The Court of Assizes of Macerata sentenced Filippo Ferlazzo , 33 years old, originally from Salerno, to 24 years of imprisonment for the aggravated voluntary homicide of the Nigerian street vendor Alika Ogorchukwu , which occurred in Civitanova Marche on 29 July 2022.
Civitanova Marche, the girlfriend's scream to Ferlazzo: "What have you done?". The victim's lawyer: "If he had psychiatric problems, why wasn't he supervised?"
The victim had asked for alms from the accused and his partner, whose arm he had touched: Ferlazzo had hit him with the crutch that the Nigerian used to walk, then climbed on top of him, crushing his neck and head .
"Justice has been done, 24 years in prison is fine," said Alika Ogorchukwu's wife, commenting on the sentencing.
Charity, accompanied by the lawyer Francesco Mantella and some members of her family, stopped to speak briefly with journalists just outside the Macerata court, where the hearing took place. Particularly shaken, the woman repeated several times that she "accepted" the sentence decided by the judges of the assize court. She followed the entire hearing sitting in the rows behind the lawyers. When the sentence was read she had no apparent reaction, only her shining eyes revealed her state of mind.
"I only had a six-year discount", said Filippo Ferlazzo immediately after reading the sentence issued by the judges of the Court of Assizes of Macerata.
This was reported to journalists by his defense lawyer, the lawyer Roberta Bizzarri, who added: "I had also prepared Filippo for the possibility of a life sentence which in his mind is equivalent to 30 years of imprisonment and therefore, the His is a joke that's worth what it's worth."
Lawyer Bizzarri said she was "satisfied with the sentence, given that the maximum sentence had been requested, but it will be necessary to read the reasons". You said you are thinking about appealing, but made it clear that it is a decision yet to be made.
During her final speech, the lawyer had asked for a detention facility alternative to prison for her client, "but the judges - she explained - have said that to date there is insufficient evidence to evaluate a release from prison".
The judges of the assize court of Macerata - president Roberto Evangelisti, alongside Federico Simonelli - did not in fact accept the request for life imprisonment which had been advanced by the prosecutor Claudio Rastrelli, but granted the generic mitigating circumstances, equivalent to the aggravating ones, thus applying the maximum sentence which in these cases is 24 years.
A sentence that Ferlazzo, a young man of Campania origin, will have to serve in prison. On the compensation front, the judges have currently granted a provisional amount of 350 thousand euros in favor of Alika's wife and son and 40 thousand euros each to the other family members admitted as civil parties. The accused was instead acquitted for the crime of robbery, after the fatal attack he found the murdered Nigerian's mobile phone in his pocket.
Source: La Repubblica
NIDCOM react
PRESS RELEASE
JUSTICE AT LAST FOR ALIKA OGORCHUKWU
ABUJA: SEPTEMBER 28, 2023.
The Chairman/CEO Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa has expressed satisfaction over the justice meted out on Filippo Ferlazzo, an Italian man who killed a Nigerian citizen in Italy. , though the life lost can never be replaced
"I am glad that this case finally got justice. Like I always say, there has to be consequences for actions" .
Dabiri-Erewa commended the Nigerian Mission in Rome, for following through with the case and other cases involving Nigerians.
The Convict bagged 24 years jail term on Wednesday for causing the death of a 39-year-old Nigerian man who was on crutches, walking in a Marche coastal city in July 2022.
It could be recalled that in July 29, 2022, Alika Ogorchukwu was assaulted in broad daylight as he was walking. The attacker beat Ogorchukwu to death using Ogorchukwu's crutches in front of several onlookers, who did not intervene. Some of the onlookers, however, recorded videos of the attack using their phones.
On July 30, 2022, Filippo Ferlazzo, was arrested on charges of having murdered Ogorchukwu and having stolen Ogorchukwu's phone. The Italian Police stated that they believe Ferlazzo attacked Ogorchukwu after he had asked Ferlazzo's girlfriend to buy a handkerchief.
The incident was reported to have taken place at 2 p.m. on Friday in the main central street of Civitanova Marche, Italy. Ogorchukwu was found dead at the scene by paramedics.
NIDCOM Boss urged Nigerians in the Diaspora to remain law abiding, excel in what they do and never forget home by giving back to homeland.
E-signed,
Gabriel Odu,
Media, Public Relations and Protocol Unit,
NIDCOM
September 28, 2023.
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