99-year-old inmate at Marassi: shot his wife, no home for house arrest
Dino Marassio, 99, entered Marassi prison in Genoa after shooting his 86-year-old wife in Savona. No family member or facility agreed to take him in.
The near-centenarian ends up at Marassi: no home available
Dino Marassio will turn 99 on 5 August, but on Monday evening he passed through the gates of Marassi prison in Genoa, becoming — according to Il Fatto Quotidiano's crime section — the oldest inmate ever imprisoned in an Italian penitentiary.
At dawn on 6 July, in the couple's home in Savona, the retired security guard shot his 86-year-old wife, Pia Cavalotto, with his own regularly held Beretta calibre 7.65 pistol, then wounded himself with a knife. The woman, who suffered from severe dementia, survived and is hospitalised in intensive care at Santa Corona hospital in Pietra Ligure. Carabinieri, who arrived after neighbours raised the alarm, found Marassio with the weapon still in hand and arrested him.
The housing problem
From the earliest hours following the arrest, the case posed a difficult practical problem: where to place a 99-year-old pending validation by the investigating judge. For suspects of this age, house arrest is granted almost automatically, but Marassio's flat is under seizure for forensic examination and will not be released before next week.
Throughout Monday, intense negotiations took place between Savona deputy prosecutor Luca Traversa and the 99-year-old's lawyer, searching for alternative accommodation. The mission proved impossible: relatives — nephews and great-nephews — refused to take him in, and several healthcare facilities contacted also declined. The reason is that the man would need to be constantly guarded by law enforcement, with the resulting disruption to other residents.
Prison as the "lesser evil"
The only remaining solution was transfer to the clinical centre at Marassi, a healthcare facility within the prison equipped with fifty hospital beds.
The case has shone a light on conditions in the Genoa penitentiary. Fabio Pagani, Liguria secretary of Uil Fp Polizia Penitenziaria, denounced the case as "a photograph of the penitentiary system crisis", recalling that Marassi "currently houses 670 inmates against a regulatory capacity of 535 places, confirming itself, despite itself, as an institution of negative records".
The validation hearing before the investigating judge is scheduled for Thursday, but may not prove conclusive. If a suitable housing solution does not emerge, remaining in prison will remain the "lesser evil": the alternative would be to apply no precautionary measure, leaving a 99-year-old man, injured and with nowhere to spend the night, at large.
Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano - Cronaca