It will take weeks to understand that what killed Vera Slepoj, psychologist and writer found dead on the sofa at home his in the historic center of Padua on the morning of Friday 21st June. What is certain is that his heart stopped beating late Thursday eveningsince the professional was not yet in her bed but in the living room, probably because she had stopped to read a book before going to bed. The doctor Raffaele De Carodespite having concluded the autopsy examination on behalf of the prosecutor Andrea Girlando on Wednesday, he is still working on parts of the removed tissue, including the heart, to have an overall picture to give to the prosecutor within about a month.
The intervention
The prosecution has acquired, through the medical examiner, the documentation of minor knee surgery that Slepoj had done last May 20th in a clinic in Portogruaro. The professional, in fact, complained of discomfort in her leg, and she turned to a doctor she knew well and who worked in a facility in the Venetian municipality where she was born. Last May 20th she would have been there cyst removed from knee, a small routine operation, the simple aspiration of liquid through a syringe, aimed at relieving pain. The patient recovered quickly: she walked calmly and reassured her family by saying she felt in good shape. Four days before her death, Slepoj she had returned to the nursing home for a check-up. Again, nothing worrying emerged.
The family’s complaint
The the night before dying Slepoj had been to one evening organized by Lion’s Club and had been accompanied home by her friend Ludovica Alberti Casellati. No one could imagine what would happen in a few hours. The discovery of her body the next day, by the ruler that like every morning she had gone to bring her coffee, it was a real shock for the family. After the first hours of confusion, the relatives decided to rely on the Paduan criminal lawyer Massimo Munari to file a power of attorney exposed in which we are asked to understand what could have killed a woman who appeared to all those who knew her to be healthy and well.
The autopsy: there are no lesions or trobes
The autopsy performed by Dr. De Caro did not reveal any blood clots or lesions that could suggest that that small intervention was fatal for the psychologist, it will still take time to clarify the picture, but the first clues seem do not cast suspicion on the Venetian clinic he operated the patient. In any case, the structure gave full availability and collaboration to the investigators. Information was also requested from the GP who was treating Slepoj, to understand if the professional was using drugs that could have caused interactions and lethal effects. The file, with the hypothesis of the crime of manslaughter, is still without suspects.
The last farewell
In the meantime, however, the prosecutor’s office gave the green light for the burial and today at 3pm at the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Paduathe funeral will be held and will be celebrated by Father Antonio Ramina, rector of the Basilica. Hundreds of people are expected: friends, family, former patients who carried in their hearts his help and his words in the most difficult moments.
