Chiara Nava It wasn't an accident, but a femicide. A breakthrough has been reached in the investigation into the death of Patrizia Monteleone , the 64-year-old woman found dead on September 27th in the swimming pool of her ex-husband's home in Buccinigo, a hamlet of Erba, in the province of Como. On the evening of October 31st, Carabinieri officers from the provincial command executed a precautionary detention order against Carmine Civitillo , 76, the victim's ex-husband.
The man is being investigated for aggravated voluntary manslaughter . According to investigators' reconstruction, Patrizia was suffocated before her body was thrown into the pool . This hypothesis, if confirmed, would rule out the possibility of accidental death and shed light on what happened in the home that day.
Patrizia Monteleone's death and her ex-husband's version of events
It was Civitillo himself who raised the alarm on September 27th. The man said he had left home early in the morning to head toward Lecco and returned late in the morning. Upon returning, he found his ex-wife's wheelchair near the pool and the woman in the water.
A few days later, intercepted by the cameras of the Rai Vita live broadcast , he said that he had immediately contacted his son: “ Come here immediately, your mother is here.
“ You sort it out ,” he reportedly said.
On the same occasion, he also clarified that he had no relationship with his ex-wife and his three children : " I have no interest in them ." And, regarding his relationship with Patrizia, he added: " No, I repeat, I've been divorced for ten years ."
The suffocation hypothesis and the arrest in the province of Benevento
The investigations by the Como Public Prosecutor's Office led investigators to hypothesize that the woman was already dead before falling into the pool . The autopsy revealed several lacerations around her mouth, evidence that could be consistent with suffocation.
According to the prosecution's reconstruction, Civitillo killed his ex-wife and then threw her body into the water , perhaps in an attempt to make her death appear to be an accident. An important element for investigators concerns the victim's health: Patrizia, in fact, was unable to move independently , neither inside the house nor in the garden.
Two years earlier, she had suffered a stroke that left her disabled. After that, she returned to live with her ex-husband and daughter Eleonora . Eleonora had long struggled to find alternative housing for her mother, but was unsuccessful, so she decided to take her in temporarily.
Civitillo was tracked down and arrested in the province of Benevento , his native area, where he had moved a few days ago. The charges against him will be verified during the legal proceedings: he is presumed innocent until a final conviction.