Trial for the murder of innocent Umberto Catanzaro: requests for reduced sentences for the boss and his accomplice rejected.

The Naples Court rejected the request for a summary trial filed by the defense of Salvatore Percich, 46, believed by investigators to be the leader of a criminal gang in the Spanish Quarters, and Anna Nesa, 21, accused of providing logistical support to the group.

The decision came during the preliminary hearing for the murder of Umberto Catanzaro, the 23-year-old footballer who was the victim of an ambush in which, according to the investigation, he was not the actual target of the attack.

Judge Gabriella Logozzo reserved her decision on the start date of the trial, which is expected to be held before the Assize Court. During the hearing, the request to exclude the aggravating circumstance of premeditation was also rejected.

The abbreviated procedure would have allowed, in the event of a conviction, a reduction of the sentences of the two defendants by a third.

The innocent victim of the ambush

Umberto Catanzaro was seriously injured on September 15, 2025. He was in the company of another young man, indicated by investigators as the possible real target of the ambush.

The 23-year-old, a promising footballer, was shot and taken to the hospital. After a long battle for his life, he died on November 17, 2025, almost two months after the shooting.

According to the Naples Prosecutor's Office, the attack was motivated by romantic ties and alleged questions of honor. The prosecution is charging premeditated murder, aggravated by mafia-related methods and trivial motives.

The commando and the role of the defendants

According to investigators' reconstruction, four minors were also involved in the attack. Two of them, according to the prosecution, were supposed to reach the scene of the attack, but arrived only a few seconds late, after the attack had already been carried out.

Percich is accused of being one of the perpetrators of the murder. Nesa is accused of providing logistical support to two of the four minors involved in the incident.

The arrests and searches carried out by the Carabinieri also led to the discovery of various types of drugs and almost 2,2 kilograms of explosive material.

Percich, considered by the Naples DDA to be the leader of a local criminal gang, is also charged with other crimes, including usury, receiving stolen goods, possession of stolen weapons, evading house arrest, and conspiracy to sell drugs.

Lawyer Pisani: "We can't lose the most important match."

At the end of the hearing, lawyer Sergio Pisani, representing the victim's family, emphasized the seriousness of the murder and the risk of a progressive addiction to violence.

"The mafia-style execution of a 23-year-old for trivial reasons is no longer news, despite the fact that it is an act of unprecedented gravity."

The lawyer also recalled the victim's personal history, underlining how Umberto was "a promising footballer."

Then the appeal addressed to the city and the institutions:

"Here we all risk losing the most important game, the one for the protection of this city's young people."

These words also convey the meaning of the family's struggle, faced with a death that came after weeks of suffering and with legal proceedings still in their early stages.

The mother: "I demand justice and severe punishment."

Umberto's mother was also present in the courtroom. She demanded justice for her son and severe penalties for anyone found responsible for his murder.

"I demand justice and severe punishment." The mother also expressed her wish that similar tragedies never happen again: "I hope that events like those that claimed my son's life never happen again."

But personal grief has also transformed into a broader denunciation of the violence that continues to affect young people and the very young: "Many innocent young people have lost their lives in this city for so-called trivial reasons."

The father: "He was innocent, he died for no reason."

Umberto's father, also present in court, called for a full judicial response to the case. "He was an innocent boy and died for no reason, at just 23 years old."

And regarding the possibility of alternative procedures and any benefits provided by law, the father was clear: "We do not accept any sentence reduction."

Attention now turns to Judge Gabriella Logozzo's upcoming decision, which will set the trial date. For the Catanzaro family, this will be another step in a story that began with an ambush in the alleys of the Spanish Quarter and culminated, after two months of agony, with the death of a young man who, according to the prosecution, was not the target of that killing spree.