A 35-year-old Italian man who stabbed his girlfriend 57 times after an argument over breadcrumbs has been released from jail due to a court ruling that the high-calorie diet served in the facility could kill him. According to the New York Post, Dimitri Fricano viciously killed his 25-year-old girlfriend Erika Preti while the pair were vacationing in Sardinia in 2017. He weighed around 120 kilograms when he was jailed for 30 years in 2019, however, because of delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, he did not begin serving his sentence until April 2022.
Now, the Turin Surveillance Court in Italy has freed Mr Fricano on medical grounds after just a year behind bars. As per the Post, the prison officials said that the 35-year-old's health is at risk because they cannot provide the low-calorie diet he needs to slim down. The court noted that Mr Fricano's weight had ballooned up to 200kgs in just a year.
Last week, the court ruled that Mr Fricano can no longer remain behind bars because he is "incompatible with the prison regime" due to his heft, which makes it difficult for him to get around without a wheelchair or crutches. He is also a chain smoker, the court noted. Further, the judges in Italy stated that the 35-year-old's incarceration also puts his life at risk because prison officials are unable to provide the low-calorie diet he needs to lose the extra heft.
Mr Fricano will now serve out the rest of his sentence under house arrest at his parent's home near Milan, where he can get a proper diet, the judges said.
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According to The Sun, Mr Fricano had admitted to the brutal murder of Mr Preti when they had an argument about him leaving crumbs on the table when he ate. The couple had been on holiday in San Teodoro when they argued before going to the beach. Mr Fricano had claimed that Ms Preti had hit him with a paperweight and he snatched up a knife and stabbed her dozens of times.
Initially, the 35-year-old had blamed his girlfriend's killing on robbers, but eventually, he admitted his guilt. "She insulted me for the bread and then hit me in the head. So I killed her," he told the police.
Now, Mr Fricano's defence lawyers said that he suffers from several medical conditions, including anxiety-depressive bulimia syndrome, personality disorder and sleep apnea. According to doctors, he is also at a high risk of cardiovascular disease and needs to follow a special diet that the prison cannot provide. Therefore, judges in their latest ruling stated that he cannot remain incarcerated as his massive size and chain smoking put him at an imminent risk of dying. "He needs assistance that cannot be provided in the institution," the court said.
However, the decision to free Mr Fricano has angered Ms Preti's family. They slammed the court's decision as "shameful". "No one will give me back my little girl. But for us, the pain is still too strong for him to be released so soon," they said.
