Giorgio Orsolano was born on 3 June 1803 in San Giorgio Canavese, near Ivrea in Piedmont, Italy, to Antonio Orsolano and Margherita Gallo. After his father died, his mother sent him to live with his uncle, a priest, hoping he would find structure and education—but that didn’t stick, and he was sent back home. Back in his village, Giorgio preferred lingering in taverns over honest work or learning a trade.

By 1823, at age 20, his criminal behavior escalated. He stole ten candles from the Confraternity of Santa Marta and other items from the small parish church of Santa Maria Assunta. More shockingly, he abducted and imprisoned 16-year-old Teresa Pignocco for six days in an attempted rape. He was ultimately sentenced to eight years in prison on December 15, 1823.

Upon his release on 13 December 1831 (for good behavior and sentence completion), Orsolano returned to the outside world. He began a relationship with 24‑year‑old widow Domenica Nigra, fathering a daughter, Margherita, born on 7 July 1833. The couple married in early April 1834. Orsolano attempted a modest livelihood—opening a small "cutters and sausages" shop. 

On 14 February 1834, tragedy struck: 10‑year‑old Caterina Scavarda was lured into the woods, raped, and murdered by Orsolano. Her body was discarded in the countryside, and her disappearance went unnoticed for some time as villagers suspected wolf attacks. 

Then, on 24 June 1834, 9‑year‑old Caterina Givogre met a similarly horrendous fate. She too was raped, brutally decapitated, and her remains thrown into the Piatonia stream. Again, the community attributed the disappearances to wolves.

The third—and final—victim was 14‑year‑old Francesca Tonso, abducted on 3 March 1835 during a busy market day. Under the pretense of buying eggs, Orsolano lured her home, where he raped and butchered her with a cleaver. He then stuffed her remains into a jute sack and disposed of it in the same stream, washing the bag afterward to hide evidence.

Once she was reported missing, Francesca’s family pointed suspicion toward Orsolano, who matched the aunt’s description of the last man seen with her. When approached, he brusquely turned them away. Police later searched his home and discovered Francesca’s clogs, bloody clothing fragments, and the soiled sack—irrefutable evidence. The enraged locals attempted to lynch him, but he was whisked away to Ivrea Castle by authorities.

Initially in denial, Orsolano eventually confessed—allegedly after being told that a confession, combined with a plea of insanity, could spare him from the gallows. His trial ended swiftly: on 13 March 1835, he was sentenced to death in Ivrea, and executed by hanging four days later in San Giorgio Canavese, near the Chapel of Sant’Anna. He reportedly listened to the verdict.

That same day, the University of Turin dispatched three surgeons to dissect the corpse. Doctors noted his unusually large head and testicles, which were removed—his skull taken to an anatomy museum, and a head cast preserved to this day at the Luigi Rolando Museum of Human Anatomy in Turin.