A murdered model’s head has been decapitated and stolen from a cemetery.
Pamela Genini was allegedly killed by her ex-boyfriend on her balcony as shocked neighbours looked on.
She was stabbed 24 times on the evening of 14 October last year.
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The suspect, named as Gianluca Soncin, 52, is said to have arrived at her home to beg her to take him back.
But he allegedly turned violent and grabbed a kitchen knife.
As police made their way up the stairs, Pamela ran out onto her balcony, where Soncin reportedly stabbed her in front of horrified onlookers.
By the time officers smashed down the front door, the 29-year-old model was lying in a pool of blood.
The suspect then reportedly tried to take his own life by stabbing himself twice in the throat in front of police.
He was rushed to hospital for treatment and currently remains in police custody on charges of premeditated murder.
The pair had been in a relationship for about a year before their split.
Her body was laid to rest in a temporary niche at Strozza cemetery in the village of Costa Valle Imagna in Bergamo, northern Italy, as her family built a family chapel, as reported by Need To Know.
After four months, the chapel was finished and arrangements were made to move the body on Monday (23 March).
Pamela’s mother Una Smirnova, her partner Piergiuseppe Rota, and her brother Nicola Genini were present for the small ceremony at the finished chapel.
They were accompanied by Strozza parish priest Don Luigi Carminati.
But after removing the temporary niche cover, workers noticed a screw resting at the base of the coffin.
Upon examination, they found the lid wasn’t perfectly aligned and that silicone had been used to close it instead of wood putty.
The cemetery director immediately halted proceedings and called Mayor Riccardo Cornali.
A police unit was sent to the scene and, in the presence of magistrate Giancarlo Mancusi, the coffin was opened.
Those present were horrified to see that the model’s head had been cut off and stolen, according to local reports.
The suspects had reattached the coffin lid, put it back in the niche, and secured the cover.
The police suspect that at least three or four people would have carried out the act over a considerable period of time at night.
Based on the condition of the silicone, investigators believe the head was removed recently.
The Bergamo Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into the desecration of the victim’s body and theft of her head, carrying a prison sentence of between two and seven years.
Pamela was a former child model who turned professional at 16.
She appeared on a Love Island-style dating show called L’isola di Adamo ed Eva when she was 19.
She went on to work as a luxury real estate agent and launched her own bikini brand, EP SheLux, a few years ago.
Pamela split her time between Milan, Monte Carlo and Dubai, but often returned to visit family in Strozza.
She was a regular on the red carpet at glitzy events such as the Venice Film Festival – usually accompanied by her beloved chihuahua, Bianca.
The investigations into her death and desecration of her corpse are ongoing.
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