Two Italian men have been ordered by a civil court in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy, to compensate the parents of a student who died in Majorca after falling from a hotel balcony while escaping a rape attempt. The ruling, issued on May 20, comes 15 years after the death of 20-year-old Martina Rossi in Palma. Alessandro Albertoni and Luca Vanneschi have been directed to pay €1 million in total to Martina’s parents, with specific amounts allocated to her mother, father, and jointly to both.
The court determined that Martina died on August 3, 2011, while trying to evade a sexual assault in a hotel room where the two men were present. Initially ruled a suicide by Spanish authorities, the case was later reopened in Italy at the insistence of Martina’s parents. Following retrials and legal proceedings, Albertoni and Vanneschi were sentenced to three years in prison for attempted group sexual assault.
Despite the expiration of the criminal charge related to Martina’s death, the civil court found the men liable based on the legal standard of “more likely than not”. Martina’s father announced that all compensation would be donated to a foundation supporting victims of violence against women. Expressing disappointment in the lack of remorse from the defendants, he emphasized that their punishment is ongoing. The judgment is immediately enforceable, although the defendants’ legal team may appeal and seek a suspension of the payment order pending further developments.