Abdou Ngom disappeared in the stretch of the Tanaro River that flows through the province of Cuneo one day in April, at just 13 years old. He has never been found since . Now, almost four months later, investigations have revealed that it was most likely not an accident: he didn't fall into the water alone, but was pushed into the river by one of the three friends with whom the boy had gone, despite him shouting that he couldn't swim. Perhaps because of a 50 euro debt .
The Turin juvenile prosecutor's office has therefore opened a file, investigating a fifteen-year-old of Maghreb origin for voluntary homicide with eventual intent: the boy is under house arrest in a community .
The episode occurred in Verduno (Cuneo) on April 22nd , where four people, all residents of Bra (Cuneo) and children of migrants, had gone to the hills and vineyards of Langa, where the Tanaro, the sixth longest river in Italy and the second in Piedmont, flows shortly before reaching Alba and heading towards the confluence with the Po, in the province of Alessandria.
It's a stretch of river known primarily for its chalk "Crystal Beach," a popular destination in the summer. It was a sunny day, but the river was swollen and murky due to the previous days' bad weather . A few days earlier, flooding and landslides had occurred in central Piedmont. Firefighters immediately began work, along with river rescuers and two helicopters from the Lombardy and Piedmont air units. Days passed without a trace, and after a week the search was suspended .
Meanwhile, the Prosecutor's Office had ordered the seizure of the cell phones of the three minors who were with the missing man, and the investigation was handed over to the Carabinieri in Bra. After their friend disappeared, the three boys met to discuss how to behave if the police called them. During the evidentiary hearing before investigators, in which they were questioned separately, it has now emerged that the fifteen-year-old was owed €50 by his friend, and for this reason he was initially charged with domestic violence. The other two later added: "Abdou said he couldn't swim, yet the other boy grabbed him and threw him into the water." The fifteen-year-old, represented by lawyers Giuseppe Vitello and Piermario Morra, denies this reconstruction.
And the victim's father, Khadim Ngom, is calling for the search to resume: "We are experiencing a double grief: my son is dead and we don't have his body. I want to take him back to Senegal, to his grandparents, and give him a burial. Only then can we find some peace."
