Venice: A Venice court on Tuesday is expected to announce its verdict on Filippo Turetta, a 23-year-old man who has confessed to the brutal murder last year of his 22-year-old former girlfriend, Giulia Cecchettin, in a case that shocked Italy and highlighted its problem with femicide and gender-based violence. Turetta has admitted to stabbing Cecchettin to death at Fossò, near Venice, on November 11, 2023, days before she was due to graduate from Padua University in biomedical engineering.
According to Ansa News Agency, the case caused widespread dismay partly because of the brutality of the killing and also due to the young age of both the perpetrator and the victim. Prosecutors say Turetta, who was doing the same course as Cecchettin, stabbed her 75 times. Turetta was present in court on Tuesday, as was the victim’s father, Gino Cecchettin, who is among the civil plaintiffs in the trial. The judges have gone into chambers to consider the verdict, which they are not expected to announce before 15:00.
Cecch
ettin was reported missing on the day she was murdered after she met up with Turetta and went for a meal with him. Her body was found in a gully at Val Caltea, near Lake Barcis in Friuli, on November 18, 2023. Turetta went on the run after dumping the corpse. He was tracked on the side of the road near Leipzig, Germany, after he ran out of money and his car ran out of petrol, a week after the murder.
Speaking at her funeral in December, Gino Cecchettin expressed hope that his daughter’s death might mark a turning point in the fight against gender-based violence in Italy. Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, who had already committed to tackling the issue, subsequently sent a circular letter to schools inviting them to reflect on his words.
