Garlasco Murder: Investigations into Andrea Sempio concluded, new trial 19 years after the crime

Garlasco – Murder of Chiara Poggi: The Pavia Public Prosecutor's Office today issued a notice of conclusion of the preliminary investigation into Andrea Sempio in connection with the murder of Chiara Poggi in Garlasco on August 13, 2007.

The Pavia Public Prosecutor's Office has notified Andrea Sempio of the conclusion of the preliminary investigation, with the filing of all documents, including the additional investigations conducted as part of the second investigation into the murder of Chiara Poggi. The charge against Sempio, according to a statement signed by Pavia Chief Prosecutor Fabio Napoleone, "remains unchanged." Sempio's defense, represented by Angela Taccia and Liborio Cataliotti, now has 20 days to review the prosecutor's documents and submit briefs.

26-year-old Chiara Poggi was killed with a blunt object in her family home in Garlasco, in the province of Pavia. The alarm was raised by her boyfriend Alberto Stasi, a Bocconi student at the time, who is currently serving a 16-year sentence on parole. He had been acquitted in the first two stages of the trial. However, the Pavia Prosecutor's Office, which has reopened the investigation and is now charging the victim's brother's friend, Andrea Sempio, with murder, believes the truth is different.

Andrea Sempio's indictment for fingerprint 33. Consultants: "It's compatible with the suspect's measurements."

The notice of conclusion of the investigation and the press release from the Prosecutor's Office retrace the technical investigations that led to the identification of Sempio. Of particular importance to the Prosecutor's Office is the famous "fingerprint 33," which has been subjected to in-depth analysis and comparisons.

According to the consultants of the Pavia Public Prosecutor's Office, there are "no new elements that could alter the conclusions already reached in the previous technical evaluations of 'print 33'" attributed to Andrea Sempio. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that that print contained traces of blood. This is stated in the memo with which the Pavia Public Prosecutor's Office notified Andrea Sempio of the conclusion of the investigation into his death, which occurred on August 13, 2007.

Finally, the same technical consultants, asked to analyze additional medical report submitted by Poggi's defense, submitted a note regarding the dimensions of a size 42 Mod-Frau shoe, which appears to be compatible with Andrea Sempio's foot measurements. Professor Cristina Cattaneo, who had already stated that the victim's cause of death was attributable to an injury to the occiput, was assigned both to examine the defense's medical report and to perform new histopathological analyses on the paraffin blocks and slides related to Chiara Poggi's murder.

According to the consultants, Chiara Poggi defended herself from her murderer

According to the experts, the overall picture suggests a dynamic of injury that did not immediately coincide with death; the convergence of the elements, in their opinion, overall strengthens the hypothesis that at least some of the extracranial injuries were caused during a fight or, in any case, a prolonged aggressive act, during which the victim would have engaged in at least passive defense, through interposition and protection of his body, without ruling out an active defense component. Finally, the cause of death was the injury to the occiput.