Faustina Setti

Setti was Cianciulli's first victim.
She asked Cianciulli to find her the perfect husband.
Once Cianciulli claimed to have found her a match, she instructed Setti to write letters to her loved ones explaining why she was suddenly leaving.
Cianciulli later mailed these letters to cover her tracks.

Cianciulli's description of the Setti's murder: “I threw the pieces into a pot, added seven kilos of caustic soda, which I had bought to make soap, and stirred the whole mixture until the pieces dissolved in a thick, dark mush that I poured into several buckets and emptied in a nearby septic tank. As for the blood in the basin, I waited until it had coagulated, dried it in the oven, ground it and mixed it with flour, sugar, chocolate, milk and eggs, as well as a bit of margarine, kneading all the ingredients together. I made lots of crunchy tea cakes and served them to the ladies who came to visit, though Giuseppe and I also ate them.”

Francesca Soavi

Virginia Cacioppo

Like Setti , Soavi seeked Cianciulli's help and advice.
Cianciulli told Soavi that she found her a knew job teaching at an all girls school.
She also wrote letters to her family and friends explaining why she was moving for her new job.
Soavi came to visit Cianciulli one last time on September 5, 1940 and she never walked out of her friends home.

Cacioppo was Cianciulli's last victim.
Cacioppo was a former singer, but asked Cianciulli to find her a new job. Before Leonarda Cianciulli murdered Virginia Cacioppo, she told her that she got her a job as a secretary.
On November 30, 1940, Cacioppo's sister in law saw Virginia enter Cianciulli's home, but she never saw her leave.
She was suspicious of Cianciulli and reported her to the local police.
Cianciulli added to the suspicions when she gave Virginia Cacioppo's jewelry away as a gift.

Cianciulli's description of Cacioppo's death: "Her flesh was flat and white, when it had melted I added a bottle of cologne, and after a long time on the boil I was able to make some most acceptable creamy soap. I gave bars to neighbors and acquaintances. The cakes, too, were better; that woman was really sweet."

Commonalities of the Victims:

All of Cianciulli's victims were middle-age, white females.
They all seeked her help and advice.
The three women were unsatisfied with at least one area of their lives and confided in Leonarda for a solution.
Her victims paid her great sums of money for her help, in Virginia's case she also gave Cianciulli her jewelry.