Trial in the Court of Assizes in Venice

Cecchettin murder: Filippo Turetta sentenced to life imprisonment

The judges ruled out the aggravating circumstances of cruelty and stalking, so the charges of murder aggravated by premeditation, kidnapping and concealment of a corpse remain standing

by Redaction Rome

3 December 2024

Omicidio Cecchettin, Filippo Turetta in aula prima della sentenza

5' min read

Key points

Compensation to civil plaintiffs: 500,000 euro to dad Gino, 100,000 to Elena and Davide
Julia's dad in the classroom
Victim's uncle: Turetta will always be my niece's murderer
Filippo never apologised
The stages of the affair: killed with 75 stab wounds
Daddy's missing person report
The discovery of Giulia's body and Turetta's arrest in Germany
Greeting of Julia in the Basilica of Padua
The Turetta trial
The pm's request for life imprisonment

5' min read

Filippo Turetta was sentenced to life imprisonment for the feminicide of his ex-girlfriend Giulia Cecchettin, which took place on 11 November 2023 in Fossò, in the province of Venice. The sentence of the Venice Assize Court was read out by the President of the College Stefano Manduzio. The Court surprisingly ruled out the aggravating circumstances of cruelty and stalking, so the charge of murder aggravated by premeditation, kidnapping and concealment of a corpse remains standing. Filippo Turetta remained impassive after the reading of the sentence. As in previous hearings, he kept his head down before leaving the courtroom escorted by prison police. The first instance thus ended with the maximum sentence for the student who killed the young student just a step away from graduation.

Compensation to civil plaintiffs: 500 thousand euro to the father Gino, 100 thousand to Elena and Davide

In addition to the legal disqualifications, compensation was ordered for the civil parties with the payment of a provisional sum of 500,000 to Gino Cecchettin, 100,000 each to his siblings Elena and Davide, 30,000 each to his grandmother Carla Gatto and his uncle Alessio, as well as the costs of legal representation. The Venice judges also ordered the release of the personal effects of Giulia, who was killed on 11 November 2021 in Fossò.

Giulia Cecchettin, l'arrivo della famiglia al tribunale di Venezia

Julia's father

was impassive in the courtroom

Impassive, concentrated on the jury bench, Gino Cecchettin never looked away as the president of the panel Stefano Manduzio read out the verdict. For the second time since 25 October, when Turetta had been interrogated for hours, Daddy Gino's glances never crossed with the man who killed his daughter. Turetta and Daddy Gino stood a few steps apart. Turetta in the front row, among his defenders, Gino Cecchettin on the opposite side in the second row. Also present as civil parties were uncle Alessio and grandmother Carla Gatto, absent from the courtroom - as for the whole trial - were siblings Elena and Davide. The Court of Assizes of Venice remained until 4 p.m. in chambers to discuss and deliberate on the sentence for Filippo Turetta, the 23-year-old confessed perpetrator of Giulia Cecchettin's feminicide. The hearing, the fifth, initially provided for the replies by the Prosecutor, the civil parties to the defence's plea and the possible rejoinder, which however did not take place.

Omicidio Cecchettin, zio vittima: "Nessun perdono, Turetta resterà sempre assassino di mia nipote"

Victim's uncle: Turetta will always be my niece's murderer

'Nobody will win because we have lost Giulia, Filippo's family has lost Filippo and he will remain what he is. Regardless of the conviction and the length of the sentence, he will always remain Giulia's murderer,' says Andrea Camerotto, Giulia Cecchettin's uncle, outside the courtroom in Venice. 'Justice will give him the chance to recover socially,' he says, 'but he will not be able to get out of prison and not be Giulia's murderer, he will be forever'. And on forgiveness: 'I am not for forgiveness, I will never forgive those who killed my niece and I will never forgive those who hurt women,' Camerotto said.

Fondazione Giulia Cecchettin: dare voce e sostegno a chi vive nella paura

Filippo has never apologised

'Filippo never apologised,' Giulia's uncle pointed out, 'he never mentioned Giulia. Maybe it was the situation, but I don't understand why'. We,' Uncle Alessio concludes, 'have always been attentive and supportive of his parents. Perhaps I was a little aggressive in my expressions, but nothing more. Our behaviour is that of the first few hours, when the two were reported missing'.

The stages of the case: killed with 75 stab wounds

Giulia and her murderer Filippo Turetta disappeared on 10 November 2023, on a Saturday night, after going to dinner and shopping in a shopping centre in Marghera. Giulia had to buy a dress for the graduation she was to discuss a few days later. A neighbour reported to the 112 Carabinieri that he had seen a couple arguing in the car park near the Cecchettin house and heard a girl shout 'help, you're hurting me', but at that moment the patrols on duty were busy elsewhere. On the night between 10 and 11 November 2023, the crime took place, in the Vigonovo car park and then in the industrial area of Fossò. Faced with Turetta's insistence, Giulia reacts, but is beaten. She tries to escape, but is hit 75 times with two knives, the first one even breaking. Lifeless, Giulia is loaded into the black Fiat Grande Punto and begins a getaway in north-eastern Italy. The young student's body is abandoned in Friuli.

Giulia Cecchettin Credit: Fondazione Cecchettin

Daddy's missing persons report

On 11 November 2023, Giulia's father, Gino Cecchettin, filed a missing person's report, which was not initially listed as serious due to danger to life. However, the family moves, through the Penelope association. Findings arrived: traces of blood in the industrial area of Fossò, images from video surveillance cameras documenting the fight between the two. Turetta was already on the run.

The discovery of Giulia's body and Turetta's arrest in Germany

On 18 November 2023, Giulia's body was found in a forest near the lake of Barcis, in the province of Pordenone, wrapped in a black nylon bag. The next day, 19 November 2023, Turetta is arrested in Germany, near Leipzig, stopped at the side of a motorway. Headlights off, the car is out of petrol. On 25 November 2023, Turetta is extradited to Italy and locked up in the prison of Verona Montorio, where he will be interrogated on 1 December by prosecutor Andrea Petroni.

The farewell to Julia in the Basilica of Padua

On 5 December 2023, Giulia's funeral is celebrated in the Basilica of Santa Giustina in Padua, crowded inside and out by over 10,000 people. The collective emotion also affects the country.

Turetta's trial

On 23 September 2024, the trial of Filippo Turetta opens with immediate trial before the Venice Court of Assizes: four hearings in all. On 25 October 2024, Turetta testifies in court under the gaze of Gino Cecchettin. His confession shocked the audience: 'I thought about kidnapping her and even taking her life'; 'Giulia ran away, screamed and I hit her again'. 'We have understood who Filippo Turetta is,' Gino Cecchettin commented that day.

The public prosecutor's request for life imprisonment

On 25 November 2024, on the Day Against Violence Against Women, public prosecutor Andrea Petroni calls for a life sentence for Filippo Turetta, without solitary confinement. "It is difficult to believe in anything other than a premeditated murder, witnessed by all the elements collected, not because they were provided by Filippo, but recovered through the investigation activity from the memories of the various electronic devices," says the pm. The civil parties are claiming damages of EUR 2,150,000.

Turetta's defence: this is not Pablo Escobar

On 26 November 2024, in his defence plea, lawyer Giuseppe Caruso emphasised that 'Filippo Turetta knows that he will have to do many years in prison, but he is not el Chapo, he is not Pablo Escobar' and argued that 'Giulia Cecchettin was not afraid of Filippo Turetta. She wanted to leave him and had written a list listing the reasons for breaking off that relationship. Giulia was seeing a psychologist, but we do not know that it was because of the relationship with Filippo'. Words that Gino Cecchettin calls a "humiliation" of Giulia's memory.