In June 1944, Antonio Agostini was convicted of the manslaughter of his Australian wife, Linda, ten years earlier. In the Australian media, this case had been known as the ‘Pyjama Girl Murder’. Agostini had previously worked as a waiter at Romano’s restaurant in Sydney, and been editor of the fascist Italian newspaper, Il Giornale Italiano.

Agostini came into contact with Mrs Santospirito when he was facing deportation back to Italy. Antonio Agostini wrote a letter to Lena Santospirito from Pentridge Prison in December 1947. He appealed to her for help, asking Santospirito to plead his case to Arthur Calwell, who was then Minister for Immigration and had the power to reverse his deportation order.

This series contains a long letter written by Agostini which gives an account of his life in Italy and in Australia, including his relationship with his wife. Researchers are requested to use the photocopy of Item No SP-01522, due to this document's fragility and significance.