Families want "Monster of Florence" serial killer case reopened decades after mysterious murders of 8 couples

Families of victims of a serial killer who terrorized Florence in the 1970s and 80s are demanding a new probe into one of Italy's darkest unsolved mysteries, a lawyer said on Friday. Relatives of three victims have formally asked prosecutors in the Tuscan city to look afresh at potential leads into the so-called "Monster of Florence," believed to have murdered 16 people.

"We are looking for the truth, with a new investigation, and we're convinced that there are elements in the old case files that were wrongly overlooked," lawyer Valter Biscotti told AFP.

Biscotti represents Estelle Lanciotti, the eldest daughter of French victim Nadine Mauriot, who was shot dead in 1985 with Jean Michel Kraveichvili during a camping holiday in Italy.