Murder of Lieutenant Alfred Lyth

The murder of Second Lieutenant Alfred R. Lyth was committed in Garfagnana, Italy, by Italian "Monte Rosa" Division soldiers during World War II.[1]

On February 6, 1945 Lieutenant Lyth's aircraft was hit during the bombing of a railroad tunnel, probably victim of German antiaircraft fire, forcing Lyth to parachute to the ground and landing in the village of Torrite. He was later captured by "Monte Rosa" soldiers of the Italian Social Republic and conducted to their headquarters in Camporgiano. After interrogation, during transporting of the prisoner, the Italians shot and killed Lyth, claiming that he was attempting an escape. Eyewitnesses indicated that Lieutenant Lyth was clearly limping, and thus an escape on foot was hard to fathom.

At the end of the war, the Allies investigated Lyth's death and tried three Italian officers for the murder. Captain Italo Simonitti, a 38-year old former chemist, was executed on January 27th, 1946; Sergeant Benedetto Pilon condemned to life imprisonment; and General Mario Carloni demoted to the rank of colonel. Lieutenant Peruzzi, who had also been charged, was found not guilty since the day of the murder he was not present. [2]