During the evening control services of the territory, the Operations Room of the Catania Police Headquarters sent police personnel to Viale Mario Rapisardi for the request for intervention, received at the Single Emergency Number, from a woman attacked by her own son. On site, the operators immediately identified the woman who had requested their intervention, identified as a 76-year-old who reported having been beaten by her son, a 41-year-old convicted felon, originally from Palermo but resident in Catania.
The violence continues
The woman reported that her son had punched her until she fell to the ground. Her brother had come to her defense but, having been punched in the head, fell to the ground. The woman added that for about six months her son had become aggressive towards her, at first only verbally while in the last period also with physical and particularly violent attacks, even towards his own brother who lives with them. In particular, the dispute arose because the man had left the front door of the house open, probably to allow entry into a friend’s house. However, as soon as the mother closed the door, the man went into a rage, physically attacking first her and then her uncle who came to her defense.
The escalation of the son’s violent attitudes towards his mother have required several interventions by the police in recent days. In one of these cases the man had attacked the mother and uncle after he had withdrawn a large sum of money with his mother’s ATM card that afternoon. At the woman’s request as to what she should do with that money and the restitution of at least part of the money, the man, going into a rage, attacked and beat the two elderly people. Following the numerous episodes of mistreatment, as well as the interventions of the police forces, the victims decided to report what they had suffered in recent months.
The arrest
The woman, despite the signs of beatings on her face and arms, still refused medical treatment; his brother, however, had obvious bruises on his right and left arms and on his side, which in the previous days had forced him to seek medical treatment. After the investigations and the formalization of the complaints, the perpetrator of the violence was arrested for the crimes of family abuse and injuries. The prosecutor on duty was informed of the arrest, who ordered that he be sent to prison at the prison in Piazza Lanza to await the validation judgment before the investigating judge. The judge, after validating the arrest, ordered the application of precautionary custody in prison against the man, recognizing his high level of danger.
