Partner detained in Rome femicide after video shows him leaving terrace alone with victim's bag

Discovery and initial investigation

The body of Dafne Rebaudo, a 30-year-old woman, was found early on 13 July 2026 at the base of a public housing block in via dell'Archeologia 52, in the Tor Bella Monaca district on the eastern outskirts of Rome. She had fallen from the building's communal terrace. For days no one could identify her because she carried no documents; she was later confirmed to be a resident of the same building. The case was initially treated as a possible suicide.

Investigators from the VI District of the Casilino police, coordinated by public prosecutor Saverio Francesco Musolino, began by mapping where she fell and reconstructing her final hours. Several neighbours reported hearing a violent argument on the staircase between Rebaudo and her partner, Mohamed Trabelsi, a 40-year-old Tunisian national with prior drug-related convictions who lived with her. Some residents, breaking what later accounts described as a wall of silence, told police that the couple argued frequently. The distance between the terrace and the point where the body landed also appeared inconsistent with a voluntary jump.

Surveillance footage reveals a critical sequence

The breakthrough came from the building's internal surveillance cameras. Footage obtained by investigators shows Rebaudo climbing toward the terrace shortly before 5 am, carrying a handbag and the dog she and Trabelsi reportedly cared for together. Trabelsi is seen following her seconds later. After the moment of death, which the investigation placed around 5 am, only Trabelsi reappears on the staircase, descending with the handbag and the dog. No other person is visible in the interval. The sequence convinced prosecutors that Rebaudo had been pushed from the terrace.

Detention of the partner

Trabelsi, aged 40 (some sources cite 41), a Tunisian citizen already subject to a periodic reporting obligation, was questioned shortly after the death. His accounts of his movements that morning were contradictory, raising suspicion. On Friday 31 July, he was formally detained as a suspect in the femicide. The measure was communicated to prosecutor Antonio Verdi, a member of the specialist pool at the Rome prosecutor's office that deals with crimes against sexual freedom, family, minors and vulnerable victims. Under the Italian law of 2 December 2025, homicide aggravated by cohabitation qualifies as femicide and carries a stricter penalty. A pre-trial custody order is expected after a judge validates the detention.

Reaction from the municipality

Nicola Franco, president of Rome's VI Municipio delle Torri, praised the police work.

“A special thanks to the investigators of the State Police's VI District of the Casilino, who once again showed promptness and dedication in solving a difficult case and did not stop at the initial appearance that suggested a voluntary act. On behalf of the entire administration of the VI Municipio, I express our closeness to the family of the victim of this femicide.”

The case remains with the Rome prosecutor's office. Trabelsi stays in custody while the investigation continues.