3 minors removed to protected communities after killing of elderly woman

 MILAN - Three of the four minors responsible for the death of Cecilia De Astis, the 71-year-old woman who was hit by a car in southern Milan, have been removed from their families and will be placed in protected communities, according to sources at Il Fatto Quotidiano. The measure was carried out in the last few hours by the local police, while the search for the fourth, currently untraceable, is ongoing. The emergency measure, they explain, “was necessary because the families had left the camp in Via Selvanesco without communicating their intentions, despite their cooperation in the initial investigations.”

 The measure, pursuant to Article 403 of the Italian Civil Code, was taken in agreement with the juvenile prosecutor's office, which had just filed urgent appeals for the protection of minors and was awaiting the necessary decisions from the court. A young girl was stopped in a car driven by her grandmother on the A6 Turin-Savona motorway at the Fossano toll booth in the direction of Ventimiglia; two brothers, including the driver of the car that caused De Astis' death, were stopped in Piedmont on farmland in the municipality of Beinasco.

 All three minors will be placed in protected communities, with the collaboration of the Milan Municipality's emergency response team for minors. Within 24 hours, a report will be sent to the public prosecutor for minors who, in theory, within the next three days, through investigations and the collection of testimonies, may request the revocation of the placement, validation by the Juvenile Court and, in the same appeal, the “forfeiture of parental responsibility” for violation of “duties.” The judge will decide on the validation within the next 48 hours and appoint a special guardian, setting a hearing within 15 days. It is on that occasion that the children will be heard, if necessary.

 Meanwhile, De Astis' funeral was held today in Milan. Speaking to journalists, his son said: “We need to do something as a country; we must prevent these traumatic events. This was not a random death and could easily have been avoided,” said Filippo Di Terlizzi. “We need greater control of the territory,” he added, pointing out that, in any case, those who ran over his mother ‘are children, they weren't even 14 years old. We cannot place all the responsibility for their actions on their shoulders.” This message was also reiterated by Don Davide Bertocchi during his homily: “Jesus, with his love, taught that the only enemies are death and evil. Evil and death are the only enemies. No person is to be considered an enemy. This is Jesus' greatest teaching. Even if these people are imprisoned by evil. Much less children. Much less children who have been denied their childhood and for whom we can only pray and hope that they will finally find someone who knows how to teach them the love that conquers evil.”

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