A court in Udine on Wednesday
sentenced former soldier Giosuè Ruotolo to life for the double
homicide of a courting couple, Teresa Costanza and Trifone
Ragone, in the northern city of Pordenone in March 2015.
Ruotolo, 28, from Somma Vesuviana near Naples, killed the
couple with a pistol in the car park of Pordenone's civic sports
centre on March 17 2015.
Ragone, a 28-year-old soldier from Adelfia near Bari and
Ruotolo's former flatmate, and Costanza, a 30-year-old Milanese
insurance broker of Sicilian origin, died immediately.
A disagreement between the two soldiers that degenerated into
a fight was at the root of the crime, the court ruled.
Ruotolo's girlfriend Maria Rosaria Patrone, 26, faced charges
of aiding and abetting for allegedly helping her boyfriend to
elude investigations.
Ruotolo was sentenced to serve life with two years of daytime
solitary confinement.
The former soldier and ex-flatmate of Ragone's has always
declared his innocence.
Ruotolo listened to the sentence with his gaze downcast,
beside his lawyers.
The parents and brothers of Ragone and mother, father and
brother of Costanza were present to hear the verdict read out.
photo: Ruotolo and Patrone
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