Story By: Sara Zhivkova, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
A Romanian orphan adopted by a poor family in Italy who was jealous of another Romanian orphan adopted by a wealthy family has been jailed for life after stabbing her to death and then setting her body on fire.
A court in the Italian city of Trapani sentenced Margareta Buffa, 31, to life imprisonment for the murder of Nicoletta Indelicato, 25, in a rural area near the nearby town of Marsala two years ago.
Nicoletta was adopted as a child by an Italian family, together with her brother, Cristian, and her parents Damiano and Anna Rita raised the alarm after their daughter left home on Sunday 17th March 2019, and never returned.
They said she had just been getting ready for bed when she got the call from Margareta who persuaded her to go out.
Margareta and dance teacher Carmelo Bonetta, 36, stabbed her 12 times with a kitchen knife and then burned her body on the night between 16th and 17th March 2019.
Shortly after committing the crime, the pair changed clothes and headed to a nightclub in order to invent an alibi.
However, Margareta and Carmelo were arrested after Nicoletta’s charred body was found, and a local bar owner said he had seen them leaving together.
Carmelo, who comes from the town of Termini Imerese, later partially confessed to committing the crime on 20th March 2019.
Carmelo has since been tried by a court in Marsala, confessing his guilt and landing himself a 30-year prison sentence on 15th May last year.
Evidence presented in court showed how the pair premeditated the murder, with Margareta driving to the scene with Nicoletta after tricking her, and Carmelo hiding in the car boot.
Carmelo told the police during his interrogation: “Once in the car, Margareta told me that I had to kill Nicoletta, and I said ‘whatever you say, I’ll do’.”
The prosecutor in the case referred to a longstanding “hatred” on Margareta’s part, and the victim’s family’s lawyer, Giacomo Frazzitta, claimed: “It is now clear that Margareta is a paid escort and she also wanted to involve Nicoletta in her prostitution ring.”
The victim’s family’s lawyer Giacomo Frazzitta claimed: “It is now clear that Margareta is a paid escort and she also wanted to involve Nicoletta in her prostitution ring.”
However, details of these allegations were not revealed during the court case.
What was revealed was that Margareta used Nicoletta “as an ATM” and was constantly borrowing money off her and getting her to pay for their evenings out.
According to local media, a psychiatrist had previously diagnosed Margareta with “symptoms of anxiety”.
However, she was ruled fit to serve her prison sentence.
The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
