Lucrezia Ciotti The trial for the murder of Fatos Cenaj opens with an unexpected confession: before the Assize Court of Padua, Moreno Violetto admitted to killing the 59-year-old Albanian former prison officer, uttering the words, " It was me, I ask for forgiveness ." The proceedings remain focused on the dynamics of the crime, the disagreements between neighbors, and the evidence gathered by investigators.
Fatos Cenaj found injured on a country road: dead after days of agony
On the morning of June 8, 2025, Fatos Cenaj was found lying on the ground next to his three-wheeled bicycle. Two fishermen noticed him around 8:00 a.m. Initially, it was thought he had fallen ill or had fallen accidentally, but tests carried out after he was taken to the hospital revealed a different story: Cenaj had been hit in the head by a bullet.
The bullet entered the area below the left ear, passed through the head, and exited above the right eye. The man died after three days of agony.
The Carabinieri investigation led investigators to focus on Moreno Violetto, the victim's neighbor and previously without a criminal record. According to the prosecution's reconstruction, the murder was triggered by long-standing disagreements , including over property lines and other neighborhood disputes.
Fatos Cenaj murder: A breakthrough in the investigation: "It was me, I ask for forgiveness."
The trial for the murder of Fatos Cenaj , a 59-year-old former prison officer in Albania, killed in Fontaniva , in the Padua area, on June 8, 2025 , opened with a spontaneous confession. As reported by the Corriere , before the judges of the Assize Court, in the first hearing on September 30, 45-year-old Moreno Violetto , accused of the crime, stood up before the start of the trial and admitted his responsibility. " It was me, I ask for forgiveness ," he declared, adding: " I don't know what went through my head at that moment " and " I regret what I did ."
The defendant, represented by Stefano Marrone of the Venice Bar Association, then presented the court with a check for €5 made out to the civil parties , a sum that represents almost all the remaining balance in his bank account. Cenaj's family, represented by lawyer Alessia Clementi, has joined the civil action and has already filed a claim for damages in the hundreds of thousands of euros.
Violetto faces charges of aggravated voluntary manslaughter, including premeditation and frivolous motives, and faces a life sentence. His confession at the start of the trial could also impact the timing of the trial: the next two hearings are expected to be scheduled soon, and the first-instance verdict could be handed down by the end of the year.