/|archivedate=27 April 2025}}

Currently, Cazzaniga is serving his sentence at a prison in Alessandria and claims to have ceased all contact with Taroni after she accused him of being solely responsible for the deaths of her husband and father-in-law.