The parents of a teen in Italy may be facing charges for his actions. The boy, for reasons unknown, decided to throw a heavy statue out of a three-story window. That would have been bad enough, but the statue hit a woman, Chiara Jaconis, who was in the city on a birthday vacation with her boyfriend. She didn’t die instantly, but she succumbed to the head injury not long after it happened. The boy appeared in court to possibly face charges for what he did, but he was cleared. The same might not be true of his parents, however.
A motivation for the incident hasn’t been revealed.
Italian prosecutors are demanding the boy’s parents face manslaughter charges in connection with Jaconis’ death, Italian news outlet Today reported. They believe that the parents “should have watched over the little boy.” Maybe if they had, he wouldn’t have thrown the statue that killed the woman.
The parents, however, are vehemently denying any wrongdoing. They have said through their lawyers that they had nothing to do with what happened. In fact, they’re trying to argue they shouldn’t be held accountable because the 2-kilogram onyx statue their son threw didn’t belong to them.
Because of the boy’s age, he was cleared of any wrongdoing, news.com.au reported. In Italy, those younger than 14 cannot be held criminally responsible.
But this isn’t enough for his parents.
They’re appealing the decision to clear him, insisting he should be formally cleared of doing anything wrong based on the facts of the case, not just because of his age.
A preliminary hearing in front of a judge will take place on June 26, 2026, at the Naples court to determine if the case will go to trial.
Chiara Jaconis, 30, was walking in the Spanish Quarter of Naples with her boyfriend on September 15, 2024, when she was hit by the statue, Metro UK reported.
The moment was caught on CCTV, and you can hear her boyfriend’s screams for help as she collapses, according to news.com.au. Jaconis was taken to the hospital with severe head injuries. Sadly, she died hours later after emergency surgery.
What was supposed to be a celebration ended up being a tragedy.
According to Italian outlet ANSA, Jaconis and her boyfriend, 29-year-old Livio Rousseau, were in Naples to celebrate her 30th birthday. The couple was on their way to the airport where they would head home to Padua when she was struck.
CCTV footage shows them wheeling their suitcases down the street, Jaconis slightly ahead of Rousseau. Hours after her death, a vigil was held in her honor, Men’s Journal reported.
Naples’ mayor, Gaetano Manfredi, shared a statement about the killing, calling her death “a great sorrow, a tragedy that deeply affects us all.”
“We hoped until the end that Chiara could return home to her usual life and her family,” shared Luca Zaia, governor of Padua. “We still do not understand the dynamics. I hope clarity is achieved, even though it will not bring her back.”
