The municipality of Montecorvino Rovella near Salerno is in shock. On Saturday, August 23, 47-year-old Tina Sgarbini was discovered lifeless in her apartment on the second floor of an apartment building. The mother of three showed clear signs of violence; investigators assume that she had been strangled. Suspicion quickly fell on her 36-year-old partner, Christian Persico, who disappeared without a trace after the crime. The tragedy deeply affected the community of 12,000 inhabitants.
Manhunt and arrest after the crime
After a relative of the partner discovered the body and alerted the authorities, the Carabinieri immediately launched a large-scale search, which included the use of helicopters. There was no trace of the 36-year-old for hours. The decisive tip-off finally came from a citizen who recognized the wanted man on the street. At around 8 p.m. on Saturday evening, Persico was arrested without resistance not far from the crime scene. His position is now being investigated by the public prosecutor's office in order to clarify the exact circumstances of the crime, which presumably took place at night or in the early hours of the morning.
A community in mourning and the search for a motive
While the investigation is ongoing, Montecorvino Rovella is stunned. The most likely hypothesis is that a violent argument escalated in connection with the couple's separation. The victim's father claimed that his daughter had kicked her partner out of the house because he had no work and was not helping out around the house. As a sign of mourning and respect, all public events in the town, including a festival and the inauguration of a children's center, were canceled. Mayor Martino D'Onofrio expressed his shock: "The grief we feel as a community is immeasurable, because the life of our Tina was cruelly extinguished." An official town mourning was ordered for the day of the funeral.
