Murder of Giulia Cecchettin

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Murder of Giulia Cecchettin
Born
Giulia Cecchettin

(2001-05-05)5 May 2001
Padua, Italy
DisappearedNovember 11, 2023
Died11 November 2023(2023-11-11) (aged 22)
Cause of deathStabbing
Body discoveredNovember 18, 2023
Resting placeSaonara Cemetery, Veneto, Italy
NationalityItalian
Known forMurder victim
Parents
  • Gino Cecchettin (father)
  • Monica Camerotto (mother)

Giulia Cecchettin (Italian pronunciation: [tʃekketˈtin]; 5 May 2001 – 11 November 2023) was an Italian college student who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend Filippo Turetta on 11 November 2023. Her murder sparked protests in Italy against femicide and refocused public opinion on domestic violence.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Life[edit]

Giulia Cecchettin was born in Padua on 5 May 2001 to Gino Cecchettin and Monica Camerotto. She had two siblings, Elena and Davide. She enrolled at University of Padua, where she studied biomedical engineering and met Filippo Turetta. They had a relationship for one year before breaking up in the summer of 2023. Her sister Elena revealed that Turetta was possessive; in the autumn of 2023, he began to behave irrationally, telling Giulia that he felt depressed and suicidal, as he didn't see a future without her. Giulia and Turetta continued to meet up, but she confided that she experienced his pressure as emotional blackmail.

Murder[edit]

On 11 November 2023, Giulia left home, accompanied by Turetta, at around 18:00 to go to a shopping centre in Marghera to buy a pair of shoes for her graduation. Turetta and Giulia also dined together at a McDonald's inside the shopping centre at around 21:02, with Giulia paying for both their meals with her credit card.[7] They then left the building at approximately 22:30. At 22:43, Giulia sent her last message via WhatsApp to her older sister Elena, who was in Vienna at the time for university studies.[8]

The following day, Giulia's father reported her missing at the local Carabinieri station at around 13:30.[8][9] In the meantime, Elena posted appeals on social media to locate the former couple.[10] A witness came forward reporting that at around 23:15 he had seen a violent argument between a boy and a girl from the balcony of his apartment, taking place in a car park located about 150 metres from Giulia's house. The girl asked for help and the witness called the 112, but nobody arrived because all units in the area were busy and the closest one was over 45 minutes away from Vigonovo, where the girl lived.[11] Later, security video footage from a factory located in the nearby town of Fossò showed Turetta violently hitting Giulia. When she tried to escape, Turetta hit her again from the back, then loaded her bleeding body into the boot of his black Fiat Punto.[12][13][2]

A manhunt for Turetta was initiated and was extensively reported on by Italian media for one week. After it emerged that Turetta had crossed the border into Austria, Gino Cecchettin made two different announcements, one in English and another one in German, asking the public's help to find Giulia. Italian law enforcement issued a European arrest warrant for Turetta[3] on charges of kidnapping and murder.[14]

Giulia's body was discovered on 18 November 2023 by the special dogs unit of the Civil Protection in Piancavallo, near lake Barcis in the Province of Pordenone.[4] The body was found inside a large nylon bag in a cave[15] at 50 metres altitude, within a wooded area that is generally closed during the autumn-winter period for security reasons.[16] The Italian forensic services performed an autopsy on 1 December 2023, and reported that Giulia's body had over twenty stab wounds.[17]

One week after the murder, Turetta was arrested in an emergency lane of a motorway near Leipzig, after his car had run out of petrol. His first words to officers upon being stopped were: "I am Filippo Turetta. I killed my girlfriend".[5][18][19][20] On 25 November Turetta was extradited to Italy, on a special Air Force flight that landed in Venice, and incarcerated in Verona prison.[6]

Funeral and reactions[edit]

Turetta is often called a monster, but he isn't. A monster is an exception, someone outside of society, someone for whom society doesn't have to take any responsibility. But the responsibility is there. "Monsters" aren't ill: they are the healthy sons of the patriarchy and rape culture.

Elena Cecchettin[21]

On 20 November 2023, the Corriere della Sera published a letter by Giulia's older sister Elena, in which she denounced a society responsible for dismissing men who commit violent acts against women as "monsters" or mentally ill, stating that they were in fact the natural result of "patriarchy and rape culture". She invited all men to take responsibility, recalling friends and colleagues who displayed behaviours tolerated by society that could be the prelude to femicide, defined by her as "state murder" and a "crime of power" which society must be educated against.[21]

Cecchettin's funeral was held at the Abbey of Santa Giustina in Padua, officiated by the bishop of Padua Claudio Cipolla, in the presence of approximately 8,000 people and civil and military authorities; the funeral was also aired on the main Italian television channels.[22] Giulia is buried next to her mother Monica, who died of cancer in autumn 2022. Her father Gino delivered the eulogy, urging men to change their attitudes toward women.[23][24]

On 2 February 2024, in the presence of her relatives, the University of Padua conferred an honorary degree to Giulia Cecchettin.[25] Gino Cecchettin has published a book with the title Cara Giulia. Quello che ho imparato da mia figlia ("Dear Giulia. What I have learned from my daughter") about the memories of his daughter and how he lived with the grief of the loss. The book was released in Italy on March 5, 2024.[26]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta (22 November 2023). "Student's Killing Pushes Italy to Confront Violence Against Women". New York times.
  2. ^ a b "Giulia Cecchettin's killing sparks Italian reckoning over femicide". BBC News. 24 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Italian woman's death, allegedly at the hands of ex-boyfriend, sparks outcry against femicide". Abc News.
  4. ^ a b Eleonora Panseri (15 November 2023). "Chi sono Giulia Cecchettin e Filippo Turetta e cosa sappiamo sui ragazzi scomparsi in Veneto". fanpage.it. fanpage.it. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  5. ^ a b Povoledo, Elisabetta (8 December 2023). "A Beloved Comedian's Film on Domestic Abuse Draws Italians, in Droves". New York Times.
  6. ^ a b "Opinion: What remains after the murder of Giulia Cecchettin". HS Insider. 27 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Giulia Cecchettin, pagò lei la cena con Filippo quella sera. Il Gip: "Accoltellata a 150 metri da casa e poi ha lottato per 25 minuti"". Il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). 2023-11-21. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  8. ^ a b "Il papà di Giulia Cecchettin: "Temo per la sua incolumità". Ma i carabinieri scrissero: "Non è in pericolo"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 2023-11-24. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  9. ^ Kassam, Ashifa (25 November 2023). "Anger across Italy as killing of student highlights country's femicide rate". the guardian.
  10. ^ "Giulia Cecchettin e l'ex fidanzato Filippo Turetta scomparsi da sabato sera, l'auto ripresa dalle telecamere tra Veneto e Friuli". www.ilmessaggero.it (in Italian). 2023-11-13. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  11. ^ Redazione (2023-11-23). "Giulia Cecchettin, i Carabinieri confermano: "Un vicino chiamò il 112 per dare l'allarme, ma tutte le volanti erano già impegnate"". Open (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  12. ^ "Giulia Cecchettin, il Ris: "Moltissime tracce di sangue sul sedile dell'auto di Turetta"". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  13. ^ "Filippo, la Punto nera in giro senza sosta da 72 ore: una fuga di 400 km. L'auto vista in Friuli ma ora si cerca nel Brenta". www.ilgazzettino.it (in Italian). 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  14. ^ "Filippo Turetta accusato di omicidio e sequestro. La premeditazione? Il procuratore: "Ancora nessuna ipotesi"". Il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). 2023-11-20. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  15. ^ "Giulia Cecchettin gettata da un dirupo alto 50 metri. Il corpo trovato da un cane della Protezione civile". Quotidiano Nazionale (in Italian). 2023-11-18. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  16. ^ "Giulia Cecchettin, il corpo era in un canalone vicino al lago di Barcis. "È stata uccisa con svariate coltellate alla testa e al collo"". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian). 2023-11-18. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  17. ^ "Giulia Cecchettin, l'autopsia: "Uccisa con più di 20 coltellate". Turetta interrogato per 9 ore, in lacrime: "Mi è scattato qualcosa in testa"". Il Resto del Carlino (in Italian). 2023-12-01. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  18. ^ Pasqualetto, Andrea (2023-11-22). ""Ho ucciso la mia ragazza". La prima frase di Turetta agli agenti in autostrada". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  19. ^ "Ecco il carcere super protetto dove verrà rinchiuso l'assassino di Giulia Cecchettin". La Stampa. GEDI Gruppo Editoriale. 25 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  20. ^ "Filippo Turetta atterrato in Italia, le ultime notizie sull'omicidio di Giulia Cecchettin: consegnato dalla Germania ammanettato mani e piedi". fanpage.it. fanpage.it. 25 November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  21. ^ a b "La lettera di Elena Cecchettin: "I "mostri" non sono malati, sono figli sani del patriarcato"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 2023-11-20. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  22. ^ Rainews, Redazione di (2023-12-04). "Padova in lutto: in migliaia ai funerali di Giulia Cecchettin. L'abbraccio e il rumore della folla". RaiNews (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  23. ^ "Si è spenta Monica Camerotto, madre di tre figli: ha lottato per sette anni contro un tumore". PadovaOggi. Citynews. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Thousands pay tribute to woman murdered in northern Italy". Returns.
  25. ^ "L'Università di Padova conferisce la laurea alla memoria a Giulia Cecchettin - Notizie - Ansa.it". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  26. ^ "Gino Cecchettin: "Ho scritto Cara Giulia per elaborare il mio lutto"". Vanity Fair Italia (in Italian). 2024-03-04. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
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