Stefania Russolillo, accused of the murder of 72-year-old Rosa Gigante, mother of well-known TikTok deli owner Donato DiCaprio, provided a shocking but fragmented confession during her Assize Court trial.
The victim was killed on April 18, 2023 in the Pianura neighborhood. Russolillo, 48, said: "I pushed her, slamming her against the wall. She fell toward the television, her feet pointing toward the door.
The last scene I remember is her trying to get up. Then nothing. Total darkness."
Although the prosecution claims that Gigante was strangled with an aerosol tube, Russolillo he claims not to remember this detail.
Statements in the courtroom
When questioned by prosecutor Maurizio De Marco, representing the prosecution, Russolillo responded with apparent calm. She described her relationship with the victim as "very calm," without ever having had an argument.
On the day of the murder, Gigante had asked her about the undelivered bills, suspecting Russolillo of withholding them. This confrontation led to a fight.
Russolillo said: "She said to me, 'Any mail yet?' I said no. And she suddenly said, 'Is that really you?' I was stunned." The fight escalated when the victim scratched her. "I threw something at her, I don't remember what. I tried to defend myself, but at the last moment I pushed her and she fell toward the television. I slammed her against the wall."
Memory lapses and denials
The defendant, as reported by Il Mattino and the Naples edition of La Repubblica, does not recall strangling the victim, nor taking money or her wedding ring. She denied rummaging through the apartment's drawers, taking €150, or attempting to set fire to the victim's body. "Who strangled her?", the prosecutor asks her. "If it was me, I don't remember."
The confession to the companion
Russolillo recalled returning home and confessing to her partner: "I made a mistake, I killed Mrs. Rosa." He, incredulous, reacted: "What have you done? Are you crazy?"
Health conditions and psychiatric treatment
Russolillo, who is 100% disabled and undergoing treatment at a mental health center, said she was taking psychiatric drugs in doses higher than those recommended at the time of the facts.
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