Talk:Holohan murder case

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This article is based on news accounts only and I did not have access to official DoD records or court files. My own opinion is that Icardi and LoDolce were falsely accused as part of Cold War intrigue and Italian politics. The accounts of the Italian witnesses against the Americans are somewhat improbable whereas the shell casings outside the villa and the hand grenade on the beach supports the idea that Holohan was killed outside in the firefight. Ediza8 01:03, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Well, I haven't been through the NY Times articles but I have read the Time pieces. How would the firefight scenario explain the traces of poison found in the body and the fact that the body had been deliberately hidden in the lake? Perhaps the reports of poison can be dismissed as misinformaiton in an investigation several years after the murder but it appears that all the confessions describe the disposal of the body consistantly with the facts discovered during recovery.Kellyjt 13:12, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for joining this discussion.

If the evidence if poison is accurate, if, the possibility exists that the Communists may have poisoned Holohan. The presence of the shell casings outside demonstrate a firefight outside, not inside the upstairs bedroom of the villa. The Communists would naturally try to dispose of Holohan's body in the lake, dropping one of his grenades on the beach in the process. Why would Holohan have a grenade in bed if he was killed there? He would have had one on his belt or in his pocket if he was fleeing the villa and anticipating combat.

If Icardi was such Communist loyalist and obviously a leader, why would he go through the charade of drawing lots with a lowly sergeant/radio operator? And why kill a superior officer just to support one of four competing partisan groups. If that was Icardi's plan he could have found far easier ways to disappear Holohan.

A more likely scenario is the Communist attack focusing on Holohan. They were well organized and well armed and not at all shy about killing someone in their way. Despite the heroic image of freedom fighters during World War II, partisans did pretty much as they chose with little liklihood of being held responsible.

When the Italian police cornered the Italian agents, who better to lay off responsibility than the absent and, by 1950, imperialistic Americans. Remember these were Communists in the prisoners' dock and the Communists of the early 1950s definitely had an agenda, both nationally and internationally. Why let the loyal partisans take the hit? Blame the Americans. The NY Times published some of the Communist testimony which included Icardi investing $75,000 in a toy factory in Italy. Where did he get the money? Mission Chrysler had no where near that much cash.

And later the Italian senator admitted it was his men that did it. Ediza8 22:02, 8 August 2007 (UTC)