Foffo 30-yr term upheld in Varani murder

(ANSA) - Rome, July 10 - A Rome appeals court on Tuesday upheld a 30-year jail term for Manuel Foffo for murdering young Roman man Luca Varani for kicks during a drug and alcohol fuelled binge in March 2016. The sentence upheld a fast-track trial sentence issued by a preliminary hearings judge in February 2017.
    The other man standing trial, Marco Prato, committed suicide in his jail cell in June 2017.
    Foffo and Prato originally told investigators they tortured Varani so that he would have a slow death.
    "We just wanted to kill someone to see what effect it had on us," Foffo allegedly said after the pair allegedly tortured, beat and stabbed Varani, 23, to death during a cocaine-fueled party on March 4 2016.
    They had looked for a victim for at least 48 hours prior to choosing Varani and inviting him over to Foffo's flat, investigators said.
    An autopsy has determined he was struck some 30 times with a knife and a hammer before dying of shock from blood loss.
    photo: Varani