Manuela Murgia, new forensic examinations: extension of investigation under consideration by the investigating judge
The hearing was yesterday, but Judge Altieri could dismiss the case against Astero.Per restare aggiornato entra nel nostro canale Whatsapp
A unique case : the prosecutor requests an extension of the investigation , but the judge schedules a hearing to determine whether it is truly necessary . A year after the murder case was reopened—for the third time—in connection with the death of Manuela Murgia, the sixteen-year-old girl who disappeared on February 4, 1995, and was found dead the following day in the Tuvixeddu canyon, prosecutor Guido Pani has requested an extension . This is necessary, according to those in the know, to determine once and for all through a thorough forensic examination whether the girl was actually raped and killed, or whether she fell (accidentally or intentionally), as confirmed by the first autopsy.
Having received the prosecutor's request, investigating judge Giorgio Altieri—who was in charge of the lengthy evidentiary hearing to find genetic profiles and examine the clothes the girl was wearing on the day of the tragedy—scheduled a hearing, which was held yesterday. "If he deems that, given the current state of the case, an extension should not be granted," states the article of the Code of Criminal Procedure used, "the judge, within the established time limit, shall set the date of the hearing in chambers." The only suspect is her ex-boyfriend Enrico Astero , but a lengthy evidentiary hearing demonstrated that his DNA was not found on the young woman's clothes. Therefore, yesterday, defense attorney Marco Fausto Piras appeared in court to forcefully request that the case against his client be definitively closed. For years now, the case has been the subject of ongoing investigations, but with no evidence to support his guilt.
Judge Altieri will now have to decide whether to dismiss the case or grant an extension. He could also rule that the investigation can continue without any suspects, but only after carefully evaluating the statute of limitations, given the years that have passed and the material gathered by the Prosecutor's Office . And weighing on the matter is the lack of investigative certainty that this is aggravated voluntary homicide, the only crime that—according to the Cartabia law—still allows the investigation to remain open.