A woman on holiday in Naples was killed after being struck in the head with a heavy statuette thrown from a balcony.
Chiara Jaconis, 30, was walking with her boyfriend through the Spanish Quarters of Naples on September 15, 2024, when she was killed.
CCTV footage from a nearby cafe caught the moment Chiara collapsed, as her partner Livio screamed for help.
According to investigators, the boy threw a black statuette weighing around 4.4 pounds from a third-floor balcony, striking Chiara as she walked below.
She was rushed to the hospital with severe head injuries, but died just hours later despite emergency surgery.
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Now, the parents of the 13-year-old boy accused of her death have rejected blame for the boy’s behaviour and are demanding that, even though he is too young to be charged, he also be officially cleared of wrongdoing.
Italian prosecutors have requested that the boy’s mother and father be charged with negligent manslaughter, arguing the tragedy could have been prevented if they had kept a closer watch on their son.
The teenager has already been cleared by a juvenile court because he is under the age of 14 and cannot be held criminally responsible under Italian law.
A preliminary hearing to decide whether the case will go to trial is scheduled for 26th June.
Prosecutors say the parents bear responsibility because they did not supervise their son, who is believed to have carried out similar dangerous acts in the past.
However, the couple, both professionals in Naples, aged 65 and 54, have strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Through their lawyers, they insist they had no involvement in the incident and claim the statuette did not belong to them.
They have also bizarrely appealed the court’s decision to clear their son because of his age, arguing he should be acquitted based on the facts of the case rather than simply because of his age.
The case has drawn widespread attention in Italy, raising questions about parental responsibility and safety in densely populated urban areas.
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