In the second appeal process, the sentences for three defendants involved in the tragic death of Desiree Mariottini, the sixteen-year-old from Cisterna di Latina who died on 19 October 2018 in an abandoned building in via dei Lucani in the San Lorenzo area of Rome, were reduced .
The judges of the Court of Assizes of Appeal reduced Mamadou Gara's sentence to 22 years in prison from a life sentence . For him the judges reclassified the charge from voluntary homicide to death as a consequence of another crime . The court sentenced Alinno Chima to 26 years, who had been sentenced to 27 years, and Brian Minthe to 18 years, already sentenced to 24 years , who was acquitted of the crime of supplying narcotic substances.
The second appeal process was ordered by the Supreme Court which dropped some charges last October . For a fourth person, Yousef Salia, a life sentence is already final .
The sentence was greeted with bitterness by the victim's mother and relatives. “We will wait to read the reasons that will be filed in the next few weeks,” the plaintiffs' lawyers limited themselves to saying. " I would have preferred higher sentences but it is important that the criminal responsibility of all the defendants was recognized," said Barbara Mariottini, Desirèe's mother .
According to what was ascertained by investigators, the 16-year-old died due to a lethal mix of narcotic substances . The girl, also a victim of abuse , was found lifeless in an abandoned building in the San Lorenzo district. According to the prosecution system, the defendants, with different roles, essentially did nothing, they didn't lift a finger to try to save the girl's life .
In the reasons for the referral sentence, the Court of Cassation stated that the death of the minor came after a «long sequence of criminal events that developed over several hours in which the conduct relating to the administration of the narcotic substances ingested by the victim since the morning of that day , which caused her to overdose, were connected with the conduct relating to the failure to activate the subjects present in the 'crack room', where the minor was left dying on a bed without being helped" .
For the Supreme Judges there is no doubt that «the defendants were aware of the minor's condition of extreme psycho-physical debilitation before dying, as the overdose was caused by the repeated administration of narcotic substances - including methadone, cocaine and heroin - occurred within premises where they were present". Awareness further demonstrated by «they attempted to resuscitate her, slapping her, pouring water on her face and making her ingest a mixture of water and sugar, until, realizing that they were unable to revive her, they left her dying on the bed of the room where she was found lifeless ."