The brutal crime of 23-year-old Noemi Riccardi, who was brutally stabbed by her 25-year-old brother Vincenzo, shocked everyone because of the ferocity, methods and behavior that the boy adopted even after committing the crime. With the help of a criminologist Anna Vagli we try to paint an initial profile of the killer to try to understand what is behind the act.
Can Dr. Vagli helps us find out the profile of the killer?
“We are talking about a subject with mental problems so the cause may be psychiatric reasons.
However, there is a disturbing but fundamental detail that must not be overlooked in order to understand the gesture: the video call to the mother after killing her sister, Noemi.”
Why did he do it?
“It was an unusual act that was probably done to “force” the mother to enter the crime scene. It was as if the boy wanted to make a spectacle of the murder, and at the same time realized how brutal his actions were.”
Can we define it as madness?
“Raptus does not exist in psychiatry. But this episode is certainly an epilogue to the escalation that occurred over time and certainly has raised alarm bells.”
So how could this tragedy have been avoided?
“I don’t know that. But what is certain is that there were gaps in the activities of those who were supposed to carry out the risk assessment. There may have been some signals but the control system was compromised. It is clear that the killer’s mental problems cannot be ignored when tracing his profile, but this does not mean that the reason for the actions was due to his illness. This must be verified as it will also be verified whether a number of elements, including the subject’s personal vulnerabilities, could have caused the psychological deterioration that later resulted in the tragedy.”
