Andrea Sempio rejects murder allegations and disputes crime scene evidence in Garlasco case

Televised defense and daily pressure

Andrea Sempio, under investigation by prosecutors in Pavia for the 2007 murder of Chiara Poggi, addressed the allegations on the Rai 1 program Porta a Porta on 6 October 2026. The broadcast followed an earlier television appearance on the program Quarto Grado on Retequattro. Sempio described living under continuous public pressure, with reporters positioned outside his family residence throughout the day. He stated that his routine has been confined to remaining in his room, consulting his attorney, or traveling to meet defense specialists. Sempio noted that his parents are deeply worried, identifying his mother's recent hospital admission as his most distressing moment during the past two years of renewed investigation.

I hope to resolve everything at the preliminary hearing, and not have to face a full trial with all the various stages.

Technical evidence and shoe size dispute

Sempio disputed the forensic findings central to the inquiry into the 13 August 2007 killing at the Poggi home in Garlasco. Investigators have focused on a bloody footprint discovered inside the villa in via Pascoli, attributed to a European size 42 shoe. That size matches Alberto Stasi, Poggi's former boyfriend who received a definitive 16-year prison sentence for the murder. Sempio stated that all shoes he owns or remembers wearing are size 44. He explained that his defense team conducted a practical test with a size 42 shoe and confirmed that it did not fit his foot.

Wall prints and DNA analysis

The suspect also challenged the relevance of print 33, a mark documented on a wall inside the Garlasco residence. Sempio asserted that the mark cannot be attributed to him or to anyone else, noting that prints from other individuals exist in the same area. He pointed to the latest prosecution assessment, which did not confirm that the mark was left in blood, but only concluded that blood could not be ruled out. Sempio emphasized that legal proceedings require definitive evidence rather than non-exclusion. Regarding genetic material found under Poggi's fingernails, Sempio referenced the Albani expert report, arguing that the trace is mixed, degraded, unreplicated, and insufficient for identification.

What I need is not to know what cannot be excluded, I need certainty.

Stasi conviction and personal ties

Addressing the definitive conviction of Stasi, Sempio affirmed that he considers the 16-year sentence justified, stating that alternative narratives claiming Stasi's innocence fail to convince him. Sempio dismissed suggestions of any personal or romantic interest in Poggi, noting that he had spoken with her on only two occasions by telephone. He stated that if those conversations had involved any disturbance, Poggi would have notified her brother, family, or boyfriend. Sempio also denied ever seeing private videos belonging to Poggi, explaining that he learned of them through news reports, and expressed concern about the enduring stigma of the accusations regardless of the legal outcome.