A witness will be heard and wiretapping is permitted. Second appeal hearing for the murder of eighteen year old Serena Mollicone Arce killed on June 1, 2001, began to live again. The third part of Court of Appeal of the Assizes of Romechaired by Galileo D’Agostino, ordered the reception of many witnesses and consultants (the prosecutor had requested 50 at the last hearing), received the indication of the Supreme Court that in October 2023 had annulled the acquittal of the three defendants (“conflicting and incomprehensible reasons”): the former Arce carabinieri station commander Franco Mottola, his son Marco and his wife Anna Maria, accused of involvement in the murder.
Among the most awaited decisions is admission as a witness Gabriele Tersignicarabiniere to whom sergeant Santino Tuzi – who committed suicide in 2008 – would admit that he saw Serena enter the barracks on the day she disappeared. His presence in the courtroom was considered central by civil authorities: it could influence the assessment of the reliability of Tuzi’s statements before his death. “For us Tersigni is an important witness – commented the lawyer Antonio Iafrate, who accompanied Consuelo Mollicone, Serena’s sister –. The indication that the Court of Cassation was carried out correctly. The obtaining of his testimony and the interception between Venticinque and Da Fonseca represent two fundamental elements to prove the truth of Tuzi’s story”.
In fact, the Court also authorized the takeover two interceptions in 2008 – environmental letter, dated September 28, and telephone letter, dated October 10 – relate to conversations between Sonia Da Fonseca and carabiniere Ernesto Venticinque, both of whom were admitted to the new trial as witnesses. The transcript of the recording, which was originally recorded on cassette, was entrusted to expert Alessandro Perri.
The list of witnesses is long
In an attempt to fully reconstruct Serena’s possible entry into the Arce carabinieri barracks, which according to the prosecutor’s office would have been the scene of the murder, the Court admitted many witnesses: Pietro Caprio, Giuseppe D’Ammasso, Sonia Da Fonseca, Gaetano Evangelista, Massimiliano Gemma, Marco Malnati, Pasquale Simone, Marco Sperati, Anna Rita Torriero, as well as carabinieri Ernesto Venticinque, Francesco Suprano, Vincenzo Quatrale, Rosario Casamassima and Anna Teresa Magnante. The court also ordered court hearings of the three defendants, the Mottola couple and their son Marco.
They are also welcome technical consultant: Cristina Cattaneo, Ernesto D’Aloja, Paola Magni, Elena Pilli, Remo Sala, Carmelo Lavorino, Giorgio Bolino, Pio Di Milla, Mario Dell’Orio and Laura Ricci. The defense requested that the consultants be heard on cross-examination and have the right to propose a partner for comparison. However, the decision regarding the examination of witnesses regarding Serena’s alleged sightings in places other than the barracks on the day of her disappearance is still pending at this time: The court may evaluate it at a later date.
The court instead rejected a request from Maria and Fabio Tuzi, Brigadier Santino’s sons, to attend civil parties in the new appeals process. A choice motivated by the need to keep the boundaries of the debate focused on the facts at the heart of the Supreme Court-ordered annulment.
