"I've thought about this moment for a long time. Now I want to plead guilty and apologize to my family, my relatives, everyone." A surprise confession was made yesterday in the Assize Court in Como, where the final phase of the trial for the death of Ramona Rinaldi, 39, was underway. On February 21, 2025, she was found hanged with a bathrobe belt in the bathroom of her home in Veniano, in the Como area.

At the end of the preliminary investigation, her partner Daniele Re, 35, who had always professed his innocence, asked to make a spontaneous statement and, amid general disbelief, took responsibility for the woman's death.

"Around 1:00 a.m. I woke up, went to her in the kitchen, hugged her, and started crying really hard," he said. " When I left her, she wasn't moving anymore. Then I covered up what had happened a bit ."

King then explained that he had convinced himself of his innocence: "If I've lied so far, it's because I didn't want to pay for something I didn't want to do."

Ramona's mother and sister were in tears outside the courtroom, while the defendant's mother was taken to the hospital by ambulance after feeling ill.

The trial should have concluded today, but in light of the confession, Public Prosecutor Antonia Pavan requested a supplementary expert report , in addition to an initial psychiatric examination, which the Court of Assizes had already requested to assess Daniele Re's mental capacity. The request, which was supported by the defense and the civil parties, was granted, and the hearing was adjourned until December 2.

The defendant's defense attorney, Alessandra Angelelli, later revealed a background story. Re allegedly told her that that morning, his cellmate, while he was talking to him about Ramona, became emotional: "I've been thinking about this a lot. I've never cried for her, and a stranger could do it?"

Daniele Re was arrested in July last year on charges of aggravated voluntary manslaughter and mistreatment. According to the Prosecutor's Office, he allegedly attacked her during a violent argument, kicking her, and strangling her with a cord, or more likely with the same belt from the bathrobe she was later found wearing in the bathroom, in an attempt to stage her suicide.