A Rome appeals court has overturned the finding of premeditation in the January 13, 2023, murder of lawyer Martina Scialdone outside a restaurant. Consequently, the sentence for her former partner, engineer Costantino Bonaiuti, 62, was reduced from life imprisonment to 24 years and 8 months. The Court of Assizes of Appeal also recognized generic mitigating circumstances for Bonaiuti, deemed equivalent to the aggravating factors of trivial motives and the sentimental relationship.
The victim’s mother, Viviana, expressed profound bitterness following the verdict. “I am truly disappointed,” she stated. “I expected confirmation of the life sentence. Justice has not been served; life sentences have been upheld in other femicides.” The association ‘Insieme a Marianna’ (Together with Marianna), a women’s anti-violence group acting as a civil party, declared the ruling “deeply perplexing,” adding, “The aggravating factor of premeditation has now become a kind of mysterious object in our legal system. We are left stunned by a decision that reduces not only the sentence but also the probative framework established in the first trial,” said their lawyer, Licia D’Amico.
The judges partially rejected requests from the Prosecutor General’s Office, which had sought confirmation of the life sentence. Bonaiuti, present in court for the ruling, remained impassive.
The murder occurred in Rome’s Appio Latino district. That tragic evening, Bonaiuti left home carrying a Glock pistol. Although legally owned under a sporting license, the weapon could not legally be carried in public spaces.
Scialdone had chosen that day to end the troubled relationship, marked by Bonaiuti’s barrage of phone messages and constant GPS surveillance. The femicide erupted during a violent argument after Scialdone sought to terminate the “toxic bond.” The couple began arguing inside the crowded restaurant, escalating quickly. Scialdone, in tears, tried to take refuge in the bathroom. “Mind your own f***ing business,” Bonaiuti told the restaurant owner who intervened. The owner, alarmed by the tension, called emergency services (112). The fight spilled outside, where Bonaiuti grabbed Scialdone’s arm and pulled her. The confrontation ended with Bonaiuti firing a fatal shot at point-blank range.
Investigations revealed Bonaiuti called his ex-wife (with whom he lived) around 11:30 PM, claiming he shot Scialdone because “the gun went off by mistake.”
During the first trial, friends of the victim testified about Scialdone’s fears that evening. “I sensed she was worried,” one witness stated, “and told her to call me afterward. I recall her saying she once got scared because, during an argument, Costantino became ‘a rabid dog’.” On the night of the murder, Scialdone’s fear led her to lock herself, crying, in the restaurant bathroom before the fatal shot was fired in front of the crowded venue.