On Tuesday, a court in Venice imposed a life sentence on 23-year-old Filippo Turetta for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Giulia Cecchettino. TASR writes according to ANSA and AFP agencies.
Cecchettina’s death sparked mass protests against violence against women in Italy. Turetta murdered his 22-year-old ex-girlfriend and classmate on November 11, 2023 in the town of Fossò near Venice. just days before her graduation in biomedical engineering from the University of Padua. She had at least 75 stab wounds on her body.
Cecchettina was initially reported missing, although it was known that she had met Turetto that day. Her body was found on Saturday, November 18, wrapped in plastic bags at the bottom of a ravine between the village of Piancavallo and a lake near the village of Barcis in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northeastern Italy.
Turetta was the main suspect because he followed and harassed his ex-girlfriend after the breakup. After more than a week on the run, he was apprehended in Leipzig, Germany, when he ran out of money and gas. During interrogation, he confessed to the murder and was extradited to Italy for prosecution.
The father of the murdered woman, Gino Cecchettin, also attended the sentencing. Turetta heard the verdict without apparent reaction. The victim’s father subsequently emphasized to the media that gender-based violence should not be fought with punishments, but with prevention during education.
More than 10,000 people attended last December’s funeral in Padua, and the father of the murdered expressed hope that her death could be a turning point in the fight against gender-based violence.
ANSA reports that in addition to court costs, the court awarded Gino Cecchettino provisional compensation on Tuesday 500,000 euros, 100,000 euros each to the siblings of the murdered Elena and David, and 30,000 euros to grandmother Carla Gatto and uncle Alessa.
