The heartbroken dad of a femicide victim has slammed appeal judges for quashing her killer’s conviction due to the stress of Covid.
Nurse and first-year dentistry student Antonio De Pace strangled his girlfriend Lorena Quaranta to death during a heated row.
It happened on 31 March 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
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He called the police himself and confessed to the crime, as reported on Need To Know.
He was later found guilty of the femicide of medical student Lorena Quaranta and handed a life sentence.
However, a court has now quashed the conviction because the killing happened during the “stressful” Covid-19 pandemic.
The appeal judges’ reasoning was published yesterday (21 Jul).
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.”
Because of the Supreme Court’s decision, there will be a retrial.
Lorena’s dad is baffled by the ruling.
Vincenzo Quaranta claimed: “Covid has nothing to do with it. It had just started.
“The truth is, De Pace had an inferiority complex towards my daughter.”
He also told local media: “She was almost finished with her medical degree.
“While he was a nursing student, and Lorena had helped him stay on track and get into dentistry.
“He had already passed four exams and had one more to go.
“He wasn’t anxious about it – he had been joking with Lorena’s five-year-old brother just that morning.”
Lorena, 27, dreamed of becoming a paediatrician.
She had been with Antonio, now 31, for four years when he killed her at their home in Furci Siculo, Italy.
Vincenzo said: “Recently, my daughter Danila found messages that her sister had sent to Antonio.
“These messages weren’t considered in the trial.”
Lorena’s messages read: “You’re showing a side of yourself that makes me pity you.
“I don’t care if you’re a nurse or a doctor. I’d rather say with pride that I’m dating a nurse who acts like a man, rather than a rude doctor.”
Elisabetta Lancillotta of the ruling Brothers of Italy party is one of many who have criticised the Supreme Court’s decision.
She said: “Covid cannot and should not be used as a mitigating factor, especially in cases of femicide.”
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