A bag snatcher who was run over and killed by an Italian politician turned out to be a known criminal whom police had previously tried to deport.
Businesswoman Cinzia Dal Pino, 65, took brutal revenge after the man, identified as Moroccan national Nourdine Naziki, 52, grabbed her handbag from the open window of her car.
Shocking surveillance footage leaked to local media shows the moment Dal Pino chases Naziki and runs him over four times with her Mercedes SUV.
In a bizarre twist of fate, Dal Pino did not call the police or an ambulance but calmly returned to the restaurant where she had been eating with friends before the attack to return an umbrella she had borrowed, local media reported.
Naziki’s family in Morocco have since expressed their horror at the incident, calling for justice and criticizing Italian authorities for placing Dal Pino under house arrest instead of in prison.
Businesswoman Cinzia Dal Pino, 65, is under house arrest after being charged with voluntary manslaughter
Dal Pino, a well-known socialite in the Italian coastal city of Viareggio, was identified by the license plate of her Mercedes SUV
Naziki’s family in Morocco have spoken of their horror over the incident and have called for ‘justice’
Dal Pino admitted to police that she followed him and only wanted her bag back
“No animal has been killed in this way,” his sisters told Moroccan channel Chouf TV, adding: “We are asking for justice for our brother, Cinzia Dal Pino, who must remain in prison.”
Dal Pino has been charged with manslaughter and wears an electronic ankle bracelet as she remains under house arrest.
Her lawyer, Enrico Marzaduri, said his client was still terrified about what happened and that he had no intention of killing Naziki. He just wanted to prevent him from making off with her bag and belongings.
“She didn’t want to kill,” he said, adding that what happened “went beyond her wishes. She feared the man could have used her house keys and documents in her bag.”
He added that she was afraid that her keys and personal information would be used by the robber to commit more crimes against her.
Police had been keeping an eye on Naziki in the run-up to his death and wanted to repatriate him, but authorities did not respond to their requests, leaving him at large in Viareggio.
Dal Pino, a well-known socialite in the Italian coastal city, was identified by the license plate of her SUV and arrested by police several hours later.
In a video of the ramming attack, Naziki is seen walking past a storefront when Dal Pino’s vehicle suddenly appears and hits him at high speed.
The car then drives backwards and forwards four times, after which Dal Pino – in high heels – calmly gets out of the car, picks up her bag and drives away.
Ambulances were called to the scene and Naziki was rushed to hospital, but later died of his injuries.
Businesswoman Cinzia Dal Pino, 65, (pictured) took the law into her own hands
Nourdine Naziki, 52, grabbed Dal Pino’s handbag from the open window of her car
Dal Pino admitted to police that she was following him and that she only wanted her bag back.
She told police: ‘He threatened to kill me with a knife. I was scared. I didn’t want to kill him, I just wanted my stuff back.’
‘There were important documents in my bag and I couldn’t call the police because my phone was in there.’
Officers later revealed that no knife was found on Naziki and that Dal Pino was initially jailed on suspicion of manslaughter, but was then placed under house arrest.
Her lawyer Enrico Marzaduri denied the video, saying: ‘I understand from the autopsy that it was certainly the first impact that was fatal and that there are no tire marks on the body.
She told police: ‘He threatened to kill me with a knife. I was scared. I didn’t want to kill him, I just wanted my stuff back.’
Shocking CCTV footage leaked to local media shows Naziki walking past a shop front when Dal Pino’s vehicle suddenly appears and drives into him at high speed
“She just wanted to stop him and she aimed for his legs. She suffers from what she did and regrets what happened.”
But local Archbishop Monsignor Paolo Giulietti said: ‘Beyond self-defence, the video shows astonishing behaviour.
‘How do you drive your car over a person’s body multiple times? How could we think that a calm and respectable lady, a capable entrepreneur, could perform such an action?
‘Evil wins when it makes us evil: For those who are happy that this episode would be an episode of self-defense, show how evil wins.
“I say, let’s not cheer, this is not self-defense, and it is not justice. Nothing, absolutely nothing can justify murder.
‘Not only because we live in a constitutional state. But because every person, in whatever situation, has the right to live.’
Dal Pino admitted to police that she followed him and only wanted her bag back
Naziki’s family demanded ‘justice’ in an interview with Moroccan television
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini had a different opinion, writing on Facebook: “This tragedy is the result of a crime. If the man who lost his life had not been a criminal, this would not have happened.”
Naziki’s family said of the 52-year-old, who lived in Italy for 24 years: “He was a good man and we want justice. Anyone who knows him will tell you that. She ran him over four times and then just drove away calmly when he was dying and didn’t even ask for help.”
Meanwhile, a banner has appeared on a construction site in Viareggio reading: ‘Whoever has money has power; justice is not equal for everyone.’