Police looking at new cause of death for murdered football journalist

The 53-year-old's body was discovered in the southern Italian province of Salerno on Sunday (19 July)

Esposito's body was found badly burned near farmland after firefighters were called to a fire in the area. The blaze was later found to have originated at the scene where the 53-year-old's body was discovered.

In terms of motives, authorities are looking at possible romantic or money issues.

And because of his work as a journalist, concerns have been raised that Esposito's death may have been connected to his reporting. The European and International Federations of Journalists, together with their Italian affiliates, have called for an investigation into whether his death was linked to his work.

New update in the Luca Esposito case:

Esposito was initially thought to have been killed from a gunshot wound, due to casings found near his bode, but no bullet wounds were found in his body.

According to a report from Sky, was only able to be identified as his car was found nearby, because his body was so badly burned.

What else do we know about Esposito?

Esposito was well known as a journalist in Italy for his collaborative work on the newspaper La Città di Salerno, as well as the TV station Otto Channel, and for personally running the football news website Tuttosalernitana.com.

The director for Otto Channel, an outlet for which Esposito worked as a collaborator has provided the following statement, as quoted by Rai News.

"Luca was a valuable collaborator for us as a commentator, certainly inconvenient but never banal and above all always courageous in defending his opinions on the world of football.

"In this difficult time, we express our deepest sympathies to the family who are experiencing such terrible grief and hope that law enforcement can shed full light on a tragedy that is causing great public concern, bringing those responsible to justice.

"At Otto Channel, we are deeply saddened also because Luca would have been one of the key commentators on our sports programs next season.

"With Annibale Discepolo, he would have formed a fun and brilliant duo on the program dedicated to Avellino football.

"Luca was extremely popular and always a talking point. A big hug to the family from the entire Otto Channel and Ottopagine team ."