Unidentified male DNA found on clothes in Trieste death investigation
Experts appointed by the investigating judge in Trieste found traces of an unidentified man's DNA on the woman's jeans and on a black bag that held her body. Her husband, under investigation for her death, has rejected every accusation.
Unidentified DNA on the clothing
Experts appointed by the investigating judge in Trieste found DNA traces from the same unidentified man on the woman's jeans and on one of the black bags that held her body, according to ANSA and Open. Rai News says the profile was found on trousers and other items. The finding answers one of the questions the GIP put to the experts, and the results will be discussed at a hearing on 30 October. The profile has not yet been matched to anyone, and Open reports that the person responsible for her death has still not been identified.
The woman was reported missing on 14 December 2021, and her body was found on 5 January 2022 in the wooded grounds of the former psychiatric hospital in Trieste, a few kilometres from her home. Open reports that the body was wrapped in plastic bags. The site had already been searched before the body was found, a detail that, according to Open, fuelled doubts and controversy from the start.
Shoes, jackets and the husband
The experts found no traces of soil from the wooded site on the soles of the woman's shoes, according to ANSA and Open. Adnkronos writes that this makes it more likely she died somewhere else. The same examinations established direct contact between the jacket her husband wore on the day she disappeared and the woman's own jacket and handbag. The husband is under investigation for her death and, according to Open, has always rejected every accusation against him.
The earlier inquiry
The first assessments pointed toward suicide, and prosecutors in Trieste initially asked for the investigation to be closed on that basis, according to Il Messaggero. The woman's brother rejected that conclusion and opposed the decision, and the GIP sided with him by ordering new checks. The exhumation was described as "opportune" by the forensic pathologist Cristina Cattaneo, whom prosecutors had asked to draft a medico-legal report. Open reports that prosecutors later changed course and began investigating a homicide, with the husband at the centre of the inquiry.
- Woman reported missing in Trieste
- Body found in woods of former psychiatric hospital
- Expert report reportedly filed, according to RaiNews
- Original deadline for the expert report
- Hearing to discuss the expert findings
Disputed items and the expert report
Il Giornale, citing Il Piccolo, reports that only DNA attributed to the woman was found on the cord that held two transparent shopping bags over her head. A second cord, which held what the husband called spare keys, reportedly carried two complex profiles pointing to a man the paper calls "Ignoto X". According to the same reporting, that man is neither the husband nor any of the other men whose DNA was requested. Fibres found on her jacket and handbag, reportedly red and yellow, are said to match clothing the husband wore that day. Prosecutors appointed three experts for genetic, fingerprint and material examinations. The original deadline for the report was 12 October, but RaiNews says it was filed on Saturday, 10 October.
What comes next
The expert findings will be discussed at a hearing before the GIP in Trieste on 30 October. Until then, the unidentified profile remains unmatched and no one has been identified as responsible for her death. Il Giornale describes the case as still far from being solved. Rai News says the analyses are meant to reconstruct the woman's last movements and the circumstances of her death, and it calls the case one of the most complex and closely followed of recent years.