Aversa, 14-year-old killed: for the judges 'it was murder, not self-defense'

There was no self-defense nor excessive negligence in the death of 14-year-old Emanuele Di Caterino, stabbed to death on April 7, 2013 in Piazza Bellini in Aversa.

It was a voluntary homicide, albeit with the mitigating circumstance of provocation. This is how the panel of the Court of Appeal of Naples presided over by Efisia Gaviano motivated the eight-year prison sentence – issued on July 6 – for 27-year-old Agostino Veneziano, who at the time of the crime was a minor and was 17 years old.

A conviction that came at the end of the sixth trial relating to the affair, and it is likely that in the coming months, with the appeal to the Supreme Court, the seventh, and perhaps last, will also be held.

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In the reasons for the conviction, the panel retraces the "two phases" in which the tragedy took place, which involved all minors, aged 14 to 17: the "first phase" around 23.15:7 pm on 14 April, when Veneziano began to break a post office sign with his bare hands, being called to account for this by a friend of XNUMX-year-old Di Caterino, namely Emanuele Oliva.

The two began to argue, so Giuseppe Zagaria, Oliva's friend, intervened, slapping Veneziano from behind. At that moment, Veneziano had the worst of it, as he fell to the ground and was hit by the two friends who were joined by other minors, including Di Caterino, even if not all witnesses agree on the presence of the 14-year-old at that moment; certainly, a circle of other teenagers formed around the boys who were fighting.

Here then is the “second phase”, in which an adult friend of Veneziano intervened and the latter was able to get up; at that point Veneziano took out the knife and blinded by rage he slashed everywhere – he looked like “Zorro” said a witness – thus hitting the 14-year-old Di Caterino, then also the latter’s friends, namely Oliva, Zagaria, Diana and Falanga, and shouting “v'accire a tutta'quant”.

No one noticed the knife, only at the sight of the blood did the wounded understand what had happened. Di Caterino ended up in the hospital, where he died, and four other friends, two of whom had serious injuries. Veneziano was charged with voluntary homicide, attempted homicide and serious injuries.