The only suspect for the Garlasco crime frequented a forum for seducers. The fateful appointment at the Prosecutor’s Office is on May 6th
Three thousand messages in seven years. This is what Andrea Sempio, the 38-year-old under investigation for the Garlasco crime, would have written on the forum «Italian Seduction Club»blog frequented by seducers. The magazine reported it, in order MOWthen the Corriere della Sera, Republic and transmission Fourth Degree. His nickname was «Andrea S.». Among the posts that appeared between 2009 and 2016, one attracted the attention of the investigators: a reference to a girl he met “between the ages of 18 and 20”, with whom the author allegedly had an obsession that lasted almost two years.
«The only time I fell in love happened in a dark moment in my life. Between 18 and 20″, we read in the message cited by Courier. And also: «No one has ever had that disruptive impact on my life». Words that the Pavia Prosecutor’s Office included in the accusatory framework, hypothesizing a “sexual” motive and contesting the aggravating circumstance of abject motives.
The defense: «It wasn’t Chiara»
That the author of those messages was Sempio, his lawyers, Liborio Cataliotti and Angela Tacciathey confirmed it without hesitation. But they reject its interpretation. The girl mentioned in the posts, they explain, was not Chiara Poggi. The lawyer Taccia, a childhood friend of her client and a participant in the same youthful encounters, claims to know with certainty who it was: a teenager younger than them, the object of a simple “crush” and not of a real obsession. The defense does not rule out calling her to testify.
To reinforce this reading, another post by Sempio himself, written in 2014: «I only fell in love once and, I understood over time, I was in love with a fantasy more than with the girl herself. In fact, I barely knew her.” A reflection that the lawyers read as proof of a superficial feeling, not of an obsession. More difficult to justify is another release from the same period, in which «Andrew S.» he reasoned about rape: «Rationally it may be a horror but, from the point of view of biology, evolution and reproduction, it is a practical demonstration of the strength of the male». Phrases that weigh on the public profile of the suspect.
What could happen on May 6th in the Prosecutor’s Office
The central issue, at this moment, is one: will Sempio speak to the magistrates? The 38-year-old was in fact summoned for May 6 by the Pavia Prosecutor’s Office, led by magistrate Fabio Napoleone, considered among the most expert and cautious in his sector. The decision, however, will only be made the day before. According to what has been reported, in recent days he is asking his lawyers “do I answer or don’t I answer?”. The reply would be: «Don’t worry about it. We decide.” Cataliotti limited himself to declaring: «On May 5th we will dissolve the reserve».
His former defender, Massimo Lovatiadvises him not to present himself spontaneously, “but only if forced accompaniment is arranged”. The most likely scenario, however, remains that of presenting oneself to the investigators and making use of the right not to respond.
In terms of physical evidence, the defense once again insists on one element: the size 42 shoe prints found at the crime scene would be incompatible with Sempio’s foot, which fits size 44. This, according to the lawyers, is the decisive point of the anthropometric examination. The Prosecutor’s Office, for its part, could have in its hands elements still covered by the secrecy of the investigation. The summons, in this sense, can also be read as a tactical move: putting the suspect in front of the entire evidentiary framework, evaluating his reaction, probing for any cracks.
