In brief
Police arrested a 44-year-old man on charges of attempted femicide and domestic abuse. The investigating judge ordered custody in prison at the prosecutor's request, and police executed the order on 16 October.
The man allegedly poured ethyl alcohol over his ex-wife at the hotel where she worked and lived in central Bari. After the lighter fell and a scuffle followed, the woman allegedly picked it up and set herself on fire, and her sister doused her with water.
Workplace surveillance recorded the whole scene, and the woman had filed a complaint against him in December 2025. Investigators are also examining the threatening messages sent that morning.
Investigators say the mistreatment began in 2010 and continued after the separation, with some episodes taking place in front of the couple's two minor children. The man was already known to police for offences against the person and property.
- 2010Mistreatment of the woman by the man begins, according to investigators
- December 2025The woman files a complaint against the man
- 9 OctThe man attacks the woman at her workplace in Bari
- 16 OctPolice execute the custody order at the man's home
The attack in Bari
Police in Bari arrested a 44-year-old man on charges of attempted femicide and domestic abuse after he attacked his former wife at her workplace on 9 October. Investigators say he reached her at the hotel in the city centre where she lived and worked, and that he had sent her threatening messages that morning. He then poured ethyl alcohol over her face and body and tried to set her alight with a lighter. Investigators describe the aim as killing her. According to the reconstruction so far, the lighter slipped from his hand, a brief scuffle followed, and the woman picked the lighter up and set herself on fire. Her sister, who arrived at that moment, put the woman's head and torso under running water, which prevented far more serious consequences. The woman did not suffer serious injuries.
Evidence and the arrest
Surveillance cameras at the workplace recorded the whole scene, and investigators gathered the threatening messages as part of the inquiry. The woman had filed a complaint against him in December 2025, and her statement described years of physical and psychological mistreatment. On the prosecutor's request, the investigating judge at the Bari court ordered pre-trial custody in prison. Police carried out the order on 16 October, tracking the man down at his home. The judge found serious grounds for suspicion of guilt, but the proceedings are still under way and no verdict has been delivered.
A history of abuse
Investigators say the mistreatment began in 2010 and continued after the couple separated. Several episodes, both physical and psychological, allegedly took place in front of the couple's two young children. The suspect was already known to police for offences against the person and against property. The case therefore rests on the complaint, the workplace footage and the messages, all of which investigators are still examining. The accusations against the man have not been tested in court.
What remains unclear
The sources give no further information on the woman's health, and it is unclear whether she suffered any injuries beyond those reported. The arrest and the charges are at the pre-trial stage, so the man is accused of the offences but has not been convicted.