A mother allegedly killed her nine-year-old son by stabbing him multiple times in the throat with a kitchen knife.
Olena Stasiuk was looking after her boy Giovanni.
The tragedy occurred just two hours before he was due to return to his father Paolo.
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When the agreed time passed, Paolo called his ex-wife Stasiuk, but could not reach her.
Concerned, he alerted the police.
Officers and firefighters arrived at the family home in Muggia, east of Venice, Italy, at around 10pm on Wednesday (12 Nov).
Using a ladder, firefighters entered through a window and found Olena dazed, lying in a pool of blood beside her son’s lifeless body.
Paolo, 58, was so shocked by the news that he suffered a medical emergency and had to be taken to hospital.
Stasiuk, 55, received treatment for cuts on her arms before being taken to a hospital in nearby Trieste, as reported by Need To Know.
Originally from Ukraine but long resident in Muggia, she was discharged yesterday (13 Nov) and now faces imprisonment.
Giovanni had been living with his father, who is Italian.
She had only been allowed to see him alone a few days earlier – previous meetings had always been supervised by a social worker.
Paolo had opposed the decision.
Local mayor Paolo Polidori, however, said the outcome was unforeseen.
“The situation had been monitored since the child was born,” he said. “It was a difficult situation, but nothing suggested it would turn into a tragedy.”
Giovanni was in his fourth year at a Slovenian-language primary school.
He loved football and played for the youth teams of ASD Muggia 1967 and ASD Muggia 2020.
The former club posted on social media: “There are no words for this. Rest in peace.”
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