Andrea Sempio faces potential indictment within nine months for the 2007 murder of Chiara Poggi in Garlasco, as his defense team filed detailed counter-deductions challenging footwear size, palm print blood tests, and DNA evidence previously assembled by prosecutors.
The Bottom Line
- Indictment Timeline: Prosecutors face a nine-month window to formalize charges and request a trial indictment for Sempio.
- Defense Strategy: Five independent consulences challenge the prosecution’s physical evidence, including shoe sizing, palm print composition, and biological traces.
- Legal Paradox: Alberto Stasi remains definitively convicted for the exact same crime, prompting defense preparations for Constitutional Court challenges if trial suspension is denied.
Footwear Mappings and Anthropometric Contests
Il Giorno reported that defense lawyers Angela Taccia and Liborio Cataliotti deposited their formal counter-deductions on Friday, October 16, responding directly to the prosecution’s expert replications. The underlying disputes center heavily on physical dimensions left at the crime scene in Garlasco. Consultants Armando Palmegiani and Giacomo De Angelis mapped 25 shoe tread marks, concluding they align more closely with a European size 40 rather than the size 42. Sempio wears a size 44.
To address the prosecution’s theory of weight gain over the intervening years, orthopedist Andrea Martini and medical examiner Sabino Pelosi evaluated Sempio’s physical metrics. While noting a 14-kilogram weight increase since 2007 for the 38-year-old, the experts ruled out that a bodily weight shift could account for a foot width variation exceeding two centimeters. Pelosi also contested the latest evaluations regarding survival timelines and defensive injuries put forward by Cristina Cattaneo and Biagio Eugenio Leone.
Palm Print Analysis and Biological Trace Disputes
The forensic battle extends to palm print 33, which prosecutors previously maintained placed Sempio firmly at the scene. Marina Baldi, Armando Palmegiani, and Katia Sartori challenged the assertion that the print contained blood. Their defense dossier details practical experiments conducted on wall panels utilizing graduated blood dilutions. These tests confirmed the operational reliability of the Obti test, which failed to detect any presence of blood on the print during the initial 2007 investigations.
Regarding the DNA collected from the victim’s fingernails—the central biological evidence that reopened the inquiry—Marina Baldi referenced the critical limitations highlighted by expert Denis Albani. Baldi concluded that no empirical data establishes how or when the genetic material was deposited. The defense urged applying the same alternative contamination hypotheses previously admitted for the fourth left finger, mirroring discussions surrounding the unidentified profile known as Ignoto2.
| Evidence Category | Prosecution Position | Defense Counter-Deduction |
|---|---|---|
| Shoe Impressions | Size 42 tread marks | Treads map closer to size 40; suspect wears size 44 |
| Palm Print 33 | Contains blood traces | Obti blood tests negative; practical wall dilution tests confirm 2007 findings |
| Fingernail DNA | Genetic material establishes direct contact | Timing and deposition mechanism undetermined; contamination parallels Ignoto2 cited |
Procedural Overlaps and Pending Judicial Reviews
This evidentiary clash unfolds against a complex judicial backdrop involving multiple concurrent proceedings. Because Alberto Stasi is already serving a definitive sentence for the August 13, 2007 murder, Sempio’s potential trial creates a distinct legal paradox. Taccia indicated readiness to petition the Constitutional Court if the Gup proceeds with the upcoming preliminary hearing without ordering a suspension.
Meanwhile, legal teams await developments in two separate strands: an inquiry into alleged corruption surrounding the 2017 archival of Sempio, which was returned to Pavia prosecutors following the archival decision in Brescia regarding Mario Venditti, and the separate, uncharged 2007 investigative file. Defense attorneys continue preparations for a potential request for revision regarding Stasi, keeping the dual-track proceedings deeply entangled.
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