A 51-year-old woman was stabbed to death by her 57-year-old disabled husband in Venaria Reale, near Turin. The man then allegedly attempted suicide by ingesting drugs. This the last in a spate of femicides in Italy.
Rescued and taken to Maria Vittoria Hospital in Turin, he remains under medical supervision. The crime was discovered during the night in an apartment on Via Gozzano after the man’s sister raised the alarm when she was unable to contact him. Carabinieri, with the assistance of firefighters, entered the home and found the woman’s body in the bathroom. She had suffered multiple stab wounds to her back and chest. Investigators believe the attack occurred during a family argument.
This case is part of a worrying rise in femicides across Italy. In Rufina, near Florence, a 34-year-old woman was found dead in her home early Saturday. Investigators suspect her 37-year-old husband, who is in critical condition at Careggi Hospital in Florence after jumping from the second floor of their apartment building in an apparent suicide attempt. The victim leaves behind a two-year-old child.
Meanwhile, in Milan, Pablo Heriberto Gonzalez Rivas confessed to killing Jhoanna Nataly Quintanilla, a 40-year-old childminder from El Salvador who had been reported missing. He admitted to hiding her body after the murder.
Femicides in Italy decreased by 8% in 2024 compared to 2023, according to Martina Semenzato, chair of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into femicide and gender violence. She reported that 59 women were killed in 2024, mainly by their partners or ex-partners, down from 64 in 2023. However, during October last year, the Interior Ministry reported 90 femicides had taken place during the year.
“But that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down,” Semenzato warned. “The general trend is still rising, and we must continue to take action.”
