An autopsy will determine the cause of death of Valeria Sollai , the 62-year-old woman who died last night at the Monserrato University Hospital, where she had been hospitalized in intensive care for weeks. The magistrate on duty has ordered the seizure of her body, which will be subjected to forensic examinations.
Sollai arrived at the emergency room last July, after eating a sandwich at a Fiesta Latina kiosk.
Initially, his condition seemed to be improving , "so much so that," says his cousin Gianni Milia, "yesterday there was even talk of rehabilitation. Then, suddenly, his clinical condition worsened, leading to the tragic epilogue."
Cook at the “Monumento ai Caduti” nursery school in via del Redentore , in Monserrato, she was known by all as a sunny and generous person.
"She gave so much for our children," Mayor Tomaso Locci recalled. "The news saddens us deeply. We will be present at the funeral as a community, as we did for Roberta Pitzalis, the other victim in the same incident. This is a loss that affects us all."
The cousin, still deeply shaken, points out the similarities with the previous death: "It's absurd that someone goes out for a relaxing evening, goes to a party, eats a sandwich, and ends up in the hospital. She was with her sisters; they all ate the same sandwich, but only she felt ill. They were celebrating her older sister's discharge from the hospital, and then? A party that turned into tragedy."
Valeria Sollai leaves behind her husband, Angelo Aru, and a son, Alessandro, a Carabiniere in Campania. When contacted by phone by our editorial staff, Alessandro preferred not to speak. "It's a very special moment, I'm sorry," were the only words he managed to utter, his voice breaking with pain.
But he himself, during the first weeks of his mother's hospitalization, issued a plea for caution on social media : "It is strongly recommended not to eat food from street stalls in the coming weeks. Symptoms not to be underestimated are: double vision, difficulty coordinating, headaches, swallowing and speech problems. If you experience these signs, go to the emergency room immediately."
The autopsy, which will be performed in the next few days, will be crucial in establishing whether the woman's death is directly related to botulinum poisoning or to other complications that arose during her hospitalization.
