Acitrezza, Vanessa killed by her ex in the crowd: the murderous stalker is wanted

Acitrezza. Killed on the street by her ex-boyfriend: Vanessa Zappala had her ex arrested for stalking.

The 26-year-old is the fourth victim of femicide in the last 24 hours in Italy.

“You can't show the sea inside you to someone who can't swim”: this is the last public post on Facebook by Vanessa Zappalà, the 26-year-old girl killed last night in Acitrezza, in the province of Catania, from her ex-boyfriend and stalker, Antonio Sciuto. She seemed serene in that photo on the seafront, after having reported and arrested the man who tormented her after the end of their relationship. And instead that serenity ended with several gunshots right there on the Acitrezza seafront where she was killed last night. Her tormentor was just waiting to take revenge.

“Vanessa felt safe and he killed her when everything seemed to be over” she said Vanessa's mother in tears. Antonio Sciuto, 38, is wanted throughout Sicily. He killed Vanessa with gunshots while the girl was on the Acitrezza seafront with her friends. The young woman who had reported her ex for stalking - the man had been arrested and subsequently banned from approaching the girl and the places she frequented - thought she had managed to escape. But that wasn't the case. Tony Sciuto killed her with several gunshots. Ruthlessly.

The man is wanted for murder, the carabinieri have released his photos hoping that someone will spot him and report him. “He had received a restraining order issued by the investigating judge of the court following a complaint filed by the girl” the colonel said Piercarmine Sica, Provincial Commander of the Carabinieri of Catania, in a video.

“We are looking for the young man who committed the brutal murder during the night – says the officer of the Carabinieri -. The young woman was hit by numerous gunshots. Sciuto had already been arrested by the Trecastagni military following a complaint filed by the victim last June – Sica says -. He was responsible for mistreatment in the family and stalking and was subsequently transferred to house arrest, then he was released from prison by the investigating judge who had ordered the precautionary measure of prohibition of approach”.

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That Sciuto was a violent man and that he was plotting revenge is also evident from some recent and past posts published on his Facebook profile: selfie with luxury cars and motorcycles bare-chested showing a crown tattooed on his chest. The images of Scarface and his famous phrase 'I don't forget anything, I just wait for the right moment.' An image that forcefully jumps out at you is the photo of a man and a woman from behind on a terrace: he is pointing a gun at her temple and on her back she has the writing 'I love you'. And also the shot of the writing, black on white stone, 'The best beginnings come after the worst endings.'

Vanessa had understood this for some time and had reported him, having him arrested. But unfortunately it wasn't enough, he acted when the young woman felt safe, protected by that prohibition on approach and by that report to the judiciary.

“In these 24 hours, four femicides. The last one in Acitrezza: Vanessa was 26 years old. It's a massacre! The laws exist, but they are not enough. The mentality of possession must be eradicated, so that a culture of respect for women can spread. In Italy and in every latitude”. The deputy and former president of the Chamber wrote on Twitter, Laura Boldrini.

“Faced with the umpteenth feminicides, Vanessa Zappalà in Acitrezza and the double murder of her wife and daughter in Carpiano, words are no longer enough, we must move on to facts. Facts that can no longer be postponed. It is necessary to act and do so at every level – the vice-president of the Femicide Commission said in a note Cinzia Leone, of the 5 Star Movement -. On the one hand, implement protection measures: if there are complaints, suspicions, investigations, it is not possible to get those who are already under the attention of the police to kill. And on the other hand, move to the root of the problem: training and education are the pillars on which to base prevention action. Giving up on implementing prevention and protection actions, prosecuting the types of crime that exist, translates into giving up on stopping dramatic epilogues. It is not acceptable”.