Dr. Roberto Demontis's report has just been submitted regarding the case of Manuela Murgia , the sixteen-year-old girl found dead in the Tuvixeddu canyon in Cagliari on February 5, 1995. The case was initially closed as a suicide and then reopened on March 30 of last year as a homicide. The only suspect, her ex-boyfriend Enrico Astero, was cleared by DNA evidence during an evidentiary hearing .
But this doesn't mean Manuela committed suicide, Manuela's family lawyers continue to reiterate. The expert report by a professor of forensic medicine at the University of Cagliari focuses on four points , aiming to provide a different perspective on the Carabinieri RIS's reconstruction of the case.
Demontis highlights the "scientific inconsistency of the hypothesis of a fall from a height," because the injuries to the girl's body would be "incompatible" with a 30-meter fall . Furthermore, Demontis argues that the RIS's reconstruction of the seatbelt breaking when the buckle came loose is implausible, which, according to the coroner, would be compatible with traction applied by others .
Then there is the position where Manuela's personal items and plant remains were found, all considered incompatible with the place where the body was found , according to the coroner, brought by someone there . Finally, the picture of the victim's internal injuries, which would be compatible with having been hit by a car.
Four points that, for lawyers Giulia Lai, Bachisio Mele, and Maria F. Marras, and for the family, strengthen the hypothesis that the 16-year-old was murdered.
Now the word passes to the prosecutor: it's up to him to decide whether, also in light of this report, to appoint a super expert to re-examine the case.
(Unioneonline)
