A leading paparazzo who has photographed many of the world's biggest celebrities has been shot dead in Rome.

Daniele Lo Presti was found with a single bullet in his head, prompting fears he had fallen victim to a Mafia-style execution.

The 42-year-old photographer was discovered lying face down in a pool of blood in the Testaccio district in the southwest of Rome on a cycling track where he regularly went jogging.

His body was apparently found by friends with whom he had previously arranged to go running.

But perhaps his biggest hit came when he snapped pictures in Malta of Brad Pitt with a female assistant, which were said to have angered the actor's fiancée Angelina Jolie.

An officer attached to the investigation said: 'He was killed with a single shot from a small calibre weapon.

'It could be he fell foul of a Mafia crime family or someone else who really didn't want their picture taken.'


IMAGE ( [link to i.dailymail.co.uk] )