Disappearance

Date of Disappearance

January 1, 1954

Notes

Between 1954 and 1990, three women of similar circumstances disappeared and/or were murdered in the Melbourne area. Although decades spanned one case from another, police have reason to believe the three incidences may have been the work of the same individual.
Anna Maria Pontarollo
At some point in the 1950s, Anna Maria Pontarollo* arrived in Australia as a young immigrant apparently from Italy**. She found a new home in Melbourne where she met and began a relationship with another Italian immigrant, Vincenzo Leonardi.
Leonardi was already married, but his wife and child had remained in Italy when he went ahead to establish a new home and find a stable job before bringing them to him. He had been able to secure a position at the Melbourne Club, a high-society, private social club to which the veritable who’s who of the Victoria were exclusive members. With membership ranging from Chief Justices, Provincial Governors, and Prime Ministers, the position was a reputable one and Leonardi would remain there for the next three decades.
Leonardi and Anna hit it off and began living together permanently. They eventually had two daughters, but their extra-marital bliss was disrupted when Leonardi’s wife arrived from Italy with their child in tow. For a short time, it appears the three actually lived in the same home but by 1954 Leonardi’s wife became pregnant with their second child.
It was at this point that Anna seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. She was never formally listed as missing, but she was never seen or heard from again. Her name remained on the daughter’s birth certificates until the Leonardis legally adopted the girls. With that, the last trace of her disappeared.
At the time she vanished, Anna was 28 years old. This would put her time of birth around 1926. There is no known photo of her and characteristics or features are difficult to find described.
*Other spellings of her middle name include ‘Marie’
**Some article question if she was Filipina but the name is historically Italian and other sources say she came from Italy) (see SPAN).

Multiple Victims?

Rumored or Actual Sightings