A jealous brute who hid in a wardrobe before stabbing his ex to death as she slept has been given 24 years behind bars.
An appeal court chose to uphold Zakaria Atqaoui’s previously handed sentence on Wednesday (18 Dec).
He and victim, Sofia Castelli, 20, started dating when Castelli was in her teens.
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Atqaoui moved in with her and her family during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Her parents reportedly treated him like a son.
The couple’s relationship lasted almost five years, despite its ups and downs.
Castelli decided to end things with Atqaoui a few weeks before her murder.
Atqaoui refused to accept the break-up.
On the night of 28 July 2023, he let himself into the Castelli family’s flat in Cologno Monzese near Milan, Italy, with a stolen set of keys.
Castelli was out with her friends at the time, and her parents and younger brother were out of town.
He hid in a wardrobe in her parents’ bedroom and waited for Castelli to come home.
Atqaoui was convinced his ex was going to return home with another man.
But she actually arrived home with a female friend.
Atqaoui listened to them chatting until they went to sleep in different rooms.
He then emerged from the wardrobe armed with a kitchen knife.
As Castelli slept in her parents’ bed, he stabbed her eight times, including at least three times in the neck, killing her.
He then changed his blood-soaked clothes and shoes and left, as reported by Need To Know.
He spent the rest of the night wandering around until, at 9:20 am, he turned himself in at a local police station and confessed.
Atqaoui, 24, was sentenced in April this year, but his lawyer appealed two of the aggravating factors – premeditation and trivial motives.
However, the Milan Court of Appeal chose to uphold the sentence on Wednesday following a single hearing and a brief period of deliberation.
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