Erika Pioletti, a 38-year-old woman who suffered a crush-induced heart attack in the Juventus fan stampede in a central Turin square on the night of the June 3 Champions League final, died late on Thursday, the city's San Giovanni Bosco hospital said. Pioletti, from the northern city of Domodossola, was the most badly injured of the 1,527 people hurt when panic swept through the crowd watching the match against Real Madrid, for as yet unexplained reasons. "At a time of such deep pain, all words are superfluous," said Turin Mayor Chiara Appendino, who met Pioletti's relatives at the hospital early on Friday. Flags at all council buildings in the city are at half mast as a sign of mourning. The city council announced that Monday will be a day of mourning for Erika. A probe into the stampede on the night of the Champions League final will become a culpable homicide investigation following Pioletti's death, judicial sources said Friday. The probe is into people as yet unknown. Erika's sister Cristina said "it is a difficult moment, we are very shocked".
"We are tired, very tired," she went on, indicating that the family did not need any more media attention.
Turin Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia said: "Erika's death aggravate even more deeply the pain of our souls, but also the already severe judgement formulated after what happened in Piazza San Carlo. "The wound to the very heart of the city will remain like a stain that weighs on the conscience of citizens and on what were the direct or indirect causes of the absurd incidents that happened that night".
The local chapter of the ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) called for "a clarification of the causes and responsibilities of what happened in Piazza San Carlo".
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