Turin mother, 40, strangles daughter, 13, before hanging herself: police suspect murder-suicide

Discovery by the elder daughter

The 19-year-old daughter returned home to the apartment on Via Domodossola in Turin on Saturday morning and discovered the lifeless bodies of her mother and 13-year-old sister, Isabella. She immediately alerted emergency services. Paramedics from Azienda Zero’s 118 service arrived and attempted prolonged resuscitation of the teenager, but she could not be revived. The 19-year-old was taken to Turin’s Maria Vittoria hospital in a state of shock.

Sequence of events

According to initial police reconstruction, the mother, a Romanian national, first strangled her daughter and then hanged herself using a cord or rope. The Turin flying squad (Squadra Mobile) is treating the case as a murder-suicide. The exact time of death remains to be determined, but the bodies were discovered in the morning and the fatal incident is believed to have occurred a short time earlier.

Victims identified

The mother has been identified as Michaela Belecciu. Sources give her age as either 39 or 40. Her daughter Isabella was 13. Both lived in the apartment with the 19-year-old sister. The mother had separated from her husband some time ago and, according to a report in Corriere della Sera, had never accepted the breakdown of the marriage.

Investigation and possible motive

Investigators from the Turin police are working to establish the precise motive. The testimony of the surviving daughter, the sole witness to the discovery, will be crucial. The family’s separation is being examined as a possible factor in the tragedy.

Aftermath

The 19-year-old remains under medical care. No other people were in the apartment at the time of the deaths. Forensic examinations and an autopsy are expected to confirm the cause and timing of death.