Death occurred by drowning, there would be no doubt about it. The whole of Italy was shocked last week by the tragedy of little Vincenzo, 10 years old, who fell into an artesian well in Palazzolo Acreide (Syracuse), on June 27, in the Iblei mountains, when a trip to a summer camp in the area was coming to an end.
Yesterday the autopsy, which lasted about two and a half hours, was performed by the doctor appointed by the Syracuse Prosecutor’s Office, in the presence of the doctors appointed by the nine people who have been entered in the register of suspects (the charge is manslaughter). The register of suspects includes the owner of the land in the Falabia district where the artesian well is located and the summer camp was taking place, the 54-year-old educator who threw herself into the well in a desperate attempt to save the child and seven other workers.
How many artesian wells are still at risk in Italy?
The Well of Tragedy
The well of the tragedy is in the center of the small playground, not difficult to reach: 15 meters deep, half covered with water. According to the first reconstructions that will be verified during the investigations, little Vincenzo would have moved away from the group (which included his disabled brother) and, at the moment of the fall, he would have been alone. A few jumps on the roof, which gives way. An operator tried to help him by lowering herself with a rope, in vain.
The tragedy would have occurred when the trip to the farm was almost over, the bus already ready to take everyone home. Little Vincenzo, for reasons yet to be clarified, would have lingered: he would have been attracted by the swings and that well. A matter of moments, then the flight of several meters and death by drowning.
The mother: “Now I feel the silence of a pain that takes my life away”
Last Friday, during the vigil in the Basilica of San Paolo, his sister Marilena gave a heartbreaking speech: “My love, my heart, I would pay the highest price in the world to bring you here, to Mom and Dad. They no longer have tears, they no longer have a heart, we are slowly wearing ourselves out and I am helpless, I would like to tear you away from death as she tore you away from life, my Vincenzo, my brother, I loved you from the first moment we knew you were inside Mom and I loved you immeasurably during your growth”.
Paola, Vincenzo’s mother, wrote a message on social media. “I close my eyes, listening to your voice my bloodto hear when you tell me mom I love you, you are my world. Now I feel the silence of a pain that takes my life away”, says the woman, posting a TikTok video that portrays her with her son. The little boy’s body will now be returned to the family for the funeral. In Palazzolo Acreide there will be a day of mourning.
