Two sisters have been arrested on suspicion of drugging their own mother and then using a pillow to suffocate her to death.
Silvia, 27, and Paola Zani, 19, were arrested last Friday (24th September) for allegedly killing their mother Laura Ziliani, 55, who was found dead at the beginning of August after she went missing from her mountain house in Temu, near the Italian city of Brescia on 8th May.
Silvia and Paola were the ones who reported that their mum was missing when they called the police in the afternoon on 8th May.
They told the police that their mum went out in the morning and never returned.
The police launched an investigation and after three months Laura’s body was found dumped near the Oglio river.
According to the local new site il Riformista, an autopsy found no signs of violence but did reveal that there was Benzodiazepine present in her bloodstream when she died, which is a drug that can be used to sedate people.
The authorities believe that Laura was sedated with the drug and then a pillow was used to suffocate her.
The authorities have also suggested that the sisters were not working alone and got help from Silvia’s boyfriend Mirto Milani, 27, although they did not clarify what role Mirto is alleged to have played.
The police believe the murder was motivated purely by financial reasons, according to local media.
Laura, who worked as a security guard, lived with her youngest daughter Lucia.
Paola was an economics student while Silvia quit her job at a retirement home the day before their mother went missing.
The daughters were allegedly very eager to get their hands on their inheritance, Marisa Cirella, Laura’s mother said: “Those three were very attached to money” also counting on Mirto, who reportedly often quarrelled with Laura who thought that he was too involved in family matters.
Lucia, Silvia and Paola’s younger sister, said: “They often treated her [Laura] badly and got angry with her because they said she didn’t support them, they wanted more money.”
All three suspects have been arrested and the sisters are being held at the Brescia prison of Verziano while Mirto is in isolation at the Canton Mombello prison in Brescia.
