Former footballer missing since 2021: three defendants sent for trial in Avellino
Domenico Manzo, a 69-year-old from Prata Principato Ultra, disappeared on 8 January 2021. The judge at Avellino Court has sent his daughter and two former partners for trial on charges ranging from murder to harbouring.
Trial for the disappearance of Domenico Manzo
According to Il Fatto Quotidiano - Cronaca, the judge at Avellino Court Giulio Argenio has ordered the case of Domenico Manzo, a former footballer and mason who disappeared on 8 January 2021, to proceed to trial. The first hearing is scheduled for 17 February 2027. Sent for trial are Romina Manzo, the victim's daughter, on charges of harbouring; Loredana Scannelli and Alfonso Russo, who were in a relationship at the time, for aggravated murder with base motives and concealment of a corpse.
Manzo, 69 years old, had played for Ternana before taking up work as a mason in Prata Principato Ultra, in the province of Avellino. He was retired, separated and the father of two children: Romina and Francesco. On the evening of his disappearance, 8 January 2021, Romina was celebrating her twentieth birthday with friends despite Covid restrictions. Manzo left the home during an argument with his daughter and never returned.
According to the prosecution, reconstructed from CCTV footage and mobile phone geolocation, Manzo was chased and killed that evening by Russo and Scannelli. The civil party, represented by Manzo's siblings, maintains that the victim opposed his daughter's relationship with the two defendants, believing them responsible for financial exploitation at his expense. Romina had indeed received substantial compensation from a road accident, having been hospitalised for four months in intensive care.
Contradictions in the statements Romina made to investigators form part of the prosecution case against her. According to the investigators' reconstruction, at three o'clock in the morning Russo told her: "There is no point in continuing to look for him, he is dead and there is nothing more that can be done." The prosecution contests the daughter's discrepancies over timings and her omission of these phrases in her initial statements to authorities.
According to the prosecution, Russo would have made the victim's body disappear by exploiting his professional expertise. Russo worked for a waste disposal company and, according to investigators, was familiar with "the map of the sewers and the entire water and purification system" of the area. The case has attracted the attention of television programmes such as Chi l'ha visto?, where the defendants have consistently proclaimed their innocence. It will be for the trial to determine any possible responsibilities.
Source: Il Fatto Quotidiano - Cronaca