Rome prosecutors open incitement-to-suicide probe after 15-year-old girl's death

Investigation opened in Rome

Rome's prosecutors have opened a file for incitement to suicide over the death of a 15-year-old girl on Wednesday, 11 November, which La Stampa places around lunchtime. Prosecutor Antonio Clemente is leading the case, and the investigation is for now against unknown persons, with no one entered in the register of suspects. La Stampa notes that establishing a direct link between the death and any climate of bullying will not be simple. Officers from the Flaminio police station are working on the case with a low profile and have not ruled out any line of inquiry.

Emergency response and autopsy

Fanpage reports that an emergency call was made to the 112 number and that medical staff reached the building, but could not save her. Police carried out the usual on-site checks, and the surrounding area was temporarily cordoned off. Once those checks were finished, the body was moved to the morgue at the Gemelli Polyclinic, where a forensic doctor from the hospital will carry out the autopsy. Il Messaggero reports that the girl lived with her family in a residential building in Rome's north zone, where both parents work.

The girl and her family

La Stampa reports that the girl was going through a gender transition and wanted to live as a boy. Her parents had accepted that path, but classmates may not have understood it and may have targeted her. Il Messaggero reports that she had said she wanted to become a man and had been mocked during a particularly delicate period of her life. In the weeks before her death, her parents described to police her mood, including tears, long silences and sentences she left unfinished, according to La Stampa.

Bullying line and next steps

Il Messaggero reports that the parents told the magistrate, Antonio Clemente, that their daughter had confided in them about being mocked, and that this testimony is what raised the bullying hypothesis. The same outlet reports that she had been living with depression. Investigators are examining whether these factors played a role but have not established any connection to her death. According to Il Messaggero, the prosecutor ordered her mobile phone seized, and her messages to friends may help reconstruct her final hours. Police plan to question people, including friends and schoolmates, to map out her relationships.