Overview
- On February 10, the Court of Cassation annulled the latest life sentence, finding the appellate reasoning insufficient on the aggravating factor of premeditation.
- The case returns for an appello ter before the Corte d’Assise d’Appello of Milan with a newly composed bench, and a hearing date will be set after the motivations are deposited.
- In first instance Fontana received 30 years, while two appellate rulings raised the penalty to life by recognizing premeditation and cruelty before both life terms were quashed by the Supreme Court.
- Prosecutors argue the killing was planned, while the defense maintains it was an impulsive act, a dispute that determines whether the sentence is 30 years or life.
- Fontana confessed after the 2022 killing; investigators traced him following the discovery of dismembered remains identified via tattoos, and he remains in custody.