Paganelli murder: Defence seeks acquittal of Dassilva; prosecution seeks life sentence
At the Rimini tribunal, the defence of Louis Dassilva contested all prosecution evidence, seeking acquittal. Verdict expected for 9 June.
Paganelli trial: defence attacks prosecution case, verdict on 9 June
The trial for the murder of Pierina Paganelli is approaching its decisive phase. Before the Rimini tribunal, solicitors Riario Fabbri and Andrea Guidi — defending Louis Dassilva, the 36-year-old Senegalese man accused of the death of the 78-year-old woman that occurred on 3 October 2023 — delivered closing arguments seeking the full acquittal of their client. This is reported by ildubbio.news.
The Rimini prosecution has sought a life sentence for Dassilva. The defence characterised the elements gathered by investigators as "inconsistent", contesting both the technical evidence and the credibility of Manuela Bianchi, the victim's daughter-in-law, currently under investigation for obstruction of justice in a connected proceeding.
No direct evidence at the crime scene
The heart of the defence closing argument was an attack on the overall strength of the prosecution case. According to Fabbri and Guidi, the trial did not produce direct evidence capable of placing Dassilva at the crime scene on the night of the murder. The solicitors insisted on the absence of biological traces and objective findings linking the accused to the fatal attack, arguing that the prosecution case rests on fragile reconstructions and statements lacking adequate external confirmation.
Among the technical evidence contested is the absence of movements recorded by the Health app on Dassilva's phone, an element that the defence highlighted to challenge the compatibility between the timescale reconstructed by the prosecution and the presence of the accused at the scene of the crime. The solicitors also considered the timing of the attack to be incompatible with the prosecution's reconstruction, highlighting how the sequence proposed by the prosecution leaves room for doubt about the dynamics and the perpetrator of the crime.
The Manuela Bianchi case
Particular attention was devoted to the figure of Manuela Bianchi. According to Fabbri and Guidi, the woman modified her version of events "to save herself", directing accusations towards Dassilva after the so-called Cam 3 line of inquiry came to nothing. The defence solicitors questioned the credibility of her statements, citing conversations and testimonies that, in their view, would not provide sufficient objective corroboration.
For the defence, Bianchi's change of version represents a decisive moment in the entire trial proceedings. The solicitors argue that her account cannot form a solid basis for a life sentence, in the absence of independent elements capable of confirming it. The issue concerns not only the internal coherence of the testimony, but its external verifiability: without concrete corroboration, the solicitors argued, the statements would not suffice to support the prosecution's request.
Alternative theories and Loris Bianchi's movements
During the closing argument, Fabbri and Guidi also raised possible alternative scenarios, focusing on the movements of Loris Bianchi on the evening of the murder. The reference falls within the defence strategy aimed at demonstrating how the investigation, according to the solicitors, did not definitively rule out hypotheses other than the one against Dassilva.
Verdict set for 9 June
The prosecution's final reply and the verdict have been set for 9 June. On that date the Rimini tribunal must rule on the prosecution's request — a life sentence — and the opposing position of the defence, which instead seeks the full acquittal of Louis Dassilva of the charge of murder.
Source: Google News IT — Crime (it)