'Absolutely nobody' helping inquiry into Carlo Giannini's murder in Sheffield

The detective leading the investigation into the murder of a pizza chef in South Yorkshire has spoken of her frustration that "absolutely nobody" is helping the inquiry.

Det Ch Insp Becky Hodgman has spent the last six months trying to find Carlo Giannini's killer.

Italian Mr Giannini, 34, was stabbed to death in Sheffield's Manor Fields Park on 12 May.

But the detective admitted the inquiry has stalled.

"It’s really difficult for me to get my head around the fact we have a man killed in the middle of Sheffield and absolutely nobody is coming forward to talk about it," she said.

Mr Giannini was found dead in Manor Fields Park at 5am on 12 May. It is believed he entered the park around four hours earlier, but his movements before that remain unclear.

South Yorkshire Police said six months of investigations, CCTV trawls, witness appeals and evidence gathering have yielded little information.

Two people were arrested but later released.

Last Saturday Mr Giannini's family appealed from their Italian home for answers.

Det Ch Insp Hodgman said: "This is the first job I have had where we are six months in and we are finding it difficult to move forward.

"Somebody has got to know something. Someone is going to have said something, someone’s behaviour is going to have changed. What if it was your brother? Or your dad? Or your boyfriend?"

She said the size of the park had made the investigation complicated.

"Manor Park is absolutely huge," she said. "There are more than 16 entrances and exits. The main challenges have been narrowing those down. If you find a person in a house, then the attacker has come in through one of maybe two doors or a window. Whereas this area is so big the challenge is vast.

"This is why we’ve had so many witness appeals go out. We’ve got lots of CCTV images of people and we are trying to find them all to speak to them."

Calling it "the most challenging case" she had investigated in five years, she made a direct appeal to anyone with information. She said: "Please, take a moment and think about what if this was one of your family members. Would you want someone to come forward?

"Even if you’ve got a bit of information you may think is irrelevant, it might be a really small piece in a bigger puzzle, which may be vital in identifying and locating Carlo’s killer."

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