Denise Cosco, who testified against her father and the 'Ndrangheta crime organization following her mother's 2009 murder, died in a Rome hospital after being found critically injured on Sunday, September 6, 2026. Authorities believe the 35-year-old took her own life. Prosecutors have opened an investigation into her death and seized her phone to determine if there was any incitement to suicide.
Cosco's mother, Lea Garofalo, was a witness for the Italian state who was killed after breaking ties with the 'Ndrangheta clan. According to trial records, Garofalo was lured to a meeting by Cosco's father, Carlo Cosco, where she was strangled, dismembered, and incinerated. Denise Cosco eventually identified her mother's remains through bone fragments and a necklace recovered after a statement by one of the killers.
Following her testimony, Denise Cosco lived under the Italian state protection program with a new name and identity. Francesca Rispoli, co-president of the anti-mafia organization Libera, stated that despite the protection, Cosco remained vulnerable and had recently reconnected with her father in prison. Friends reported that Cosco struggled with mental health and addiction in the years following the trial.
Francesca Rispoli of Libera suggested that witnesses may require life-long assistance, as the family ties inherent in these crime groups are difficult to overcome. The incident raised questions about how Italian authorities monitor the well-being of protected witnesses who choose to reconnect with family members serving prison sentences for violent crimes.
Legal experts and anti-mafia advocates are using the case to call for enhanced long-term resources for those attempting to start new lives under different identities. The Rome prosecutor's investigation into potential incitement to suicide and the analysis of Cosco's phone data is ongoing; a memorial gathering was also scheduled for Friday, September 11, 2026, in Milan.