Beach business owner Cinzia Dal Pino sentenced to 18 years for running over and killing purse thief in Viareggio
The Court of Assize of Lucca convicted the 65-year-old on charges of voluntary homicide for the fatal September 2024 encounter, ending a trial that drew intense public scrutiny.
The crime
On the evening of 8 September 2024, Cinzia Dal Pino was leaving a restaurant in Viareggio with friends when a man snatched her purse as she got into her Mercedes SUV. The thief, 52-year-old Moroccan national Noureddine Mezgui, also known as Said, began walking away along Via Coppino. Dal Pino drove after him, and within two minutes the confrontation turned deadly. Security camera footage showed the SUV striking Mezgui four times on the pavement. After the last impact, Dal Pino stepped out, retrieved her purse, and drove home without calling for help.
The trial
Prosecutor Sara Polino argued that the repeated collisions amounted to a premeditated act of cruelty, asking for a life sentence for voluntary homicide with multiple aggravating factors. The defense, led by lawyers Enrico Marzaduri and Alberto Gargani, contended that Dal Pino acted in a state of shock and lost control of the vehicle, seeking a reclassification as excessive self-defense or manslaughter. Dal Pino maintained she was threatened with a knife, though no weapon was recovered.
The sentence
After hours of deliberation, the Court of Assize of Lucca handed down an 18-year prison term, to be served under house arrest. Dal Pino, accompanied by her daughter, showed no visible reaction as the sentence was read.
Public reaction
The case ignited a fierce debate in Italy. The prosecutor’s call for a life term provoked a wave of online insults and threats, prompting the court to boost security at the hearing and the prosecutor’s office to consider defamation complaints.
- Dal Pino's purse is snatched as she leaves a restaurant in Viareggio.
- She follows Mezgui in her SUV along Via Coppino.
- Dal Pino strikes Mezgui four times with the vehicle on the pavement.
- Dal Pino retrieves her purse and drives home without calling emergency services.
- She is arrested hours later at the Church of Santa Rita.
Aftermath
Dal Pino was arrested hours after the killing at the Church of Santa Rita, where she was praying. She had spent most of the pre-trial period under house arrest at her home in Viareggio.
