A judge in Macerata, Italy, has ordered that Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo, the man that beat a disabled Nigerian peddler to death on Friday, 30th July, 2022, to be remanded in prison. The judge gave the order on Monday, August 1, 2022, after the family of the suspect pleaded that Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo has history of “mental health problems”

 

 

In his defense, Roberta Bizzarri,, an attorney to the suspect, Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo said during Monday’s hearing, that despite being tracked to his hideout via cctv, her client cooperated with investigators, rendered his apology for what happened and maintained  that racism was not the motive to his actions. Bizzarri told journalists outside the court saying;

 

“Regardless of the colour of his skin he would have committed that very ugly gesture.”

 

Macerata prosecutors despite not citing racism as an aggravating factor, have also charged Ferlazzo, with homicide and robbery, because he took the victim’s phone after killing him.

 

According to ANSA Italy report, Ferlazzo family said he had a history of mental health problems, which had led to his mother being assigned as his legal guardian by a court. But apparently she wasn’t there when her son hit a peddler with crutches and strangled him to death while bystanders recorded with their phones and did nothing.

 

“Why wasn’t he being monitored even though he had a guardian?” said Francesco Mantella, the lawyer representing Ogorchukwu’s family.

 

“Apologies are not enough,” Ogorchukwu’s family said via the lawyer. “What is needed now is justice, not vendetta. It’s difficult to understand what happened.”

 

Patrick Guobadia of the Nigerians in Italy association said that “if it had been two Italians, things would have turned out differently – someone would have intervened to separate them.”

 

Until his life was cut shirt on Friday, Ogorchukwu who resorted to being a peddler after he lost his job due to an accident that left him needing a crutches, leaves behind a wife and an eight-year-old son. He also provided for an 10-year-old girl who lived with his family but was not his daughter.

 

Meanwhile, the local council has set up a fund of 15,000 euros to help the victim’s family, after Charity Oriachi, wife of the deceased was seen crying helplessly, saying that the death is just too much on her and that all she wants for her husband is justice.