Garlasco, Stasi towards the review of the trial. But some doubts remain about Sempio too. The case is far from closed
Alberto Stasi, definitively sentenced to 16 years for the murder of Chiara Poggi, could soon see his judicial history rewritten. The Pavia prosecutor’s office, which has been investigating Andrea Sempio for a year as the new possible perpetrator of the crime, would be ready to notify him of the conclusion of the investigations. The information will then end up on the table of the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office, which will have to evaluate whether to formally request the review of the process.
What is needed for the review
The review is not a new appeal. AND an extraordinary tool, provided only in specific cases: sentence incompatible with the established facts, conviction based on false documents, ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, or new decisive evidence not known at the time of the trial. The latter would be the scenario on the horizon. Among the potentially disruptive elements, the new report from the medical examiner Cristina Cattaneo, which places Chiara Poggi’s death between 10.30 and 12, more likely between 11 and 11.30: the time slot in which Stasi was on the computer, intent on working on his degree thesis. A fact which, if confirmed, would dismantle one of the pillars of the conviction.
There are many clues on Sempio, but no certain proof
At the center of the investigation is Andrea Sempio, a friend of Marco Poggi, the victim’s brother. In the 300 pages of the information, there is talk of a possible motive linked to “refusal to a sexual approach and hatred”. But there is no concrete evidence yet. The evidence is in fact circumstantial: the DNA found under Chiara’s nails, belonging to her family lineage, and the so-called footprint 33 on the wall near the folding door, attributed to him. As for the soliloquies recorded in the car, in which according to the investigators Sempio admitted to the crime, his lawyers reply that he was simply commenting on podcasts that talked about him.
Then they stay many shadows on the reconstruction of the 38-year-old’s movements on the morning of August 13, 2007. The accusatory hypothesis assumes that he had waited hidden in the garden, taking advantage of Chiara’s opening of the door to let the cats out. After the attack, he allegedly fled out the back towards his grandmother’s house, about 500 meters away. But no one saw him. No trace. Not even grandma would have noticed anything strange.
In recent weeks, the testimony of an ex-girlfriend of Sempio has also emerged, a girl about ten years younger, interviewed by the police. The two had a relationship between 2014 and 2015. The woman described a normal, peaceful relationship. She confirmed that she sent him intimate photos spontaneously“without him asking me.” No intimate videos, ever requested.
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio raised a broader question about the Garlasco crime: «How was it possible to condemn Stasi? A person acquitted in the first and second degree cannot, without new evidence, then be convicted.” A reflection that goes beyond the single case. Because if Stasi appears ever closer to the revision, the doubts regarding Sempio remain concrete and serious, and the indictment very probable. At the moment, however, we can only speak of hypotheses.
