Found dead at home, partner arrested

The death of a woman that occurred on Friday evening in Macchia, a hamlet of Giarre, in the province of is a mystery with implications that are still to be clarified. Catania. Leonardo Fresta, a 40-year-old baker, told investigators that he found his partner, Debora Pagano, 32, lifeless in the bathroom while they were at home; there were no apparent signs of violence on her body.

The man only called 118 to raise the alarm on Sunday morning. When the health workers realized that the woman's death had occurred several hours earlier, they notified the Carabinieri. After the initial investigations at the couple's home by the SIS military, the Carabinieri arrested the man for murder. The investigation is being coordinated by the Catania Public Prosecutor's Office, which has ordered an autopsy.

On Sunday evening, the man - who is on trial for mafia association for alleged ties to the Brunetto clan - was questioned by the Carabinieri for an hour; he told the military that on Friday evening he was at home with his partner, who told him she was going to take a shower. Their seven-year-old daughter was not in the apartment, she was with her grandparents who live in Letojanni, in the Messina area, the victim's hometown. Leonardo Fresta added that he suddenly heard a thud and ran to his partner, who he found lifeless on the floor.

The man's statements, all still to be verified, are being examined by investigators. An initial examination of the body has ruled out the presence of signs of violence or bullet holes on the woman's body. Only the autopsy will therefore be able to clarify the causes and dynamics of death. While waiting for the results of the tests, Leonardo Fresta is now locked up in the Piazza Lanza prison in Catania; the date of the interrogation before the investigating judge for the validation of the arrest has not yet been set. Debora Pagano was a cleaning lady.

There were no particular disagreements between her and Leonardo Fresta, according to the man's lawyer, Salvatore La Rosa: "My client was in shock for two days without being able to understand what had happened, not even he can explain why. From what we know, the family had no problems and the couple had a calm relationship". The general secretaries of Uil Sicilia and Catania Luisella Lionti and Enza Meli intervened on the woman's death.

“For some – they say – Debora’s is another name to be included in the tragic list of feminicides in Sicily and Italy. For us at Uil, no. The crime in Macchia di Giarre is another defeat for all of us who do not know how to raise our voices enough against the cynicism of political institutions, from which adequate responses to this massacre underway in our country do not come. “We reiterate once again that much remains to be done, especially in Sicily, where for example centers for abusive men are rare, or nursing homes where the Courts could send violent men. State and Region must take action!”.