Martina Rossi, 20, died after she fell from the sixth floor of a hotel while she tried to escape an attempted sexual assault with Alessandro Albertoni and Luca Vanneschi later being convicted
Two Italian men have been ordered to pay more than €1 million (£862,870) in compensation to the parents of a student who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Majorca while fleeing a rape attempt.
The ruling was issued in a civil court in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy, on May 20 – some 15 years following the death of Martina Rossi, 20. She died in Palma after falling from the sixth floor of a hotel in the coastal resort area.
Judges ruled that Alessandro Albertoni and Luca Vanneschi must pay €489,836 (£422,821) to Martina’s mother Franca Murialdo, €457,563 (£94,991) to her father Bruno Rossi, and a further €74,531 (£64,339) jointly to both parents.
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The court found that Martina died on August 3, 2011 while trying to escape an attempted sexual assault inside a hotel room occupied by the two men. Spanish authorities had originally closed the case as a suicide after the student fell from the balcony of the Santa Ana hotel in Palma in the early hours of the morning.
Martina’s parents pushed for the investigation to be reopened in Italy four years later, leading prosecutors in Genoa and Arezzo to re-examine the case. Albertoni and Vanneschi were first convicted in 2018 and sentenced to six years in prison for attempted sexual violence and death as a consequence of another crime.
An appeal court later acquitted the pair before Italy’s Supreme Court overturned the decision and ordered a retrial. The two men were ultimately sentenced in October 2022 to three years in prison for attempted group sexual assault after the more serious charge relating to Martina’s death expired under Italy’s statute of limitations.
Civil judge Fabrizio Pieschi ruled that although the criminal charge linked to Martina’s death had expired, the court could still establish responsibility in civil proceedings using the legal standard of “more likely than not”. The ruling also excluded any contributory fault by Martina.Bruno Rossi said: “This sentence is the natural consequence of the criminal conviction.”
Martina’s father added that all compensation money would be donated to a foundation created in his daughter’s name to support women affected by violence. Bruno also said: “Albertoni and Vanneschi have never contacted us, never apologised, and only paid €1,000 (£863) into a dedicated fund.”
He added: “Our punishment never ends.” The judgment is immediately enforceable, although lawyers for the two men can appeal and request a suspension of the payment order while further proceedings continue.
