Cinzia Dal Pino: Deadly revenge as socialite runs over handbag thief
An Italian socialite wreaked fatal revenge on a mugger who snatched her handbag by running him over four times in her SUV.
Businesswoman Cinzia Dal Pino, 65, took the law into her own hands after Moroccan national Nourdine Naziki, 52, – a criminal who police previously tried to deport – grabbed the bag from the open window of her car.
Dal Pino, well known in the coastal city of Viareggio, was identified through the number plate on her Mercedes and arrested hours later.
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In CCTV footage, Naziki is seen walking past a shop front when Dal Pino’s vehicle suddenly appears and rams into him at speed.
The car then reverses back and forth four times before Dal Pino – in high-heeled shoes – is seen calmly getting out of her car, picking up her bag and driving away. Paramedics were called, and Naziki was rushed to hospital but later died.
Dal Pino admitted she had chased him and had only wanted to get her bag back, which contained her house keys, phone, and personal documents.
She told police: ‘He had threatened to kill me with a knife. I was scared. I didn’t mean to kill him; I just wanted my belongings back. There were important documents in my bag, and I couldn’t call the police because my phone was in there.’
Officers later revealed no knife had been found on Naziki, and Dal Pino was initially held in jail on suspicion of manslaughter before being freed. She is now under house arrest.
Her lawyer, Enrico Marzaduri, dismissed the video evidence, saying: ‘I understand from the autopsy that it was undoubtedly the initial impact that proved fatal, and there are no tyre marks on the body.
‘She just wanted to stop him and was aiming for his legs. She is suffering for what she did and feels remorse for what happened.’ Naziki’s family has demanded ‘justice’ and told Morrocan TV: ‘Not even an animal is killed in the way our brother was. We call for the woman to be sent back to jail.’
Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini said: ‘This drama is the consequence of a crime. If the man who lost his life hadn’t been a delinquent, this wouldn’t have happened.’
