Sixteen-year-old John Paul Getty III disappeared before dawn after a night in central Rome. Reports place the abduction around Piazza Farnese. His captors took him to southern Italy and held him until December 15.
Messages to Gail Harris demanded approximately $17 million for her son’s return. Some early accounts suspected a staged disappearance. His grandfather initially refused to pay, saying that doing so would expose other family members to kidnapping.
Il Messaggero received a package containing hair and part of Paul’s right ear, accompanied by a threat of further mutilation if the family did not pay.
The captors reduced their demand to several million dollars. Gail handled communications while police monitored ransom calls. The grandfather reportedly supplied $2.2 million and lent Paul’s father the balance. Published dollar equivalents for the total payment range from roughly $2.7 million to $3.2 million.
Fletcher Chase delivered the ransom in Italian lire. Police recorded the banknotes and observed the collectors before following suspects linked to the payment.
Paul was found alive beside a road in southern Italy before dawn on December 15. He was 17 and had been held for more than five months.
Police raided locations in Calabria and Rome after monitoring men linked to the ransom collection. Antonio Mancuso was detained in Cicala. TIME reported eight arrests and traced ransom money in the possession of at least three arrestees.
Paul returned to Rome to assist investigators after the arrests. Contemporary reporting described his offer to identify suspects, and AP footage recorded his involvement in the inquiry.
The kidnapping trial opened in Lagonegro, Basilicata, more than two years after the first arrests. Contemporary coverage reported that Paul and Gail attended the proceedings.
A three-judge tribunal convicted Giuseppe Lamanna and Antonio Mancuso, sentencing them to 16 and eight years in prison respectively. Lamanna was accused of cutting off Paul’s ear. Seven defendants, including alleged organiser Girolamo Piromalli, were acquitted for lack of evidence.