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Rome Prosecutors Open File on Italian’s Death in Barcelona After Police Restraint

Pending autopsy plus toxicology reports will determine whether physical restraint or drugs caused the 28-year-old’s death.

Overview

  • Surveillance footage from May 29 shows Samuele Spinelli, visibly disoriented, chased into a Barcelona store and held face-down with his hands bound while security, plainclothes individuals and police intervened.
  • Family lawyers say a sedative (reported as midazolam) was injected during medical intervention and that Spinelli suffered cardiac arrest soon after; he died in hospital three days later on June 1.
  • Barcelona hospital doctors reported multiorgan failure and toxicology tests that found traces of methamphetamine, a finding the family disputes and says does not explain visible marks on the body.
  • Two autopsies have been carried out, one in Barcelona and a second in Florence, and relatives have filed complaints in Spain and Italy while awaiting full medico-legal results.
  • The Rome prosecutor opened a formal file on Thursday to add an Italian judicial layer to the existing Spanish inquiry and to review video, medical records and forensic findings that will be decisive for responsibility.