The submission suggesting that Marco Pantani was murdered was drafted by Antonio De Rensis, the lawyer representing the parents of Marco Pantani, and delivered to the Rimini Public Prosecutor’s Office on 24 July 2014. The document was accompanied by a detailed critique of the original autopsy report by Professor Francesco Maria Avato. Avato argued that Pantani’s injuries were consistent with a physical attack, and that there was more cocaine present in the body than could have been consumed alone. He privileges the theory that someone poisoned Pantani by forcing him to drink cocaine after dissolving it in water. The perfect crime. Too perfect, perhaps.
This book takes two parts. Part One is a meticulous reconstruction of the last 8 months of Marco Pantani’s life. Every episode, every description, every snatch of dialogue derives directly from a witness statement or a scientific report. Part Two lists De Rensis's doubts, and provides straightforward explanations why none of them stands up to scrutiny.