The final act of the evidentiary hearing into the Garlasco crime was held in the Pavia courthouse. Experts discussed in particular the male DNA extracted from the fingernails of two of Chiara Poggi's fingers, which the prosecutor's office and the investigating judge deemed compatible with that of Andrea Sempio or members of his paternal family line.

The presence of Stasi and the controversies

Andrea Sempio did not show up in the courtroom, but Alberto Stasi surprisingly arrived instead .

And there has been much controversy over the presence of Stasi, who was definitively convicted of the crime.

At today's hearing, Francesco Compagna, the Poggi family's attorney, requested that Alberto Stasi leave the courtroom because, as he is neither a suspect nor an injured party, he would not be eligible to appear. However, Judge Daniela Garlaschelli authorized his presence, citing Article 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for the participation of other persons, in addition to the suspect and the injured party, "subject to the judge's prior authorization."

"I confess that I wasn't expecting Alberto Stasi to be present today. However , I didn't object, because it was the presence, albeit passive, of someone who had an interest in the completion of the trial . It didn't seem to me that there could be any objections to his presence," said Liborio Cataliotti, one of Andrea Sempio's lawyers .

Responding to a question about his client's absence, Cataliotti replied that "Andrea would not have been questioned, just as Stasi was not, and he would not have had the right to speak, just as Stasi did not. It was a technical-scientific hearing. Attorney Angela Taccia and I thought it was valuable that our experts were present. Our client's presence, however, was unnecessary, especially to avoid exposing him to the cameras. We are very satisfied with how the evidentiary hearing went."

A harsh attack on Stasi came from Domenico Aiello, lawyer for former Pavia prosecutor Mario Venditti, under investigation in Brescia for corruption (according to the prosecution, he received money to hastily dismiss the Sempio case in 2017) : "I learned from live TV that the actual owner of the labor subcontract for the overhaul project showed up in the Pavia courtroom. I'd be curious to know if he's satisfied and in what capacity he'll be recorded in the hearing minutes—whether as an unauthorized spectator, talent scout, or interested observer. Yet another serious violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure . I hope an innocent candidate isn't replaced by another unfortunate innocent one, at the expense of a certain innocent person."

At the end of the hearing, Stasi was surrounded by journalists: "I can't speak, please let me go. Be patient," he said, "escorted" by his lawyers Giada Bocellari and Antonio De Rensis.

"Alberto came because this was an important day," attorney Bocellari emphasized. "Keep in mind that we've been talking about this DNA for 11 years: the expert report has finally arrived, which was evaluated in cross-examination. It was important for Alberto to be there at this moment ." "Alberto is a strong man," De Rensis stated.

DNA

The two lawyers then spoke about the hearing: "It has been definitively clarified that Alberto Stasi is excluded from the traces found . Questions were asked, particularly to Dr. Albani, and then the other two experts were also heard. We know very well that we are dealing with two traces from two fingernails from two different hands, which have critical issues, as I have always maintained, as we have written in all our reports. Therefore, the critical issues of mixed DNA have certainly been highlighted, as already highlighted in the expert report, which is not consolidated because we do not have an identical replica of the one considered, and partial because it is not a complete profile. After that, the result is what you have all known for a few weeks. We therefore have a piece of data that is certainly significant, considering that we started from Professor De Stefano's report, which stated that everything was degraded and that Alberto Stasi could not be excluded from these traces: now it has been definitively clarified that Alberto Stasi is excluded ."

"Sempio," Bocellari added, "will not be convicted for the DNA. He will never be convicted, perhaps not even indicted, solely for the DNA. It's a procedural fact, at this point a piece of evidence in its own right, which will then have to be evaluated by the Prosecutor's Office in the context of all the other elements. The presence of Alberto's traces should have been ruled out back in 2014: that's what the expert told us. Alberto Stasi rushed to give his DNA, he always agreed to be questioned, and he was here today."

Sempio's defense has a different opinion: " It is not possible to reach a definitive point in establishing the identity of the DNA found on Chiara Pioggi's nails and this is why we are satisfied , because Dr. Albani explained in a very detailed manner, even better, the significance of her tests."

The Poggi family

Attorney Francesco Compagna, during a break in the evidentiary hearing, spoke about the Poggi family's state of mind: " They can no longer stand this morbid attention, in which each person somehow exploits a trial to support their own claims. Obviously, greater confidentiality and greater protection for the people involved would be desirable, but we see that it's not possible. I myself am receiving insults and attacks on social media; this is the result of all this."

And now?

Now we await the next steps of the Prosecutor's Office, which, it appears, believes it has further evidence against Sempio. From the phone calls to the Poggi home to the lack of an alibi, from fingerprint 33 to the Brescia investigation, all the way to the alleged motive, which remains top secret for now but which investigators believe they have identified. From what we understand, the Prosecutor's Office is ready to close the investigation and request that Andrea Sempio be sent to trial.

We also await the advice of Professor Cristina Cattaneo, who will be called to ascertain the time of death, the weapons, and the dynamics of the crime, completing the picture already outlined in the blood pattern analysis by the RIS in Cagliari.

(Unioneonline/L)

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