A man from Morocco who flew into a violent rage and stabbed his beautiful Italian estranged wife to death after she asked him for EUR 200 in maintenance for their little boy has been jailed for life.

Yassine Erroum, 31, had married Alessandra Piga, 25, from Sardinia and the couple had a child, who was 18 months old and was present when his mum was murdered.

Alessandra had separated from Yassine because of his violent behaviour and his jealousy.

He had agreed to pay child maintenance, but when she went round to request the money in June 2021, he flew into a rage and attacked her with a knife, stabbing her 15 times in the neck, arms, and body.

He then used her blood to write “I love him” on the wall, and later claimed to police that she had stabbed herself when he refused to rekindle the relationship.

When police turned up – alerted by neighbours, who had heard the screaming – he threw objects at them from the property, causing some of them to be injured.

When questioned, he claimed that he was not to blame, as he had been taking cocaine and had not slept for three days.

He also pointed out that he had tried to take his own life in a half-hearted effort after being devastated at seeing that Alessandra had committed suicide.

He was found to be lying, in part because it was suspected by local police that he was involved in drug trafficking, and because a bug had been planted in the apartment that provided vital evidence that saw him convicted.

A lawyer for the couple’s son, who turned three on 21st December, said they had filed a lawsuit to demand compensation for the loss of his mother.