The family of an Italian student who was strangled by her boyfriend during lockdown are furious 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 in their home in Furci Siculo, in the Sicilian province of Messina, in March 2020.
Lorena, who was due to graduate with a medical degree that year, had been suffering from a sore throat for a week. De Pace, now 31, was convinced it was a symptom of Covid.
He reportedly wanted to return to his home in Calabria, but she wanted him to stay. This led to a violent fight in which he eventually beat and strangled her. However, his life sentence for the murder was quashed last week.
The decision left her family devastated, with her father, Vincenzo Quaranta, telling local media: “She had always dreamed of becoming a doctor and she did. She was just a few months away from graduating and had a bright future ahead of her. He couldn’t handle that.”
Calabrian nurse Antonio de Pace (right in photo) was given a life sentence after strangling 27-year-old Lorena Quaranta (left in photo) in their home
Lorena, who was due to graduate from medical school 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 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,” he added as he spoke to reporters through tears, referring to the fact that his daughter was about to become a doctor while her boyfriend was a nurse.
He said his other daughter, Daniela, also found messages Lorena had sent to her boyfriend, which said: ‘You show a side of yourself that I feel sorry for.
“I don’t care if you’re a nurse or a doctor. I’d rather proudly say I’m dating a nurse who acts like a man than a rude doctor.”
Hours after choking 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 his test results came back negative.
De Pace was sentenced to life in prison for aggravated murder at 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.
There they alleged that De Pace suffered from an error in judgment, brought on by stress and fear of the virus, when he murdered his girlfriend of three years.
This is despite the fact that a psychiatric specialist found no signs of psychosis, although according to local media he did say that De Pace had a personality prone to violence.
The Supreme Court last week overturned De Pace’s life sentence.
The court gave the following reasoning for its ruling: ‘It must be considered whether the trial judges fully examined whether the specific context – in particular the pandemic and its impact on everyone’s lives – could explain why the suspect did not try harder to cope with his suffering.
Lorena was beaten and strangled by the Pace in their home in Furci Siculo, Sicily
“Covid has nothing to do with this story. The truth is that he had an inferiority complex,” Lorena’s father said, referring to the fact that his daughter was about to become a doctor while her boyfriend was a nurse
Hours after he strangled and killed Lorena, 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 overturned, allowing his prison sentence to be reduced to 24 years, which would mean he could be released in 16 years for good behavior.
‘They must assess whether these factors affect the degree of criminal liability.’
Daniela Quaranta, 27, told Italian news agency AgrigentoNotizie: ‘We are furious, we did not expect it. We are living through a completely absurd situation. You do not kill your girlfriend because you are stressed by Covid.
‘This risks sending a devastating message to all women: if you are stressed, you can kill without getting a life sentence.’
Now that De Pace’s life sentence has been overturned, a new trial will take place. This would allow his sentence to be reduced to 24 years. That would mean he could be released in 16 years for good behavior.
The Supreme Court ruling has also sparked public outrage in Italy, with politicians reacting strongly to the ruling.
Democratic Party representative Michela Di Biase wrote on Facebook that she was “speechless”, adding: “The pandemic has been largely ignored for its effects on the mental health of girls and boys, but is seen as a mitigating factor for femicide.
‘The news of the ruling of the judges of Cassation, quashing the life sentence of Lorena Quaranta’s murderer, is terrible.’
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 a mitigating factor, especially in cases of femicide.’