Little is known Pisanu's early life. Born in 1942 in the
comune of
Mores in
Sardinia, he moved to
Genoa at an early age. As an adult, he started working in a factory, and after being hospitalized during a workplace accident, he first met another worker named Maria Spugnuolo, who had also coincidentally been injured. The two continued talking to one another after their recovery, and eventually began a romantic relationship. After some time, they decided that they would marry one another, with Pisanu moving in into the
boarding house where Spagnuolo and her mother resided. Masala eventually got fed up with the abuse, taking their son and fleeing to her parents' home on Corso Regina Elena. Pisanu proceeded to harass them on several different occasions, demanding that they return his son and threatening to retaliate if they refused. On March 19, Pisanu went to the house again, but after his demands were rejected yet again, he found a nearby ladder and climbed inside through a second storey-window. His 74-year-old father-in-law, Antonio Masala, was awakened by the noise, but before he could read, he was stabbed multiple times.
Prosecution and imprisonment Immediately afterwards, Pisanu was lodged in a prison, but was soon transferred to a psychiatric facility in
Racconigi to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. In his testimony, he claimed that he had been a loving husband and father who had been driven to desperation by his wife's parents, but Angela herself claimed that this was not the case. When she testified, she said that Pisanu was jealous and regularly mistreated her and the children, so much so that both of their children had to be interned at a hospital for
tuberculosis treatment, as they were undernourished. In the end, Pisanu was convicted on all counts and sentenced to 27 years and 3 months imprisonment. In addition to this, Antonio Masala filed a
civil lawsuit against him, requesting 6 million
lire in damages. ==Release and final murder==