Catania man attempts to strangle partner during video call, friends witness and call police; father had stabbed ex-wife in April
A 30-year-old man in Catania tried to strangle his girlfriend while she was on a video call with friends, who witnessed the attack and called police. The suspect's father had stabbed his ex-wife in the street just three months earlier.
The attack
In late June or early July 2026, a 30-year-old man in Catania attacked his girlfriend in their home. The woman was on a video call with friends when the man entered the room and ordered her to end the call and hand over her phone. When she refused, a verbal fight escalated into a death threat. The friends, still connected, heard a scream before the call cut off. They tried calling back repeatedly but got no answer, then alerted the police.
Police intervention
Officers from the Catania police headquarters' flying squad arrived at the apartment and rang the bell insistently for several minutes with no response. Firefighters were called to force the door. Inside, they found bloodstains in multiple rooms and signs of a struggle. In the bedroom, the suspect was pretending to sleep while the victim lay beside him, catatonic, with a swollen face and clear signs of injury. She was rushed to the emergency room. Medical examinations revealed marks consistent with attempted strangulation, a nasal bone fracture, and a head injury causing a cerebral hemorrhage. She remains hospitalized in serious condition but is not in danger of death.
A family pattern of violence
The suspect's father, Giovanni Platania, 56, was arrested on April 3 (some sources say April 2) for stabbing his ex-wife in the street in the Picanello district, just days after his release from prison. The woman survived after undergoing several delicate surgeries. The father is now in custody for attempted femicide. The similarity between the two attacks has highlighted a disturbing family history of gender-based violence.
History of abuse
The 30-year-old had a documented record of domestic abuse. In February 2026, police were called to the couple's home for a domestic violence incident. Earlier, in 2023, he had been issued a warning (ammonimento) by the Catania police chief for violence against his then-wife. Friends of the current victim described the man as pathologically jealous and controlling; the relationship had lasted less than a year.
Legal proceedings
The Catania Public Prosecutor's Office, through its specialized unit for gender-based violence crimes, ordered the man's arrest. A preliminary investigations judge validated the arrest and imposed pre-trial detention in prison. The case is being handled under Italy's aggravated procedures for femicide attempts.
