The 47-year-old accused of having attacked the lawyer Pierfrancesco Broccio, 58, in Messina three days ago, with the collaboration of colleagues from Catania, was stopped by the carabinieri of the provincial command of Messina, spraying his face and body with corrosive acid which caused burns and injuries on 20 percent of his body. The woman was notified of the provision issued by the Messina Prosecutor’s Office and was taken to prison on charges of aggravated injuries (ex art. 583 quinques, art. 585 and art. 577, n. 2, 3 and 4 С.р.). The lawyer Broccio is hospitalized in the large burns center of the Cannizzaro hospital in Catania with a reserved prognosis, but not in danger of life.
The facts date back to the evening of Friday 25 September, when the woman – already assisted by Broccio in a criminal trial in the past – had asked to meet him to obtain legal advice. The investigation arose from the complaint of the offended party, who immediately reported having suffered injuries during the encounter. The arrest decree – which reflects a provisional circumstantial framework and is now being examined by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Catania – is based on a serious compendium of circumstantial evidence, currently made up of the information provided by the victim and other witnesses, as well as a series of wiretaps aimed at tracing the suspect, who had made herself untraceable immediately after the fact. The 58-year-old had picked up the woman at the Messina Centrale train station, and then headed with her to his lawyer’s office in Santo Stefano Medio. When getting out of the car, the woman took a bottle of liquid from her bag and splashed it at the man, then fled on foot.
On this occasion, the man contacted “112” to request the intervention of healthcare personnel, and was initially admitted to the Messina Polyclinic. Immediately after the intervention of the Carabinieri of the Messina Sud Company, the search for the woman began immediately, and yesterday evening she was found in Catania, in via Crispi, while she was on the street. The arrest decree, having been executed in the territory under the jurisdiction of the Etna Public Prosecutor’s Office, will have to be validated by the investigating judge at the Court of Catania. The woman is currently homeless.