Italian police arrest woman for poisoning 74-year-old uncle to claim inheritance

Initial discovery of tampered hospital equipment

The investigation began in the Piedmontese town of Casale Monferrato, located in the province of Alessandria, following an alert from local hospital staff on 16 August 2026. Healthcare workers inspecting medical equipment noticed that intravenous infusion bags assigned to a 74-year-old patient showed clear signs of tampering. In the terminal section of the infusion tube, staff identified an unfamiliar milky substance that was entirely incompatible with the patient's prescribed medical treatment. Hospital personnel promptly notified the Carabinieri, who arrived at the healthcare facility and seized the altered intravenous drip for immediate forensic testing. Subsequent clinical evaluations conducted on the elderly pensioner confirmed that he had been subjected to the clandestine, prolonged administration of massive doses of benzodiazepines. These unprescribed central nervous system depressants had induced a continuous and abnormal state of torpor in the victim over several days.

Sudden collapse and the victim's account

The 74-year-old pensioner lived as a resident in a local care home in Casale Monferrato, where his 38-year-old niece visited him on a near-daily basis. The elderly man's condition deteriorated sharply on 20 August 2026 when he suffered a sudden medical collapse at the care facility. He fell completely unconscious and ceased responding to stimuli from care home personnel, prompting emergency medical services to rush him to the hospital emergency department. Medical examinations revealed that the collapse occurred immediately after the victim consumed a fruit juice beverage brought and offered to him by his niece during her daily visit. Once the elderly patient experienced a brief moment of lucidity in the hospital, he recounted his recurring physical symptoms directly to the attending medical personnel, explaining that he reliably lost consciousness whenever his relative provided drinks.

Apprehension in the hospital ward

The pensioner's account that he repeatedly fell into a deep sleep during his relative's visits focused police suspicions directly onto the 38-year-old woman. Carabinieri investigators identified the niece as an unemployed local resident who had prior entries on record with law enforcement agencies. On the evening of 21 August 2026, the suspect returned to the hospital ward to visit her ailing relative. Alert hospital personnel immediately warned the Carabinieri, who mobilized quickly inside the medical facility to intercept the woman before she could access the patient. Officers stopped and searched the suspect on site, discovering a used medical syringe along with several glass vials containing prescription anxiolytic and antidepressant pharmaceuticals inside her handbag. Carabinieri placed the 38-year-old under arrest in flagrante delicto on formal accusations of attempted murder aimed at securing her relative's inheritance in advance.

Forensic searches and prosecutorial findings

Following the arrest in the hospital ward, the Public Prosecutor's Office of Vercelli ordered comprehensive searches of the suspect's personal property and vehicle. Law enforcement officers searching the woman's automobile uncovered an additional used syringe alongside the empty bottle of fruit juice that the 74-year-old had consumed prior to his emergency hospitalisation. Technical specialists also examined the digital electronic devices seized from the suspect, finding recent search activity related to the poisoning and the pharmaceuticals used. Judicial authorities in Vercelli stated that the clandestine administration of benzodiazepines through modified fruit juices and intravenous drips was calculated to hasten the acquisition of the uncle's financial estate. The 38-year-old suspect remains in custody as judicial proceedings coordinated by the Vercelli prosecutor continue.