Mafia killings do n't typically shock Italians -- as disturbing as the occasional hit may be , the tragedy usually affects only friends and families of the victims . But a coldblooded , point-blank killing this month in southern Italy has a nation grieving -- for a 3-year-old child . Nicola `` Coco '' Campolongo was shot in the head along with his grandfather , Giuseppe Iannicelli , and his grandfather 's 27-year-old companion -- victims of an apparent mob hit over money . Their bodies were found January 19 in a burned-out Fiat Punto on the outskirts of Cosenza , in southern Italy 's Calabria region . Iannicelli , who was serving a drug-related sentence on house arrest , appeared to be the target of the hit . `` In all my years investigating organized crime murders , none has been as horrific as this one , '' lead prosecutor Franco Giacomantonio told CNN . `` It is unimaginable that a child can be made to pay for the crimes of his parents . '' The killing even caught the attention of Pope Francis , who called Coco 's death `` unprecedented . '' He asked worshippers at his Sunday address to say a prayer for Coco and called on the boy 's killers to repent for their crimes . Coco 's 24-year-old mother , Antonia Iannicelli , did n't attend her son 's funeral . She 's serving a four-year jail sentence for the possession and sale of drugs . Police feared members of the powerful 'Ndrangheta crime organization -- believed to be behind the killings -- would target Iannicelli if she attended . Her two other children , ages 4 and 5 , were moved to protective custody in another region of Italy . Iannicelli will be allowed to serve out the rest of her sentence on house arrest with her surviving children . The killing of such a young child has sparked debate in Italy about how to protect children growing up in the shadow of the country 's crime syndicates in the impoverished south . Coco was just an infant when his mother began serving her jail sentence . On Tuesday , Francesco Talarico , head of the regional government in Calabria , wrote a letter to the president of Italy 's national observatory of the rights of minors , urging the group to `` lift the veil of silence '' that often accompanies mafia crimes , and to `` seriously investigate what can be done to protect the future of at-risk children like Coco . '' Coco 's mother was already serving her second prison term for drug crimes tied to 'Ndrangheta -- one of the most powerful organized crime syndicates in the world , according to Francesco Forgione , head of Italy 's Parliamentary anti-Mafia Commission . `` Coco 's mother is the first victim of the system , '' Talarico told CNN . `` Her son had little chance to escape that life . '' In the wake of Coco 's killing , Interior Minister Alfano Angelino and National Police Chief Alessandro Pansa signed an emergency protocol in the child 's name to ensure the protection of children 's rights . `` We need ... to make sure the protocol does not forget children who are growing up in vulnerable situations outside the law , who may be victims or witnesses to crimes . We need to make sure Coco is the last child ever killed like this , '' Pansa said . No suspects have been named in the triple homicide , but Giacomantonio believes it is likely connected to the region 's drug trade . Would the Mafia target Pope Francis over Vatican reforms ?
Nicola `` Coco '' Campolongo was shot and killed last week . His grandfather and grandfather 's companion were also killed . The two men had been in a car accident on the way to work when they stopped at an intersection, where their vehicle hit another car that then crashed into them.