Milan appeal court recognises premeditation for Impagnatiello, life sentence confirmed

The verdict

On Monday, 26 October, the Court of Assize of Appeal of Milan recognised the aggravating circumstance of premeditation for Alessandro Impagnatiello, a 33-year-old former barman. The ruling came in a retrial ordered by the Court of Cassation, which had accepted an appeal from the Milan prosecutor general's office and sent the question back to the lower court. The June 2025 appeal ruling had excluded premeditation while confirming the life sentence for murder. The new decision keeps the life term and adds three months of daytime isolation. The full reasons will be filed within 45 days, and family members applauded in the courtroom after the verdict was read.

The killing in Senago

The killing took place on 27 May 2023 at the couple's home in Senago, in the Milan area. The victim, a 29-year-old woman, was seven months pregnant and was stabbed 37 times, a figure reported by ANSA. Prosecutors argue that the defendant had been poisoning her with rat poison since December 2022, and that the poisoning intensified in the last six weeks before the killing. They also cite internet searches on lethal substances, including one for 'burnt ceramic bathtub', made a few hours before the killing.

Prosecutor Maria Pia Gualtieri argued that recognising the aggravator would give the facts their proper name.

“It is important to recognise it, to set things right and give the facts their proper name.”

She acknowledged that the ruling could not bring the victim back, but said it was needed because some actions cannot be forgotten. Gualtieri also said the defendant had lied throughout the case, and she asked the court to rely on his actions rather than his words.

The sister's objection

The victim's sister, Chiara Tramontano, objected to the arrangements in the courtroom. She said it was hard to see the defendant seated near the victim's family and sitting in front of them, with his handcuffs placed on a table beside his lawyer.

“I find it mocking and utterly despicable to have to enter a courtroom and find the man who killed my sister and my niece with his back to me.”

She asked that the justice system protect victims' families through what she called a human consideration. Tramontano also said that her family serves its own life sentence every day and that no one grants them extra freedom.

Timeline of the case

The case moved through several stages before Monday's ruling. The killing in May 2023 led to a life sentence, and the June 2025 appeal court confirmed that sentence while excluding premeditation. The Court of Cassation then sent the question back for reassessment, and the hearing opened that morning in Milan. The defendant is held in prison in Pavia.