Italy's supreme Cassation Court on Friday explained why it upheld a second appeals sentence of 20 years against former army corporal major Salvatore Parolisi for murdering his wife Melania Rea, who was stabbed 35 times in a wood near Teramo on April 11, 2011.
Parolisi's "falseness and duplicity" eventually gave rise to a homicidal fury when his wife discovered he was having an affair, the judges said. The sentence, which was upheld on June 13, is now definitive.
It was the second time the Cassation Court had ruled in the case. In the past it voiced doubts on the aggravating element of cruelty, saying the multiple stab wounds indicated he wanted to inflict "violent pain" with the aim of killing her, but that "the mere reiteration of blows (albeit considerable) cannot be considered" as an aggravating factor of cruelty.
The second appeals court went along with this view, reducing Parolisi's original sentence from 30 to 20 years.
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