PADUA – Tuesday 13 June 2023. When Padua celebrated the great feast of Saint Anthony, in Quartieri Spagnoli Napoli there was an annoyed mother sending a voice message to her son’s nanny. He explained to her that he lived in constant worry that the boy, who was clearly troubled, might throw something off the balcony as he had done several times in the past. Five days later the same mother sent a new audio on Whatsapp saying that the boy had just thrown the tablet from the room. But one more thing. The babysitter said she was just as worried because she knew he could hurt someone.
The tragedy
A year and three months later, that omen came true in the most tragic way. On September 15, 2024, Chiara Jaconis was passing by in a Naples alley. She was 30 years old, from Padua and the daughter of one of the most famous condominium administrators in the city. She had realized her dream of working in Paris for Prada and was on holiday with her boyfriend when she was hit in the head by a statue. He fell into a coma and died after two days in hospital. What has happened? The reconstruction of the fact has been known for some time: two ancient Egyptian-inspired onyx statues, weighing a total of 10 kilograms, were thrown into the street by a troubled thirteen-year-old boy. One of the two statues hits Chiara.
However, now all the details of the investigation carried out by the Naples Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office are revealed, contained in a request for non-prosecution signed last April by deputy prosecutor Nicola Ciccarelli against the boy.
Investigation document
Twenty-four pages and – according to the juvenile judge’s thesis – seven clues providing evidence. The request contained the statements of twelve neighbors and family servants of a thirteen year old child, statements of doctors who had been following the boy, the discovery of the remains of discarded objects, an inspection of the family’s apartment. And again: the fact that her parents immediately lowered the shutters, the first indication of Chiara’s boyfriend immediately understanding the origin of the object that the thirty-year-old hit.
The documents also report an exchange of messages between the thirteen-year-old’s mother and his nanny. The woman’s knowledge of her son’s behavior, which was also known to most of the building, emerged without too many contradictions from the page signed by the prosecutor for the minor.
The parents are being investigated
Prosecutors from the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office have requested that the child be indisputable, considering that he is under 14 years old. The investigative judge’s decision is expected to come out on December 18. On the other hand, his brother is over 14 years old and therefore could have been taken to court but his case has been archived. However, in the meantime, the ordinary prosecutor’s office is also functioning.
The parents are being investigated on charges of collaborating in the murder for failing to maintain proper precautions: they did not strengthen the lock to prevent access to the balcony, nor did they prevent the boy from holding a sufficiently heavy object. Notification of the investigation’s conclusion was served in recent days and, barring a new defensive inquiry, a preliminary hearing could be set for the first few months of 2026.
Throwing objects
The investigation document also contains a list of all the objects allegedly thrown away over the years. Tablets but also toys, clothespins, phones, bottles, clothes and AC remote controls. No serious incidents have occurred (most damage to the balconies of families living on the lower floors), as of September 15, 2024.
The newspaper also includes much more, such as testimonies from neighbors and other residents of the street. Everyone knows that there is a problem child living on the same street as them. Everyone knows about objects thrown into the street, as the babysitter herself confirmed, so much so that a neighbor found a piece of sculpture on her balcony.
Panicked (“well demonstrated by messages sent to the babysitter” wrote prosecutor Ciccarelli) the parents of a thirteen-year-old after throwing the figurines would “instinctively” close the lid, in the “vain hope” of protecting their son.
Waiting
Two weeks ago, after receiving documents from the ordinary prosecutor’s office, Gianfranco Jaconis spoke like this: «Our daughter is next to us, we remember her in everything and we move forward for her. We always ask for justice, we see the situation finally improving and this is very important to us. This is a step forward, but our lawyers have tempered our complacency: we know that we still have to wait and that caution is the right thing to do.”
The Jaconis family always took the same stance: they did not point fingers at the little boy at all, but asked that the truth be revealed. A truth that seems to have emerged from both investigations, although for now there has been no acknowledgment of responsibility on the part of the parents, at least publicly.
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