Murder of Maria Laura Mainetti

The murder of Sister Maria Laura Mainetti took place on 6 June 2000 in Chiavenna, Sondrio, Italy. Mainetti, a 60-year-old Catholic sister and Sister of the Cross, was lured out of her convent and stabbed to death in a satanic sacrifice by three teenage girls, who later received prison sentences ranging from eight years and six months to twelve years and four months. Mainetti's death was declared a martyrdom by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and she has been recognised as a Servant of God since the initiation of her beatification process.

Murder of Maria Laura Mainetti
Memorial for Mainetti in Marmitte dei Giganti park, Chiavenna, where the murder took place
Date6 June 2000 (2000-06-06)
LocationChiavenna, Sondrio, Italy
TypeMurder
Human sacrifice
Martyrdom
CauseStabbing
MotiveSatanism
ConvictedMilena De Giambattista
Veronica Pietrobelli
Ambra Gianasso
Sentence8 years and 6 months' imprisonment (De Giambattista & Pietrobelli)
12 years and 4 months' imprisonment (Gianasso)
Maria Laura Mainetti
Servant of God, Martyr
BornTeresina Elsa Mainetti[1]
(1939-08-20)20 August 1939[2]
Colico, Lecco, Italy
ResidenceChiavenna, Sondrio, Italy
Died6 June 2000(2000-06-06) (aged 60)
Chiavenna, Sondrio, Italy
Venerated inRoman Catholic Church
(Sisters of the Cross, Sisters of St. Andrew)
Major shrineCollegiate Church of Saint Lawrence
Chiavenna, Sondrio, Italy

Murder

The body of Sister Maria Laura Mainetti was discovered in Marmitte dei Giganti park in Chiavenna on the morning of 7 June 2000. Mainetti, a 60-year-old Catholic sister and Sister of the Cross who was mother superior of a local convent which specialised in helping juvenile delinquents, had left the convent the night before to meet with a girl who had telephoned her.[3] Mainetti had been stabbed 19 times. Three weeks later, police arrested three girls aged 16 and 17 on suspicion of the murder.[4] The three girls, Ambra Gianasso, Milena De Giambattista and Veronica Pietrobelli, had no prior history of crime or violence and came from middle-class families. After a witness told police that he had seen the four together on 6 June, the girls' telephones were monitored by police, and in one phone call, two of the girls discussed the killing. A clump of hair belonging to one of the girls was found in Mainetti's clenched hand.[5][6]

In custody, the girls initially said they killed the sister "for a game", later saying they killed her in a satanic sacrifice. Initially, the girls had wanted to kill the parish priest, but decided that Mainetti, who had previously taught them catechism, would be an easier target.[5][6][7] One of the girls telephoned Mainetti claiming to have been raped and impregnated and to be considering an abortion, and they arranged to meet in Marmitte dei Giganti park at 22:00 on 6 June. After walking with Mainetti to the park, the girls made the sister kneel on the ground and shouted abuse at her. De Giambattista beat Mainetti with a brick and Gianasso repeatedly rammed the sister's head against a wall. The three girls then took turns in stabbing Mainetti with a kitchen knife. The girls' intention was to stab the sister 18 times—6 times per girl, as per the number of the beast—but they instead stabbed her 19 times, "ruining" the ritual. As she was being attacked, Mainetti prayed, asking God to forgive the girls.[8][9][10]

De Giambattista, Gianasso and Pietrobelli were summarily tried at the juvenile court of Milan on 9 August 2001, with the prosecution requesting sentences of 15 years and 4 months for Gianasso, 11 years and 4 months for Pietrobelli, and 10 years and 4 months for De Giambattista. The latter two were convicted of murder and sentenced to 8 years and 6 months' imprisonment, the court taking into account that they were partially insane at the time of the crime. Gianasso was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity and was ordered to spend a minimum of three years at a youth detention centre.[11] The prosecution appealed for Gianasso's acquittal to be overturned to a conviction with a sentence of 12 years, 7 months and 10 days' imprisonment, and for De Giambattista and Pietrobelli's sentences to be upheld. On 4 April 2002, the appeal court of Milan overturned Gianasso's acquittal and declared her only partially insane at the time of the crime, sentencing her to 12 years and 4 months' imprisonment, while upholding De Giambattista and Pietrobelli's sentences.[12] Gianasso appealed her sentence, and on 17 January 2003, she was released from prison as the Supreme Court of Cassation had not reached a verdict on the appeal.[13] She returned to prison six days later after the court upheld her sentence.[14]

Pietrobelli was released from prison on 4 July 2004. Following her release, she participated in a community service program in Rome for two years.[15][16] De Giambattista was released on 2 May 2006 and also participated in a community service program.[17] From December 2007 until her release, Gianasso was also allowed out of prison during daytime hours to do community service.[18]

Aftermath

Alessandro Maggiolini, Bishop of the Diocese of Como, opened the diocesan phase of Mainetti's beatification process at the Collegiate Church of Saint Lawrence in Chiavenna on 23 October 2005.[1] On 20 March 2008, he announced that the request for the initiation of her beatification process had been approved.[19] The Congregation for the Causes of Saints declared her a martyr,[20] eliminating the need for recognition of a miracle.[21] The Congregation declared her a martyr again on 19 June 2020.[22][23]

On 26 February 2019, Mainetti's remains were exhumed from Chiavenna cemetery and placed in the Collegiate Church of Saint Lawrence.[24]

See also

References
  1. "La suora uccisa da tre ragazze sarà santa". Gazzetta di Reggio (in Italian). 23 October 2005. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  2. Galli, Andrea (5 September 2019). "Figli, studi, nuovi nomi: cosa fanno ora le ragazze che nel 2000 uccisero la suora in Valchiavenna". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  3. "Suora uccisa a coltellate". la Repubblica. 7 June 2000. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  4. "Sondrio, fermate 3 minorenni per l'omicidio di suor Laura". la Repubblica. 29 June 2000. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  5. Carroll, Rory (1 July 2000). "Girls confess to killing nun 'for sport'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  6. Johnston, Bruce (2 July 2000). "Bishop blames liberal society for girls' 'joke' killing of nun". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  7. ""Dopo suor Laura, mai più segnali"". il mattino di Padova (in Italian). 7 June 2004. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  8. "Mentre la uccidevamo la suora pregava per noi". la Repubblica. 7 July 2000. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  9. "A Satana bastavano 18 coltellate". la Repubblica (in Italian). 8 July 2000. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  10. ""Uccisa per un rito satanico"". la Repubblica. 2 October 2000. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  11. "Una prosciolta, due condannate le ragazze assassine della suora". la Repubblica. 9 August 2001. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  12. "Omicidio di Chiavenna, condannate le tre ragazze". www.repubblica.it. 4 April 2002. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  13. "Suora uccisa, scarcerata una delle ragazze killer". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  14. "Ambra torna in carcere". la Repubblica. 23 January 2003. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  15. "Baby killer di suor Maria lavora in un asilo a Roma". la Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  16. "Esce una delle killer della suora". la Repubblica. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  17. "Milena in comunità". la Repubblica (in Italian). 5 May 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  18. Giliberti, Luigina (11 December 2007). "Uccisero una suora. Fuori l'ultima ragazza". Corriere della Sera. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  19. "Suora uccisa, sì al processo di beatificazione". Corriere della Sera. 21 March 2008. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  20. "Pope speaks about religious sister who was killed by Satanists". Catholic News Agency. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  21. "Suora uccisa, fu un martirio la beatificazione sarà più rapida". la Repubblica (in Italian). 22 March 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  22. Morandotti, Lorenzo (19 June 2020). "Suor Maria Laura Mainetti, riconosciuto il martirio". Corriere di Como (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  23. "Sarà beata suor Maria Laura Mainetti, uccisa venti anni fa da tre ragazze per un rito satanico". la Repubblica (in Italian). 20 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  24. "Serva di Dio. Il corpo di suor Mainetti traslato nella «sua» chiesa a Chiavenna". Avvenire (in Italian). 12 March 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
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