Man placed under house arrest over alleged cream doughnut murder in Reggio Emilia

The arrest

Carabinieri in Reggio Emilia have placed a 76-year-old man under house arrest on an order requested by the prosecutor's office and issued by the investigating judge. The order was carried out late on Wednesday, 28 October. Prosecutors allege that the man acted with premeditation to kill his cousin, a 74-year-old man with disabilities, in order to inherit from him. The arrest is a precautionary measure ordered during the investigation.

How the death is being investigated

The cousin died on 27 June from suffocation in the residential social-health facility where he was housed. Investigators are working on the hypothesis that a cream-filled doughnut, a bombolone alla crema, was the instrument of the death. According to the prosecution's version, the 76-year-old had sent sweets to his cousin even though he knew the man suffered from severe dysphagia and could only take liquid food. Eating a product such as a cream doughnut would have been especially dangerous for him, the investigators argue.

Guardianship and open questions

The accused was the legal guardian of the victim, a role that gave him direct responsibility for managing the interests of the man in his care. Investigators suspect the death was the result of a deliberate act rather than a tragic consequence of the victim's health. The inheritance at the centre of the motive has not been described in detail, and the reports do not say how or through whom the sweets reached the victim. Those points remain under investigation.