The Stranger of Lipari (also known as Lipari John Doe) is the name given to an unknown man who was found dead by hanging in an abandoned house on the island of Lipari, Italy on the 19th of March 2009.
The Carabinieri determined that the man had been deceased for two months before being found. He was wearing a long black coat, a large hat and shoes that were not suitable for walking long distances in. There was no identification on the man, the only thing that was found in his pocket was an Italian-English dictionary.
The man was first spotted in October 2008, when residents of the island started taking note of him walking around as nobody recognised him. The man would not make friends with the residents, nor would he tell them where he was sleeping. The only thing he would tell them is that he eat at an establishment called “Gilberto e Vera” (which was a sandwich shop) every day.
He eat there once a day until the 5th of November, 2008, when the shop closed for the end-of-season period. The man would always sit in the same seat and was described as being fragile and having a penetrating glance. He spoke English and whilst he enjoyed talking to the other customers, he was very reserved and wouldn’t talk much. The locals described him as “thin and pale” and he had a “wise expression”. The man carried a black briefcase with him at all times. The locals say that he gave the impression of a broker or someone who worked in the finance industry.
The man was last seen alive on the 6th of January, 2009, by a man called Alfredo. Alfredo owns a house on the top of Monte Rosa which he rents out to tourists during the summer. He had gone up to check on the house when he saw a broken window and the television on. After going inside, he found the man sleeping on the bed fully clothed and covered by a duvet. As soon as the man saw Alfredo he got up and left with his briefcase, saying “sorry, sorry, sorry…” and left the house, heading towards the main gate.
Alfredo managed to record him as he was leaving. Alfredo did report the incident to the Carabinieri, but the man was not located until his body was found.
The man is described as being a white male between the ages of 45-50 and 6″2′. He did not have a beard and he had a bald spot on the centre of his head. He spoke English fluently as his native language, he was reserved and silent but also polite. The briefcase that he carried with him has never been discovered, and the contents are not known.
The only images of the man are captured here, the video of the man starts at 0:25 seconds. A massive thank you to Reddit user u/boiak for his post on this case and for sharing the video footage.
The man was buried on the island of Lipari with a grave that reads: “Stranger. The Soul is not unknown to God. Tragically died in Lipari in 2009.”
Tags:
Unidentified, Unidentified Man, John Doe, The Stranger of Lipari, Lipari, Italy, Europe, 2009, Suicide, Unresolved, Unsolved, True Crime, Strange, Mystery, Unsolved Mystery, 2000s, Strange Circumstances, Unidentified John Doe, Unsolved Case, Unsolved Suicide
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