Gioele Mondello and his mother Viviana Parisi, 43, went missing on August 3, after Parisi told her husband she was taking the boy shopping for shoes in Messina.

Parisi’s Opel Corsa was involved in a “minor incident” with a truck carrying road workers on the A20 motorway between Messina and Palermo.

Her body was found on August 10, a week after the pair disappeared.

Gioele’s remains were found not far from his mother’s body on August 19.

Tests on Parisi’s car and an autopsy on Gioele indicate the boy may have died from injuries sustained during the car accident, authorities announced on Wednesday.

A local shopkeeper who often saw the mother and son claimed he witnessed Parisi carrying Gioele over the motorway rail guard and into the countryside following the crash.

Another eye witness described Parisi as being “extremely agitated” following the crash, and said Gioele had been alive and unhurt.

Authorities have suggested that Gioele may have suffered a brain haemorrhage after hitting his head in the accident and had been alive when Parisi carried him into the countryside, but died shortly after.

Media reports initially suggested that Parisi may have killed Gioele before committing suicide, after authorities revealed that the woman had been treated for a recent psychological breakdown, and her condition had been reportedly aggravated by the coronavirus lockdown in Italy.

Parisi’s husband, Daniele Mondello, was quick to declare his wife would never have hurt their son or killed herself, and claimed Parisi was calm and well on the morning of their disappearance.

The Mondello family’s lawyers have filed a complaint against person or persons unknown for “omissions” in the deaths of Parisi and Gioele.

The family has condemned authorities for their initial search efforts that failed to locate the body of Gioele.

A retired police officer who was among volunteer searchers found the boy’s remains just 200 metres from the stretch of motorway where Parisi and Gioele were last seen.

“Five hours of work by a volunteer sufficed, compared to 15 days of [work by] 70 experienced men,” Gioele’s father said.