A teenager who killed his abusive father to save his mother from another violent outburst is facing 20 years in prison after being charged with murder.
Bright student Alex Pompa, who is now 18, admitted to killing his father Giuseppe Pompa, 52, by stabbing him 24 times with a kitchen knife in the family home in Collegno, Italy on 30 April 2020.
Investigators looking into the case found that the father's abuse had been happening for years, alleging he was obsessive and jealous.
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It's claimed he would call his wife sometimes hundreds of times a day to check up on her and see what she was doing.
The defence for Alex even has 200 audio files that show the excessive anger the father showed, for 'trivial reasons', to prove the constant state of terror the family were subject to.
On the night of the tragic crime, Alex and his brother sent a text message to their uncle asking for help, fearing their father would become violent again.
The text message reads: "You are the only one who listens. You have to take drastic action. Here we all risk our lives."
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But the message did not help. Later that night, Alex's father did end up launching another attack against his wife. It's alleged he was claiming to have seen one of her co-workers put his hand on her shoulder.
He went on to manhandle her, throwing a phone at her face, before Alex intervened.
The school boy, who was 17 years old at the time of the incident, took a knife from the kitchen, stabbing his father repeatedly until he died.
Alex then called the local police, giving himself in and admitting what he had done.
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At first, he was put under house arrest at the home where the crime took place, but it was later deemed too traumatic by judges.
A friend of Alex's from school offered to let him stay at their home while under house arrest.
While he was there, Alex managed to take his final exams, passing with flying colours and scoring 87 out of 100.
He even enrolled in university and received a congratulatory phone call from Lucia Azzolina, the Minister of Public Education at the time.
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But now Alex, who never denied the killing, is set to go to trial after prosecutors confirmed they were going ahead with the legal proceedings.
The charge he will face at the Assize Court is voluntary murder, with the aggravating circumstance of having acted against a family member.
The investigation was formally closed in a report handed to prosecutors, who decided to file charges. The defence has 20 days to make their appeal.
Even with possible mitigating circumstances, the young man still faces over 20 years in prison.
Featured Image Credit: NewsflashTopics: World News, crime