The family of an Italian student strangled by her boyfriend during lockdown have been left outraged after her killer’s life sentence was quashed.
Calabrian nurse Antonio de Pace was sentenced to life in prison after strangling 27-year-old Lorena Quaranta to death at his home in Furci Siculo, in the Sicilian province of Messina, in March 2020.
Lorena, who was set to graduate in medicine that year, had been suffering from a sore throat for a week, which de Pace, now 31, was convinced was a symptom of Covid.
He reportedly wanted to return home to Calabria but she wanted him to stay, leading to a brutal fight that ended with him beating and strangling her to death, but his life sentence for the murder was overturned last week.
The decision left her family devastated. Her father, Vincenzo Quaranta, told local media: “She had always dreamed of becoming a doctor and she made it. She was months away from graduating and had a bright future ahead of her. He couldn’t bear it.”
Calabrian nurse Antonio de Pace (pictured right) was sentenced to life imprisonment after strangling 27-year-old Lorena Quaranta (pictured left) to death in her home.
Lorena, who was graduating in medicine that year, met her boyfriend and dated him for three years before moving in with him.
The medical student had been suffering from a sore throat for a week, which De Pace was convinced was a symptom of Covid.
“Covid has nothing to do with this story. The truth is that he had an inferiority complex,” she added as she spoke to reporters with tears in her eyes, alluding to the fact that her daughter was about to become a doctor while her boyfriend was a nurse.
She said her other daughter, Daniela, also found messages sent by Lorena to her boyfriend, which said: ‘You are showing a side of yourself that makes me feel sorry for you.
“I don’t care if you’re a nurse or a doctor. I’d rather proudly say that I’m dating a nurse who acts like a man, rather than a rude doctor.”
Hours after strangling and killing Lorena, de Pace made two failed suicide attempts before turning himself in to police.
He even admitted to killing her “because she gave me the coronavirus,” but the test came back negative.
De Pace was sentenced to life in prison for aggravated murder during his trial two years ago. His lawyers appealed the decision and took the case to Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation, the country’s highest appeals court.
They said De Pace suffered from a lack of judgment caused by stress and fear of the virus when he killed his girlfriend of three years.
This is despite a psychiatrist finding no signs of psychosis, although he said De Pace had a personality prone to violence, according to local media.
The Supreme Court overturned De Pace’s life sentence last week.
The court justified its ruling as follows: “It must be considered whether the trial judges thoroughly analysed whether the specific context, especially the pandemic and its impact on everyone’s lives, could explain why the accused did not make greater efforts to control his distress.
Lorena was beaten and strangled to death by De Pace at her home in Furci Siculo, Sicily.
‘Covid has nothing to do with this story. The truth is that he had an inferiority complex,’ said Lorena’s father, referring to the fact that his daughter was about to become a doctor while her boyfriend was a nurse.
Hours after strangling and killing Lorena, de Pace made two failed suicide attempts before turning himself in to police.
There will now be a new trial after De Pace’s life sentence was quashed, potentially reducing his prison term to 24 years, meaning he could be free in 16 years for good behaviour.
“They must evaluate whether these factors should affect their level of criminal responsibility.”
Daniela Quaranta, 27, told Italian outlet AgrigentoNotizie: “We are outraged, we didn’t expect it. We are living a completely absurd situation. You don’t kill your girlfriend because you are stressed about Covid.”
‘This risks sending a devastating message to all women: it is possible to kill and avoid life imprisonment if you are stressed.’
There will now be a new trial after De Pace’s life sentence was quashed, potentially reducing his prison term to 24 years, meaning he could be free in 16 years for good behaviour.
The Supreme Court’s decision also sparked outrage among the public in Italy, with politicians criticising the ruling.
Democratic Party MP Michela Di Biase wrote on Facebook that she was “speechless” and added: “The pandemic has been widely ignored for its effects on the mental health of girls and boys, but is seen as a mitigator of femicide.
‘It is terrible news that the Supreme Court judges have overturned the life sentence of Lorena Quaranta’s murderer.’
Another politician, Elisabetta Lancillotta, who is part of Giorgia Meloni’s ruling Brothers of Italy party, said: ““Covid cannot and should not be used as an extenuating circumstance, especially in cases of femicide.”