Naples – The story of little Domenico continues to keep Italy in suspense. Exactly two months after his heart transplant on December 23rd at Monaldi Hospital, the baby died on Sunday, February 21st, in intensive care.
The manslaughter investigation (with seven doctors and nurses under investigation) now awaits two crucial milestones: the preliminary investigations judge's decision on the preliminary investigation for the autopsy and the assignment—expected tomorrow—of experts to analyze the seized cell phones.
The autopsy issue: clarification on the causes and the green light for the funeral.
The autopsy on Domenico's body (and specifically on the transplanted heart) is considered the key step in the investigation. It will help establish with certainty the cause of death and the role played by the irreversible damage to the organ.
But that's not all: a green light from the investigating judge for the autopsy would finally allow the body to be returned to the family for the funeral, which has so far been blocked by judicial seizure.
The beach cooler with the orange handle: the shocking photo by the NAS
The image shared in the last few hours has gone viral: a standard blue, rigid plastic cooler with an orange handle and the words "S. OP. C. CHPED" (Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Operating Room) written in marker. Nothing high-tech: it resembles the classic portable coolers you take to the beach or camping to keep drinks cool.
This very box – seized by the NAS – was used by the Monaldi team to transport the heart removed from another four-year-old donor from Bolzano to Naples.
The real killer: not the refrigerator, but dry ice at -80 degrees.
According to initial investigative reports, the key issue isn't the type of container (though not ideal), but the refrigerant used. Instead of traditional ice—which keeps the organ in safe hypothermia between 0 and 4°C for several hours—dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) was used, which reaches temperatures of -78/-80°C. The result: the heart arrived in Naples literally "frozen" and "burned" in its muscle fibers, rendered unfit for long-term transplantation.
Responsibilities still to be clarified: the blame game between Naples and Bolzano
Who put the dry ice in the box? For days, the NAS (National Health Authority) has been holding the Bolzano Local Health Authority accountable: some sources point to two nurses at San Maurizio who provided the dry ice when the Neapolitan team's supply was running low.
But in the background, the conflict between the two hospitals remains: Bolzano speaks of "operational criticalities" in the Neapolitan sampling team (incomplete supplies, confusing heparin management), while Monaldi retorts that "the determining factor in the damage" is precisely the insertion of the wrong dry ice.
Next steps: cell phones under scrutiny and the wait for the investigating judge
Tomorrow, the Naples Public Prosecutor's Office will assign technicians to extract and analyze the contents of the suspects' phones: messages, photos, chats, and calls could contain crucial evidence.
At the same time, we await the preliminary investigations judge's ruling on the request for an evidentiary hearing. Only then will it be possible to proceed with the autopsy and, perhaps, begin to provide answers to a devastated family and a public opinion shocked by a chain of errors that shattered a very young life.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
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