Pierina Paganelli murder: Dassilva acquitted, released from prison

Louis Dassilva was acquitted and immediately released following a lengthy deliberation by the Court of Assizes in Rimini. The verdict in the murder case of Pierina Paganelli, an elderly neighbor of the sole defendant, came in the early hours of the morning after more than 16 hours of deliberation.

Dassilva, who had been in prison since July 2024 and faced a potential life sentence requested by the prosecutor, was met by his wife, Valeria Bartolucci, outside the Rimini prison. He was then taken by his lawyers to a different residence to avoid media attention. His first words upon release were, "Justice has been served, only justice has won. It is the rebirth of justice."

Paganelli's body was discovered in her garage on October 4, 2023. Initial suspicions of femicide were quickly abandoned as her ex-husband had been abroad for months. The crime scene presented disturbing details, with the body found on a toy, hair slicked back, skirt lifted, and underwear cut. Paganelli, a Jehovah's Witness, did not appear to be a random victim.

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It was justice, only justice has won. It is the rebirth of justice.

Investigations, coordinated by prosecutor Daniele Paci, focused on Paganelli's neighbors, including Louis and his wife Valeria, their son Giuliano Saponi, and his wife Manuela with her teenage daughter. Manuela's brother, Loris Bianchi, who had a poor relationship with Paganelli, also came under scrutiny. A key piece of evidence emerged when a garage security camera captured Paganelli's screams, establishing the time of death at 10:13 PM. The prosecution argued Dassilva lacked an alibi for that time.

Further developments included an intercepted conversation on October 4th, revealing Dassilva's affair with Manuela. In what the investigating judge called a "presumed confession," Dassilva responded to Manuela's pressure with "nothing changes between us" after a long silence. Details of their extramarital affair, including photos and coded messages, became public, as did their meetings in the garage where Paganelli was killed. The situation escalated with a public altercation between Dassilva's wife and Manuela on live television shortly before his arrest on July 16, 2024, an arrest upheld by three review sentences and two from the Court of Cassation.

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nothing changes between us