An Italian teenager described as highly dangerous after he randomly attacked a female runner, stabbing her 23 times and leaving her for dead is living is now living unmonitored in the UK after being released in error.
The boy was just 13 when he repeatedly knifed Marta Novello, now 28, while she was out for a run in a local park in March 2021 near Venice.
At his trial he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years and eight months, later reduced on appeal to five because of his age and mental capacity – although he was still labelled by judges as ‘socially dangerous’.
But incredibly a bureaucratic bungle meant he was released early from an Italian youth institute after servicing less than a year and he moved to London with his mum who works here as a chef.
Following the mix up, current Italian PM Giorgia Meloni described the outcry that followed his release as “incredible” and an inquiry was launched but little could be done as he had arrived “legally” with his mother.
Earlier this week was at Croydon Magistrates where the boy, who will be 17 in November, was in court after pleading guilty to three driving offences and heard his lawyer tell JPs he had ‘arrived in England following a turbulent childhood’.
Later when approached and told of his background both the CPS prosecutor Joanna Sherman and his defence solicitor Sarah Moulange declined to comment.
The teen, who now lives in Croydon with his mother, was accused of three motoring offences and had pleaded guilty in January to driving a vehicle without a licence, without insurance and failure to surrender to police.
Incredibly in mitigation Ms Moulange described him as being of ‘previous good character’ and then read out references from youth workers describing how Tonelli works ‘in a community kitchen and supports victims of violence’.
She added that he had ‘resettled in England from Italy after a turbulent childhood’ but made no mention of his conviction in Venice youth court for attempted murder.
He had pleaded guilty to attempted murder and apologised in court for what he had done in the first hearing in 2022 and was sentenced initially to six years and eight months, later reduced to five on appeal.
During the trial Marta told the court she was ‘lucky to be alive’ and that she owed her life to two passers-by who had found her in a pool of blood and stayed with her until paramedics arrived.
He was then sent to a juvenile institute in the southern Italian city of Naples but a red tape mix up meant that he was freed in 2023 pending a third and final appeal and he moved to England with his mother.
At his trial judges had labelled him ‘socially dangerous’ and when news of the bungle emerged, now Italian PM Giorgio Meloni described the episode as ‘incredible’ while an investigation was launched by officials at the Ministry of Justice in Rome.
Speaking earlier this year for the first time since news of the error emerged, Marta, who is now an English teacher, said: ‘To hear he had been released by mistake left me very upset. It hasn’t been easy.
‘Fortunately, the justice system is still proceeding, and we hope that it will conclude as quickly as possible.’
She added: ‘Bureaucratic errors or carelessness of this type are unacceptable and incomprehensible, especially when it comes to the safety of a person and an entire community.
‘It was destabilizing and disheartening to receive this news. The resulting psychological burden is immense and weighs on a long, difficult, tiring and expensive journey, through which I am trying to return to a normal lifestyle after the violence I suffered.
‘The road to leaving that brutal episode behind is all uphill. And the current judicial mess is an additional obstacle. I perceive a lack of attention to the safety needs of us victims by the relevant offices.’
She added that ‘the existence of a second-degree sentence that confirmed the dangerousness of the boy’ already declared guilty in the first-degree sentence.
When told he had appeared in court in the UK, her lawyer Alberto Barbaro, said:’ This news doesn’t really surprise me, and it was always our fear that he would commit further offences after being released by mistake.
‘I think it is important the UK authorities know his background and that he has been convicted of attempted murder and jailed for five years, he should not have been released and should be in detention pending the final decision.
‘What he did was particularly brutal, he stabbed my client all over her body 23 times and left her for dead, she is fortunate to be alive, he left his house armed with a knife with the intention to rob someone to buy drugs.
‘We had no doubt that there was a serious likelihood he would reoffend again, and I know motoring offences aren’t serious, but they are still crimes.
‘If the final appeal upholds the conviction, then we will ensure the authorities extradite him back to Italy so he can serve his sentence.’
The boy’s mother – who did not attend court = is thought to have been living in the UK for several years and arrived before Brexit which has made it easier for her and her son to remain in the country.
Croydon magistrates fined him £120 for the driving offences and also ordered him to pay £48 surcharge and £85 costs.
His Italian lawyer Matteo Scussat was not immediately available for comment but when asked about the early release by Italian media he said:’The idea of escape emerges from some political comments and that he somehow took advantage of the situation to get away.
“I want to remind everyone that until there is a definitive sentence, there is a presumption of innocence, whether you like it or not, whether he confessed or not, we must deal with this since there is no definitive sentence, to date.’
‘He did not run away because there is no sentence to serve – continues the lawyer – He was not notified of any measure, so we cannot speak of removal or escape.’