Cagliari, family attacked in Stampace: "I feared my husband was dead"

"I was afraid my husband was dead. He was lying motionless on the sidewalk covered in blood." It is impossible to forget what happened on the night between Saturday and Sunday in Via Mameli: "I was also afraid for my son. In defending his father from the violent attack of those three, he managed to throw one of them to the ground who then hit him with something sharp, perhaps a glass bottle that had shattered shortly before. Luckily the wounds to his head, neck and side were not deep, otherwise..." At 53, a wife and mother experienced moments of terror in what should have been a night of fun. "We were going to a friend's club," the woman says. "In Via Mameli there was a big car stopped in the middle of the street. After a little while, my husband honked the horn. That's when those three young men appeared. And all hell began."

For the ferocious attack, Stefano Marcialis and Nicolò Congia (32 and 23 years old) from Quartu, and 19-year-old Davide Matteo Battocchia, resident in Sinnai, ended up in prison, as ordered by the prosecutor Andrea Vacca, on charges of serious injury. They were stopped by patrol officers while, with the same car (a Land Rover), they were on the Asse mediano. The police, coordinated by the director Massimo Imbimbo, seized a broken glass bottle, probably used during the attack.

The consequences for the 51-year-old were very serious: a 70-day prognosis and hospitalization at the Santissima Trinità awaiting surgery for fractures to the jaw and nasal septum, as well as the one to the ribs. The 24-year-old son had a tough time: a head injury and a total of 11 stitches for the cuts to the head, neck, shoulder and side. He will get away with 20 days of treatment. The 53-year-old, who intervened to defend her son, suffered some minor injuries, especially to his hands and arms. She is the one reliving those dramatic moments.

What do you remember?

"My husband on the ground, unconscious, punched and kicked. My son who manages to take one away but who hits him with something sharp. The blood, the screams and then those who escape in the car."

Why so much violence?

«My husband, son and I were going to a dear friend's place. In via Mameli a car stopped in the middle of the road didn't allow us to continue. So my husband honked the horn. The people in the big car didn't take it well. They approached. My husband and son then got out of the car. There was a long argument. Then the worst happened».

Did they use a broken bottle?

"Someone smashed a bottle of bitter against a pole. He probably hit my son in several places with it. Luckily he didn't suffer any serious injuries, otherwise... I tried to block that guy, preventing him from going any further. So I suffered some injuries."

Her husband?

"He was on the ground, still. My son and I were afraid he was dead."

Did anyone come to your defense?

"No one. However, someone took note of the car model and license plate. So the police tracked down the vehicle shortly after, stopping the three."

Was he scared?

"A lot. Both my son and I even told those guys to stop, that we would leave. But it was no use. And even now I can't understand how it is possible to risk your life on a night of fun, in the middle of the city. We can't be afraid to go out at night. Or fear for what could happen to our children."

Matthew Vercelli