Model killed by partner in Milan marks another victim of Italy's femicide crisis

  ROME – A 29-year-old woman was killed by her partner in the late hours of Tuesday evening on the balcony of her house in Milan, police said, marking another victim of the ongoing femicide crisis in Italy.

  Pamela Genini, model and entrepreneur, allegedly was stabbed over 20 times on the balcony of her flat in the Gorla neighbourhood of Milan by her partner Gianluca Soncin, 52. Authorities were alerted by neighbours after they heard cries for help coming from the third-floor apartment. 

  Police arrived at the scene and rang the intercom to enter the house. Gemini responded and allegedly told Soncin it was “Glovo”, a food delivery service, however she was unable to open the door. By the time the police managed to break down the door Soncin had allegedly dragged Genini onto the balcony and stabbed her 24 times. After murdering Genini, Soncin then reportedly tried to kill himself by stabbing himself in the neck twice. He is currently in hospital in a serious but non-life-threatening condition.

  According to those who knew the couple, they were going through a rough patch and Soncin had gone to Genini’s house to talk. Genini had previously said to an ex-partner that Soncin was violent and wanted to break up with him. Police said that Soncin had obtained a copy of the house keys so he could enter without Genini’s permission and previously had “repeatedly threatened to kill her.”

  Milan Public Prosecutor Alessia Menegazzo said in a statement that Soncin would be charged with murder with a further cruelty charge (“omicidio aggravato”) and stalking. Soncin allegedly arrived at the house carrying the knife he used to kill Genini, which Menegazzo says shows the killing was premeditated and thus was not manslaughter. The stalking charges are based on testimonies from acquaintances, who told police that Soncin repeatedly threatened and beat Gemini.

  This comes hours after Filippo Turetta, 24, waived his appeal and accepted a life sentence for killing his girlfriend, Giulia Cecchettin, in Nov. 2023. His lawyers had intended to appeal against the life sentence by arguing the crime was not premeditated. His sentencing caused outrage from the Italian public after it was revealed that despite stabbing Cecchettin 75 times, it "could not be proven" that he intentionally wanted to make Cecchettin suffer "by performing actions other than those one performs to take their life." Thus he was charged with murder but escaped a further cruelty charge. 

  According to the Italian Feminicide, Lesbianicide, Transcide Observatory, a branch of the Non Una Di Meno (“not one woman more”) movement, as of Oct. 1 there had been 70 femicides in Italy in 2025. A report published by the Criminal Analysis Service in March 2025 showed that in 2024, 113 women were killed in Italy, 99 of whom were killed by family or romantic partners. In the same period, the Guardian reported 80 women were killed in the U.K., a country with a population of over one million more. 

  Earlier this year, the Italian senate unanimously passed a bill which would see femicide become a crime in its own right, punishable by life in prison. The bill, introduced by the Italian government on International Women’s Day, defines femicide as the act of killing a woman “because she is a woman”, for example killing a woman for reasons of "discrimination, gender hatred or repressing her rights and freedom."

  The bill has not yet passed the lower houses but marks the Italian government’s steps towards an attempt to end femicide in Italy. Investigations are ongoing in Milan.