Novi Ligure murder

The Novi Ligure murder was a brutal multiple murder that took place on the evening of 21 February 2001 in Novi Ligure, Italy.

The incident

Susy Cassini, a 42-year-old accountant, and her son, 11-year-old Gianluca De Nardo, were both stabbed multiple times in their home while their husband and father Francesco De Nardo (45-year-old manager in the famous Pernigotti chocolate factory) escaped death because he was playing soccer with some friends. The murders drew widespread media attention in Italy when 16-year-old Erika De Nardo, the daughter and sister of the victims, blamed the murder on Albanian immigrants.

The crime scene, indeed, didn't suggest a robbery: doors and windows weren't forced and nothing precious had been stolen. Neighbours noticed nothing unusual and De Nardo's dogs didn't bark. Moreover, Susy and Gianluca had been over-killed (medical examiner counted almost 100 brutal wounds on their corpses), while young Erika was safe and didn't exactly seem shocked. She described the presumed aggression she faced, but her version of the facts was full of contradictions. Policemen showed her several mugshots and she "recognized" without any doubt an Albanian teenager named Cezar, but the boy proved he had an alibi. Erika stated that she ran away from the garage's door, but police easily observed that her footprints didn't mark a run: in fact, she had walked out quietly.

Some close friends described the 16-year-old girl as a neglectful, spoiled girl, and recalled she often squabbled with her parents because of her bad school marks and because her new boyfriend, a bully named Omar Favaro (17 years old), was someone her mother disliked.

Investigators found Erika's diary in her bedroom. It was full of sentences such as "That damn child (her brother) made me angry today and I beat him... " or "This is the end, Mommy, I hate you" or "However we know that everything will be finished by death" and so on. Two days after the murder, Erika and Omar Favaro were left alone in a room at the police station where some hidden microphones and a camera recorded their shocking confession. It is reported that Erika even mimicked the very moment when she stabbed her mother: "I hit her [referring to Susy Cassini] quite here" and asked to Omar: "Did you enjoy yourself by killing them?", while her boyfriend protested, remembering her they had killed two people and risked a life imprisonment for this crime. Erika replied that she was sure that police had no evidence against them and ordered him not to speak any more about what happened, but Omar lost control and exploded against her: "Come here, you, murderer!".

A few hours later, Erika and Omar were arrested for double murder. Omar confessed that the original plan was to also kill De Nardo's father, Francesco, when he came home from soccer, but Favaro told police that he gave up "because my hands were tied", and so he decided to go home, saying to his girlfriend, "If you want to kill your father as well, you'll have to do it all alone".

Omar admitted they had been planning the murder since they started dating, several months before. His girlfriend alleged "she was unhappy at home" and was dreaming to get rid of her family. Omar said that she requested his help as a proof of his love. Initially Erika planned to poison her parents by cooking them a soup adulterated with rat poison, but later changed her mind and said that "she would rather stab them" and stage a false robbery. Omar repeated they didn't mean to kill Gianluca, but Erika decided he couldn't survive after he saw them killing their mother and started screaming for help. With the help of Omar, who agreed to cooperate with the investigators, it was possible to reconstruct in outline the course of the crime.

Erika and Omar had spent the afternoon together as always, first in a coffee shop, then at the home of Omar. Here Erika decided that the murder had to take place that day. The girl returned home at about 7.30 pm. At the same time, Mr. De Nardo was leaving to go play soccer with some friends (the father testified that his daughter seemed happy and asked if he would return in time for dinner with the rest of the family). Omar, who was hiding nearby, rang Erika to find out if the father had moved away, then entered the house and changed clothes not to have to walk around afterwards covered in blood. Then, they took two large kitchen knives and waited for the return of Susy and Gianluca. As soon as the woman entered the kitchen, she was struck by his daughter.

Ms. De Nardo shouted in terror: "Erika, but what are you doing, are you killing me?" and asked her to save at least her little brother, but Erika continued to stab her mother and shouted "Die, die!". The woman tried to fly but fell on the table already set for dinner and ruined to the floor. According to Omar, Ms. De Nardo said to her daughter: "I forgive you".

The couple agreed to kill Gianluca, who could become an inconvenient witness. Erika first tried to calm her brother by leading him into the bathroom upstairs to heal his wounds, but the young boy understood that his sister wanted to kill him and tried to resist. Erika and Omar threw the child in the bathtub and unsuccessfully tried to drown him; he was killed by as many as 57 stab wounds. Omar testified that while he was being stabbed, Gianluca invoked the father and begged her sister not to kill him.

The murder is regarded as a case study in the way prejudice and media overexposure can affect a criminal investigation.

Initial response

In response to Erika's original claim that immigrants had murdered her brother and mother, newspapers demanded a crackdown on illegal immigrants, and the Northern League held anti-immigrant demonstrations.

Following early media reports on the murders, members of the public created a website called "erikatiamo" (meaning "Erika, I love you") in support of Erika. The website was later shut down by the Italian justice.

A young musician from Verona, named Mario Gugole started writing to Erika every day, expressing a sort of admiration and high regard for her. Gugole passed himself off as "Erika's new fiancé"; he took part in several TV programs and granted interviews in exchange for remuneration. Mr. Gugole was charged with aggression to his wife and stated that he had a bad childhood too and sometimes had wondered about killing his own father. De Nardo and Gugole continued corresponding until Gugole's sudden death in a car crash in December 2008.

Aftermath

A juvenile court in Turin sentenced Erika to 16 years and Omar to 14 years in jail.

Italian politicians reflected uncomfortably on the anti-immigrant frenzy the case had generated. Piero Fassino, then Minister of Justice, declared: "I believe that someone should beg the pardon of immigrants. The degree of incivility we have seen in this country in the last 48 hours should make us all reflect."

Erika's father, Francesco De Nardo still resides in the house where his wife and son were killed. Francesco De Nardo makes weekly phone calls to his daughter in prison. Erika's grandmother (Susy Cassini's mother) stated that she has forgiven her granddaughter and just hopes to see Erika again and help her as much as possible.

Omar Favaro was released on March 2010. He took a gardening job and said to journalists he means to get through high school and graduate, get married and have children. He hopes to forget, if possible, his former girlfriend. Erika De Nardo graduated in philosophy in 2009 and said she hopes to have a "second chance" in life. She will be eligible for parole on 2012.

Sources

• Murder wrongfoots the Italian nation. Guardian Unlimited, February 28, 2001
• Young woman's deviance: responsibility and punishment -- The "Novi Ligure Murder" through the mass media. Gaia Beretta, Santo Di Nuovo, Università di Catania
• Italian teen lovers jailed for family murders. ABC News Online, December 15, 2001.