A woman killer’s life sentence has been upheld after appeal court judges quashed it due to “Covid stress”.
Antonio De Pace was originally sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the murder of his girlfriend.
That sentence has now been upheld, according to local media on Thursday (18 Nov).
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De Pace, then 27, beat victim Lorena Quaranta with objects and strangled her to death in their home on 21 March 2020.
They had started arguing the previous evening after De Pace accused his girlfriend of infecting him with Covid-19.
The nurse and first-year dentistry student called the police himself and confessed to the crime.
Quaranta was on the cusp of graduating in medicine when she was killed in Furci Siculo, Italy.
De Pace was found guilty of her murder and was handed a life sentence by judges in Messina.
But earlier this year, an all-male appeal court asked for the case to be re-examined.
Their reasoning, published on 21 July, was that the crime happened during the “stressful” Covid-19 pandemic.
It said: “It should be considered whether the trial judges fully looked into whether the specific context – especially the pandemic and its impact on everyone’s lives – might explain why the defendant didn’t try harder to manage his distress.
“They need to assess if these factors should affect his level of criminal responsibility.”
Prosecutors who agreed with the claim asked for De Pace’s sentence to be reduced to 24 years.
His defence lawyers argued that his actions stemmed from a state of anguish.
But, a mental health assessment revealed that the defendant only suffered from anxiety.
This alone, new appeal judges argued, was insufficient to reduce the severity of his punishment.
De Pace’s original life sentence was upheld and the reasoning will be filed within 90 days.
Only then will it be clear if there needs to be a new trial at the Supreme Court.
Quaranta’s father, Vincenzo, said: “We’ve been through some difficult times.
“This sentence is not just for my daughter, but for all the women who have fallen into the hands of brutal people.”
Politicians have welcomed the news, as reported by Need To Know.
Alfredo Antoniozzi of the ruling Brothers of Italy party said: “Justice has been served.”
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