Sarah Scazzi (left) was a 15 year old girl from Avetrana in Puglia who went missing in August. She was on her way to meet her cousin Sabrina (right) prior to heading to the beach. She never turned up. Various theories were put forward e.g. she had left home in a huff, she had been kidnapped etc. Then at the end of August Sarah’s uncle, father of Sabrina, found her mobile. It had been burnt and left in an old farmhouse near the town. At the beginning of October the uncle admitted murdering his niece in his garage when she rejected his advances. He had violated the body and then throw it down a well. He subsequently changed his story and said that he had murdered Sarah with Sabrina’s help but had not violated the body. Later he changed his story again and said that Sabrina had murdered Sarah in a pique of jealousy as the man Sabrina fancied was paying attention to Sarah. He had only helped dispose of the body. Now the investigators are wondering if Sarah’s aunt Cosima could also have been involved as she says she was in the house at the time but was asleep and heard nothing.
This is a very tragic story which may not seem very relevant to “living in San Giorgio”. However, it is very difficult to avoid the story if you want to watch television. In the early evening Rai 1 and Channel 5 have chat programmes and for the last couple of months the case has been discussed every evening. On afternoon television the situation is the same. It seems like trial by television. In fact they were interviewing the Sarah’s mother on a programme publicising unresolved crime and they told her on live television that Sarah’s uncle, her brother in law, had been arrested for the murder.
Every one involved in the case has given television interviews and even in the early stages Sabrina’s comments about the day of Sarah’s disappearance were being dissected on television programmes. The lawyers of the suspects are interviewed, the recordings of interviews with the suspects are released, forensic scientists, trial lawyers give their opinions. You start to long for a day when you don’t have to change channels in an attempt avoid more programmes on the case.