SAN GIULIANO MILANESE - The seventh femicide in the area of San Giuliano Milanese has taken place since the start of 2021, with the stabbing of Luljeta Heshta, police say.

    The 47- year-old woman is thought to have been killed by a 43-year-old Albanian male, on Feb. 7. The prosecutor of the case, Domenico Chiaro, says that this is the “umpteenth femicide” since the beginning of the year, and that considering “not even 40 days have passed it is a discouraging fact.”

  Luljeta is thought to have been suffered three fatal blows to her thigh and two to her back.  

  The witnesses of the murder “demonstrated a participation that was the result of a campaign to raise awareness of the phenomenon”, according to Chiaro.

  The supposed culprit denies all accusations, apart from having “recently had discussions out of jealousy with the woman with whom he had been living for years, but who had also moved away from home.”

  Another recent case of femicide was that of the 17-year-old, Roberta Siragusa, who was brutally murdered, allegedly by her boyfriend, in Caccamo, in Palermo province, Cinzia Leone. A Five Star Movement MP, has since spoken out against such crimes, largely caused by femicide and the deadly code of omertà. One of the preliminary investigative judges, Angela Lo Piparo, stated that Roberta’s body had been savagely ’torn apart’. 

  In an article for Fatto Quotidiano newspaper, Ms Leone described how she tried to get in touch with the mayor of Caccamo to raise awareness of the red bench which had been vandalised, in Caccamo, but has yet to receive any reply from him. Red benches in Italy are chosen by campaigners to signify women whose lives have been ended by gender violence. The lack of response from the mayor exemplifies the notion of silence in the face of violence which is, unfortunately, far from uncommon in Sicily, Ms Leone says.    

  Roberta’s name was inscribed on Caccamo’s red bench thanks to Dario Spatafora, a local artist. Ms Leone hopes that from this tragic act of violence a one central lesson can be learnt: that of prevention. Repression is not enough, society needs to be more respectful. This female MP has introduced dozens of red benches in villages where families have lost loved ones to femicide.

  Her insight into the Investigation Committee on Femicide of the Senate as well as other experience relating to such issues led her to denounce a complete lack of attention regarding domestic violence and the role gender has to play in this struggle. Indeed, some of the press always try to pass some of the blame onto the victim, such as has been done with the Roberta case, thereby making the offender appear less guilty, she claims. This clearly has an undesirable effect on consumers of such ideas.

  MS Leone mentions the role of the deep-rooted presence of omertà in Sicily and Mafia’s machismo mentality. The Mafia has long had a strong hold over somewhere like Caccamo, making it a far more dangerous place to live.

  The Mafia culture and omertà must be struck down in order to continue to reduce femicide and gender violence. Although some progress has been made, such as with the legislative Red Code, there is still a long way to go, admits Leone. Prevention of these crimes, such as with educational schemes to help control aggressive behaviour in the first place, is the key to saving innocent lives.   

  The recent murder of 37-year-old Piera Napoli, to which her husband confessed to, also took place in Palermo. This, much like Roberta’s murder, is indicative of the continual plague of gendered violence in this region. Salvatore Baglione, Piera’s husband, says that he decided to repeatedly stab his wife to death with a butcher knife that he “had taken once at work”.  He went on to hit her in the face before taking a blanket to cover her, since he “couldn’t see her in that condition”. Salvatore and Piera had been separated for two years, yet he claims that she provoked him by saying that she did not love him anymore, she loved her new partner. Federia Paiola ordered for the arrest which was futilely provoked by “mere jealousy and with cruelty”.  

  The other day, another woman, Ilenia Fabbri, was murdered by what is thought to be a hitman. It is thought that the killer entered the 46-year-old’s house with a copy of keys. She was then killed by cuts to her throat, with the murder being careful to leave no trace. Indeed, there is nothing to identify the hitman neither on the crime scene nor outside Ilenia’s house. 

  In 2017 Fabbri had reported her husband for abusing her. As well as this, the division of assets remained a contentious topic, as is evidenced her having sued her husband. The couple separated in 2018 and Ilenia had a new partner at the time of her death.           

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