“The ascertained conduct is undoubtedly supported by the desire to physically harass the poor elderly: the images speak for themselves and paint a desolate and at times horrifying picture.” And again: «GThe defendants were insensitive individualsin some cases abusive and absolutely unsuitable for perform such a delicate function, look after vulnerable people with respect and delicacy.” But if the preliminary hearing judge Benedetta Vitolo, in the reasons for the sentence with which she sentenced them to total sentences of 24 years, she expressed herself in such a harsh manner towards the social and health workers in the “purple department” of the retirement home Monument to the fallen of San Donà di Piaveaccused of having beaten and mistreated numerous elderly people guests between 2022 and early 2023, between the lines suggests that perhaps aEven the old leaders of the structure were not exempt from responsibilitydespite not having been brought to trial.
The judge’s text
In fact, the judge recalls how mistreatment can also be a crime of “omission”, citing the Supreme Court; Then, rejecting the thesis of prosecutor Andrea Petroni that there was complicity in the crime between the 5 convicted Oss, underlines how that figure «is at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy and has no power to control the actions of others, which instead lies with the managers of the structure»; finally, recalling how – «certainly not to justify, but to contextualize what happened» – the shifts were exhausting and sometimes at night there was only one operator for two departments. The fact remains that the disputed episodes were very serious: three months ago the Vitolo judge had sentenced Davide Barresi to 8 years (the prosecutor had asked for 12), who had sexually raped the bedridden elderly; at 6 years old Fabio Danieli (10 and 8 months according to the prosecutor) and at 5 years old (against 8 and 8) his partner Maria Rosa Badalamenti, accused of having beaten and insulted various guests; and finally at 2 years and 4 months Anna Pollazzon and Margie Rosiglioni, who had fewer episodes. “The conduct cannot be traced back to psychological difficulties or actual burnout, as claimed by the defence”, underlines the judge.
Dead old woman: too many doubts
But if the part about the competition – “there was no agreement or common will” – allowed a small reduction in the sentence, the twist was acquittal for the most serious charge, or to have caused the death of a patient, which occurred on February 23, 2023. The magistrate in fact recognized that on February 2 the woman had been beaten by Danieli while Badalamenti held her down (both were convicted for this episode), but she held on the causal link has not been proven “beyond a reasonable doubt”, also contradicting his own experts, as well as those of the prosecutor. According to the latter, the cause of death was respiratory failure linked to the fracture of 17 ribs, 3 on that occasion. For the investigating judge, however, there are too many doubts, between pre-existing fractures, serious previous illnesses, the fact that she seemed to have recovered and the hypothesis that she may also have been treated carelessly. The prosecutor’s office will appeal to the Supreme Court, while the defense evaluates the appeal. “The conduct as described, the lack of precedents, the fact that the manager and the doctors were not among the defendants, could have led her to a more lenient treatment”, underlines Danieli’s lawyer, Alberto Zannier.
