An Italian husband who was serving a prison sentence for killing his wife and five-year-old son with around 30 household objects has committed suicide in prison.

Alexandro Riccio, 39, repeatedly beat his wife with at least 30 house objects, including a metal canteen, a ceramic ornament, and a painting before stabbing her 23 times and then doing the same to his son.

He has now hung himself with his sweatpants in the Ivrea prison in Turin on Saturday night ( 25th September) where he was serving a sentence for killing his wife Teodora Casasanta, 39, and their five-year-old son.

Riccio was handed an undisclosed prison sentence for the murders which took place in the married couple’s home in Carmagnola in the Italian city of Turin on the night of 29th January.

Riccio tried to commit suicide on the night of the murder by drinking bleach, slashing his wrists and then throwing himself off the second-floor balcony.

He survived the suicide attempt and an investigation into the death of his wife and child revealed he killed both of them.

The local new site Fanpage reported that on the night of 29th January, Casasanta told her husband she was intending to leave him, which led to a violent quarrel between the couple who had been married since 2014.

After he killed his wife, Riccio then lashed out at his son Ludovico, 5, using many of the same objects, and reportedly finished him off by stabbing the youngster in the throat.

The authorities later found a note Riccio wrote that read “I will take you with me” suggesting he planned to kill his family before ending his own life.

In the letter, Riccio said he was disappointed by his relationship with his wife and declared his love for the two he had allegedly just murdered.

The owner of the bar in front of the victim’s house said: “He often came to our bar with his son, he seemed like a quiet person. They were a nice family. Last Sunday they were all here. He was worried about the pandemic and about his job.”

The neighbours called the police after hearing screams from the house followed by a thud on the street and the moans of Riccio.

Investigators described the crime scene as “chilling” once inside the house. They have confiscated about 50 objects which were possibly used in the brutal murder.

Riccio was moved to prison after spending several weeks in hospital recovering from his first suicide attempt.

Local media did not state the length of the sentence that Riccio was serving.