Poggi murder case: Sempio heading towards committal for trial as Pavia prosecutor orders new expert reports
The Pavia prosecutor's office has concluded its investigation into Andrea Sempio for the 2007 murder of Chiara Poggi. New forensic examinations have been ordered on genetic traces and scientific evidence.
Garlasco murder case: breakthrough in reopened investigation
The Pavia prosecutor's office has concluded a new investigative phase into the murder of Chiara Poggi, who was killed on 13 August 2007 in her family home in Garlasco. According to La Repubblica, the next procedural step for Andrea Sempio, 38, is heading towards committal for trial. The suspect has consistently denied any involvement.
In recent months, investigators have ordered supplementary expert examinations: genetic, anthropometric, fingerprint and forensic-medical investigations. A new psychiatric examination has also been requested, suspending the mandate of the psychiatrist previously assigned. The investigative file is now in the process of being notified to Sempio's defence, which will have 21 days from the notification to file submissions, documents or defence expert reports.
The discovery phase
The notification of the notice allows all parties to access fully the acts and elements gathered by the prosecutor's office. Sempio's lawyers will be able to examine the material on which the accusations are based, produce counter-arguments and request further investigations. The same right applies to the lawyers of the Poggi family and representatives of Alberto Stasi, definitively sentenced to 16 years for the same murder and designated as an "interested third party" in the proceedings.
This moment is of particular importance: it will allow the parties to verify which elements have been included in the file and how the prosecutor's office interprets them, reducing the significance of information that emerged during the investigative work.
New scientific examinations
Among the witnesses heard in recent days is Luciano Garofano, former commander of the Ris in Parma. On 25 September, Garofano was heard for over an hour and a half. He confirmed the meeting without going into the details of the contents discussed. According to press reconstructions, investigators examined specific aspects of the 2007 scientific examinations, including materials from the pedals of Stasi's bicycle and the related genetic analyses.
The experts who acquitted Stasi in the first-instance abbreviated trial had established that the traces on the pedals belonged to the victim. The new investigation is said to have also focused on the interpretation of raw genetic evidence and data. Among the elements discussed is the nature of material found on an exhibit: previously identified as sweat, it is now subject to re-evaluation.
Garofano, who was a consultant for Sempio's defence, had already publicly expressed doubts about the substance of the scientific evidence attributed to the suspect, describing them as "weak if not non-existent". In recent days, some military personnel who had participated in the 2017 investigations have also been heard.
Committal for trial is not automatic
The closure of the investigation does not automatically lead to the opening of a trial. Once the submissions and expert reports filed by the defence have been received and examined, the prosecutor's office must make a formal decision. It may request committal for trial for aggravated voluntary manslaughter if it considers the elements gathered to sustain the accusation in court, or it may adopt a different determination provided for by procedure.
In the event of a request for committal for trial, it will be the judge for preliminary hearing to rule on the continuation of the proceedings. The prosecutor's request is not equivalent to a conviction nor does it definitively establish the responsibility of the suspect. In case of committal for trial – unless acquittal at the preliminary stage – the Court of Assise will decide on the merits.
The aggravating circumstances
Sempio is charged with significant aggravating circumstances: cruelty (the 12 blows inflicted on the victim) and base motives, namely the alleged refusal by Chiara Poggi to a sexual advance. By comparison, Stasi had been sentenced to 24 years for murder, a sentence reduced by one third for the abbreviated procedure. In the second appeal trial, deputy prosecutor general Laura Barabini had requested 30 years, arguing that the then-student had acted with cruelty.
Possible implications for Stasi's conviction
Any continuation of the investigation against Sempio could also have implications for the proceedings concerning Stasi. The connection between the two judicial matters would depend, however, on concrete developments and initiatives undertaken on the front of reviewing his conviction. These are subsequent scenarios, contingent on decisions by the prosecutor's office and subsequently by the judicial authority.
The first step remains the formal closure of the investigation and the disclosure of the file to the parties. Only after examination of the acts and presentation of the defence observations will it be possible to understand which direction the new investigation into the Garlasco murder will take.
Source: la Repubblica