Barreca is a 54-year-old bricklayer who confessed to murdering his wife and two sons aged five and 16 in the town of Altavilla Milicia, near Palermo.
The alleged accomplices were arrested after Barreca called the Carabinieri police during the night between Saturday and Sunday following the killings.
Barreca told prosecutors that he wanted to free the victims of “demons”, sources said.
It is suspected that the couple from Palermo may have encouraged Barreca to kill his family to liberate the house from the evil entities, as well as participating in the massacre.
The three suspects are thought to have met during prayer encounters at an evangelical church.
A third child, a 17-year-old girl, survived the slaughter and is in a state of shock, according to the sources.
She told investigators that the family was killed during an “exorcism”, the sources said.
Charred parts of the corpse of Barreca’s wife, Antonella Salamone, were found buried near the family home, sources said.
There is evidence that one of the children was tortured and strangled with chains, the sources said.
According to initial analysis, the children were murdered on Friday and their mother was killed several days before that.
The police managed to track down the alleged accomplices by analysing Barreca’s phone and thanks to the testimony of some local people, the sources said.
Altavilla Milicia Mayor Giuseppe Virga said the local community was in shock.
He said Carnevale events planned for this week have been shelved and a day of mourning will be called when the victims’ funerals are held.
“I want to express the community’s condolences to the families involved in this tragic event,” he said.
ANSA
