This tiny baby sexually abused and then beaten to death in Italy by her mother’s Romanian boyfriend has been buried at the conclusion of the police investigation.
Bricklayer Gabriel Robert Marincat, 25, has reportedly admitted attacking the 18-month-old baby girl while her mother was out of the house, later calling her to say that there had been an accident.
The panicked mother, Silvia Barni, whose age was not given and who was at work, called emergency services.
When they arrived and realised how severely injured the child was, she was airlifted to hospital.
The boyfriend was arrested when doctors who tried and failed to save the life of the toddler revealed that the cause of death was incompatible with the man’s version of events, which was that the baby had pulled on an electrical cord that had caused a heater to topple on her head.
They found evidence of blows inflicted at different times plus sexual abuse using an unknown object.
He was arrested and has been in custody for four months following the incident in the Italian comune of Cabiate in January.
He has maintained that he was innocent in all that time, but this week he has changed the story and admitted that he was guilty.
He was apparently being questioned by prosecutor Antonia Pavan, and, according to local media, confessed, saying: “I abused Sharon, then I beat her to death”.
The Romanian, who was unemployed at the time, was alone with the youngster in her mother’s apartment on the day of the crime on 11th January.
The prosecutor in the case has called for the young man’s immediate judgement on the charge of voluntary homicide aggravated by sexual violence following his confession.
The baby was buried on 11th May at the conclusion of the police investigation, with a funeral service taking place in the church of Santa Maria Nascente, where she had been baptised.
The mum, in a tribute to her lost daughter, wrote: “I still can’t believe it today. A person who seemed to love you turned out to be anything but. Reality has cruelly plunged me into a tragedy that I will have to face with all the strength I have. But I know that I will never be alone because you will be there, and you will guide me in my every step. Ours will never be a goodbye.”
