Former teacher Anna Lucia Cecere was sentenced to 24 years for the murder of Nada Cella. The young secretary was murdered in Chiavari (Genoa) on May 6, 1996, in the office of accountant Marco Soracco where she worked. The judges of the Assize Court, presided over by Magistrate Massimo Cusatti, also sentenced the accountant to two years for aiding and abetting. Prosecutor Gabriella Dotto had requested a life sentence for Cecere (defended by lawyers Giovanni Roffo and Gabriella Martini) and four years for Soracco (represented by lawyer Andrea Vernazza).
The case was reopened in 2021 after a review of the old documents by criminologist Antonella Delfino Pesce and the family's lawyer Sabrina Franzone. The other civil parties are represented by lawyers Laura Razetto and Giovanni Battista Dellepiane. The investigation was entrusted to the Flying Squad by Public Prosecutor Gabriella Dotto.
According to the prosecutor, Nada Cella's murder was a crime of passion: Cecere killed the secretary because he wanted to take her place at work and in Soracco's heart. The accountant allegedly lied and covered up for the alleged murderer. He, who had been the prime suspect immediately after the murder, has always denied covering up for Cecere.
The former teacher's name had already emerged at the time of the crime. The Carabinieri had received several reports and found buttons in her home that matched the one found under the body. She was investigated for five days and then her case was closed.
"Sentences are not something to comment on," said lawyers Giovanni Roffo and Gabriella Martini, representing Anna Lucia Cecere. "We will certainly appeal because it's a sentence that doesn't satisfy us. We need to read the reasons, but I can't understand how they reached such a decision, given that the judge had previously acquitted them." "If she is the murderer, I'm glad she was convicted," Soracco said. "But I didn't expect my conviction; I thought my innocence had been recognized."
"We did it," said Silvana Smaniotto, Nada Cella's mother. "I was hoping for this outcome. We fought for Nada and her family to the very end. We were afraid, but the truth is known to everyone," commented lawyer Franzone. "The truth was needed for her and her family, who can't say what she's been through. This ruling restores everyone's confidence. Nada won't be coming back, but it was right that clarity be shed ."
(Unioneonline)