(YouTube video transcript)
It’s early April 2009 in Buġibba, Malta.
A father is calling his only son again and again. No answer.
Nicola Romano is in Morocco with his second wife. Days pass in complete silence.
But the warnings had already started long before he left.
Nails left outside the family workshop on Damascus Road.
A cross found leaning behind the garage door.
The family dog killed, its body rolled in a carpet and dumped in a field — photographs of the dead animal later sent anonymously to the family.
When Nicola finally returns to Malta, he goes looking for his son with one of Gaetano’s friends, a young woman named Charlene.
They force open the workshop door. A broken key is found at the scene.
Nicola walks past the industrial furnace once… twice… nearly nine times.
Then he opens it.
Inside is the charred body of his 20-year-old son, Gaetano.
Six nails driven deep into his skull.
Seventeen years later, no one has been brought to justice.
This is the brutal, still-unsolved murder of Gaetano Romano.
Intro
Welcome to True Crime Tales with Cosette.
Viewer discretion is strongly advised.
Before we continue, a quick note:
Many of the images you will see in this video are screenshots taken from the NET Television programme Evidenza.
Evidenza is a Maltese investigative true-crime series that re-examines unsolved cases. The episode about Gaetano Romano was uploaded to YouTube in 2025 (I was unable to confirm the exact original air date on NET Television).
Background
Gaetano Romano was born on the 3rd of April 1989.
Sicilian by blood, raised in Malta.
He worked every day alongside his father Nicola in their family business, Cinque Stelle Services — a gypsum and ceramics workshop on Damascus Road in Buġibba.
His Maltese mother died of cancer when he was still a young boy preparing for his confirmation.
Nicola raised him largely alone for years. He later remarried a Moroccan woman, and by 2009 the couple had two young daughters.
In the Evidenza episode, Nicola spoke with raw emotion about those years. He described being both father and mother to Gaetano, and the sleepless nights that followed his first wife’s death.
Gaetano was hardworking and deeply loyal — his father’s “golden boy”.
But the threats began long before the murder.
Eight months earlier, the family dog was killed. Its body was found rolled up in a carpet and dumped in a nearby field. Anonymous photographs of the dead dog were sent to the Romanos.
Before Nicola left for Morocco, he had already found nails left outside the workshop.
One day he also discovered a cross leaning behind the garage door.
In Evidenza, Nicola himself recalled these strange discoveries.
Gaetano seemed to sense the danger.
He told his father he believed he would die young.
And he left a hidden letter that was only found after his death. It read:
“If something happens to me, you know who to look for — you don’t have far to look.”
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| Nicola Romano next to a photo of his son Gaetano |
The Discovery
On the 3rd of April 2009 — Gaetano’s 20th birthday — Nicola was still in Morocco.
When his son stopped answering the phone, worry turned to fear. After several days of silence, Nicola flew back to Malta.
He went first to their home. No Gaetano.
Then to the workshop on Damascus Road, accompanied by Charlene, a friend of his son’s who had come to help search for him.
The garage door was locked from the inside.
A broken key was found at the scene.
Nicola forced the door open.
Inside, things were disturbed. Objects had been moved. Some gypsum items were broken.
The heavy steel door of the industrial furnace was bolted shut — something Nicola never did.
In his own words, Nicola said he walked past that closed furnace door around nine times. He didn’t open it at first. Charlene was with him.
Then a sudden, terrible feeling hit him.
He opened the door.
The electric oven inside had melted from the heat.
And there, curled on the floor and partially burned, was his son.
One hand near his head, the other on his waist.
A trickle of blood still visible on Gaetano’s face.
Six nails had been driven into his skull.
Investigators later said they were most likely hammered in by hand.
There were defensive wounds on his arms.
A broken bat was also recovered from the scene.
Nicola has described the horror of that moment many times, including in Evidenza. The image, he says, has never left him.
Watch on YouTube
Investigation & Aftermath
In the days that followed, police arrested three men: a relative of Nicola’s, a Maltese friend of Gaetano’s, and close friend referred to in reports as a "Yugoslav". All three were later released without charge.
The letter Gaetano left behind pointed to someone close to the family.
The earlier threats — the dead dog, the nails left outside the workshop, the cross — suggested this was not a random attack, but something that had been building for months.
Nicola has never stopped speaking about the case.
In Evidenza he appeared emotional and exhausted, still searching for answers years later. He spoke about sleepless nights, about the silence surrounding the investigation, and about his belief that the person responsible was someone known to them.
Gaetano was finally buried on the 30th of May 2009 at Burmarrad cemetery.
Theories
Over the years, several theories have been put forward about the motive and the identity of Gaetano’s killer.
The theory that Nicola has always believed — and the one most strongly supported by Gaetano’s own words — is that the killer was someone close to the family. The letter Gaetano left behind, the earlier killing of the family dog, the nails left outside the workshop, and the cross all point towards a person who knew the Romanos well.
Another possibility raised early in the investigation was that the murder resulted from a personal argument that escalated.
A third theory explored by police was a possible drug connection, after pills suspected to be ecstasy were found in Gaetano’s home. However, this has never been conclusively linked to the murder.
Some have also suggested the particularly brutal method — the nails, the attempt to burn the body in the family furnace — was intended as a deliberate message.
To this day, none of these theories has been proven, and no one has been charged.
Current Status
As of 2026 — more than seventeen years later — the murder of Gaetano Romano remains completely unsolved.
No one has been charged.
The case file is still open.
Who left the nails outside the workshop?
Who killed the family dog and sent the photographs?
What is the significance of the broken key found at the scene?
And who hammered six nails into the head of a 20-year-old man before trying to burn the evidence in his father’s own furnace?
If you know anything — even the smallest detail — please contact the Malta Police.
Outro
This has been True Crime Tales with Cosette.
If this story stayed with you, please like, subscribe, and leave your thoughts respectfully in the comments.
Until next time… stay safe.
