Overview
- The Corte d'Assise of Rimini acquitted Louis Dassilva and ordered his immediate release after deliberations that ended in the early hours of Wednesday; the court applied article 530(2) of the criminal procedure code, a ruling for insufficiency of evidence.
- Judges found key pieces of the prosecution’s case unreliable because the murder weapon was never recovered, DNA tests did not identify Dassilva, several physical items were poorly preserved or contaminated, and CCTV and audio analyses produced no definitive identification.
- The prosecution had relied heavily on the late testimony of Manuela Bianchi, the victim’s daughter‑in‑law, but the court judged her account unproven; Bianchi remains under investigation for alleged favouring.
- The Procura della Repubblica di Rimini has announced it will appeal once the court’s written motivations are filed, a step that must occur within 90 days and will shape whether and how the case is reinvestigated.
- Dassilva was released to a protected location and his family welcomed the verdict while Paganelli’s children said they will await the written reasons; the underlying question of who killed Pierina Paganelli therefore remains legally and factually open.