Benjamin John Braithwaite, a 35-year-old British man from Leeds, was found naked near an off-grid community in Sicily on 13 September. Italian police are investigating his death and have reportedly ruled out suicide as the main explanation, while examining whether an erotic game or sexual practice may have gone wrong. The case has attracted speculation about alleged occult activity, although authorities say there is no evidence connecting his death to a ritual.

Braithwaite had reportedly arrived in the area several days earlier and become involved with people living in abandoned farm buildings and makeshift camps. A rope and marks around his neck were found, prompting inquiries into possible asphyxiation, while toxicology and further medical tests are pending after an inconclusive autopsy. Carabinieri officers and prosecutors in Syracuse are leading the investigation; no suspects have been formally identified, and the Foreign Office is supporting Braithwaite’s family.