She was not completely illiterate: she could write a few words on a postcard. She didn’t need to be very accurate, because her victims were almost illiterate as well, and in one occasion she actually convinced one of the victims to write the letters herself before dying, telling her she would not have time to do so once she was working in a new city. On the other hand, her son Giuseppe was studying literature at the time, and most likely helped her with all of this. Leonarda always denied Giuseppe had anything to do with the murders, but during the trial he confessed he sentthe letters from various cities.