His story is for most part of his life common with that of his closest friend Paolo Borsellino, with whom Falcone shared the provenance from a rather poor zone of Palermo, the career as an Anti-mafia judge, the professional successes and the defeats, and finally the sad end, when they both were killed (at a 20 days distance) in particularly cruel massacres.
Falcone was killed with his wife (herself a judge too) and life guards in Capaci, on the motorway between Palermo International Airport and Palermo, on May 23, 1992. The car in which he travelled was exploded in the air by a tremendous quantity of explosive that had been placed inside the asphalt. When passing on the explosive, Falcone was driving his car at an estimated speed of 160 km/h.
It is supposed their murders were ordered by Totò Riina, but - like for his friend's murder - many other people too, gained criminal advantages from his death.
Palermo airport is now also known by the name Falcone-Borsellino Airport in honour of Falcone and another murdered anti-mafia judge, Paolo Borsellino, and a memorial by local sculptor Tommaso Geraci can be found there.