Police suspect suicide in death of Carlomagno’s parents.
The parents of a man who confessed to killing his wife in a femicide that shocked Italy earlier this month were found dead at their home north of Rome on Saturday evening.
An investigation is under way into the deaths of Pasquale Carlomagno and Maria Messenio who were found hanged in their garden, according to newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Authorities are treating the case as suicide however the Civitavecchia prosecutor’s office has ordered autopsies to determine their exact cause of death.
The couple’s son Claudio Carlomagno, 44, was jailed last week and has confessed to killing his wife Federica Torzullo at their home in the lakeside town of Anguillara Sabazia.
Torzullo, a 41-year-old postal worker, disappeared on 8 January and her body was found 10 days later on land beside Carlomagno’s family-owned excavation business.
The couple, who have a 10-year-old son, had been in the process of separating.
Carlomagno was arrested and taken to jail on charges of femicide and concealing a corpse. During questioning, he said he killed his wife during an argument, citing fears of losing custody of their child. He is currently under close watch at Civitavecchia prison.
An autopsy revealed that Torzullo suffered 23 stab wounds, mostly to the neck and face. There were also burn marks on her face and one leg amputated in an apparent attempt to make her body unidentifable.
The prosecution will have to establish whether Carlomagno had planned to kill his wife, amid suspicions that he may have been assisted by an accomplice immediately after the crime.
Carlomagno’s parents had been due to appear before investigators in the coming days to shed light on unclear aspects of their son’s confession, state broadcaster RAI News reports.
Despite the man’s admission, there are still some elements that don’t add up, such as the time of murder and the possible involvement of an accomplice who may have helped to clean up blood stains in the couple’s home.
Investigators are seeking to ascertain the identity of a person seen travelling with Carlomagno in his car the day after the murder, the same day that the accused’s father – who is not under investigation – was filmed in front of his son’s house.
Carlomagno’s parents were well known in Anguilla Sabazia: his father, 68, owned a local excavation company while his mother, 65, was a former police officer who resigned from her role as the town’s security councillor last week.
The couple, whose bodies were discovered by Carlomagno’s aunt who became concerned after her calls went unanswered, reportedly left a note addressed to their other son.
Photo Corriere della Sera
