A judge in Macerata on Monday, August 1, 2022, ordered that Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo, the man who beat a Nigerian migrant to death in Italy, must remain in jail.
Alika Ogorchukwu was killed by Ferlazzo on the streets of Civitanova Marche city located in the Province of Macerata, Marche Region of Italy after he allegedly complimented Ferlazzo’s partner’s beauty.
The case has shocked the nation because of the brutality of the assault and the fact that several passers-by watched and some recorded the attack, but no one intervened to save the 39-year-old street hawker.
Ferlazzo’s lawyer, Roberta Bizzarri, said during Monday’s hearing, her client cooperated with investigators, had apologized for what happened and had “clarified” that racism was not the motive.
“Regardless of the colour of his skin he would have committed that very ugly gesture,” Bizzarri told journalists outside the court.
Macerata prosecutors have also charged Ferlazzo, 32, with homicide and robbery, as he also allegedly took Ogochukwu’s phone after killing him, but racism was not cited as an aggravating factor.
According to ANSA Italy report, Ferlazzo family said he had a history of mental health problems, which had led to his mother being assigned as his legal guardian by a court.
“Why wasn’t he being monitored even though he had a guardian?” said Francesco Mantella, the lawyer representing Ogorchukwu’s family.
“Apologies are not enough,” Ogorchukwu’s family said via the lawyer. “What is needed now is justice, not vendetta. It’s difficult to understand what happened.”
Patrick Guobadia of the Nigerians in Italy association said that “if it had been two Italians, things would have turned out differently – someone would have intervened to separate them.”
Ogorchukwu leaves behind a wife and an eight-year-old son. He also provided for a 10-year-old girl who lived with his family but was not his daughter.
Meanwhile, the local council has set up a fund of 15,000 euros to help the victim’s family.
