A comprehensive expert report to determine the death of Manuela Murgia, the 16-year-old found dead in February 1995 on the slopes of the Tuvixeddu canyon. Deputy Prosecutor Guido Pani himself may request it once the Carabinieri's RIS investigations into the biological traces recovered from the girl's clothing are completed in December.
Regardless of the outcome of the DNA analysis, the Prosecutor's Office must first determine the cause of the young woman's death, whether or not violence was involved, and, most importantly, whether the death can be traced back to a "curse." This is an essential condition, therefore, to overcome the suicide hypothesis and favor the homicide one.
The autopsy, conducted by consultants for prosecutor Guido Pani, coroner Francesco Paribello, and pathologist Giuseppe Santa Cruz, concluded that Manuela Murgia had fallen from the Tuvixeddu canyon and that the cause of her death was accidental or suicide. Thirty years later, however, coroner Roberto Demontis, appointed by the family, reviewed the autopsy documents and images, suggesting that the girl may have been run over intentionally and that her body bore signs of "energetic" sexual intercourse.
Hunting for DNA
In the laboratories at the San Bartolomeo barracks, the RIS (Italian Special Investigative Police) have begun comparing Enrico Astero's DNA with the only currently comparable trace, a male-shaped hair recovered from his clothing. Astero, represented by lawyer Marco Fausto Piras, has already had this test performed by his consultant, former Parma RIS General Luciano Garofano, and has received a clear answer: there is no match between his genetic profile and that of the specimen. On December 11, the military will report to investigating judge Giorgio Altieri.
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