Yara, the super DNA prosecutor in the sights of the CSM. The “curious and inexplicable” reason –

Rita Cavallaro

July 25, 2024

Not only the clash between those who believe in innocence and those who believe in guilt, but also the CSM is stepping into the Yara Gambirasio case. If the Netflix series about the murder of the 13-year-old, for which Massimo Bossetti was sentenced to life in prison, has cast a shadow on the investigations and sentences, now the Superior Council of the Judiciary has targeted Bergamo prosecutor Letizia Ruggeri, investigated for alleged misdirection following the decision to move 54 biological samples, with mixed traces of victim and murderer, from the refrigerator of the San Raffaele hospital in Milan to the Corpi di reato office of the Bergamo Court. A transfer authorized after the convictions and lasting 12 days, during which, according to Bossetti’s lawyers, the interruption of the cold chain in the test tubes stored at 80 degrees below zero would have deteriorated the DNA.

Not to mention that that office is not equipped with freezers. Therefore, the magistrate’s decision would have made any attempt at new analyses in view of the review process that the defense of the bricklayer of MapelTest Biological aspires to. The transfer of this material cost the prosecutor Letizia Ruggeri a criminal trial, who has always proclaimed her innocence. Two years ago, Ruggeri had been registered as a suspect in the affair for procedural fraud and misdirection, but following the investigations, the Venice Public Prosecutor’s Office requested the case be closed. And yesterday, in view of the hearing to oppose the case being closed before the investigating judge of Venice, the lay member of the CSM, Enrico Aimi, criticized the prosecutor’s actions: «Among the many question marks raised also by the recent Netflix series, another one is now added: the CSM was never notified of the opening of this proceeding against the magistrate, something that, instead, by law, should happen at the same time. A fact as curious as it is inexplicable that ends up fueling other perplexities”. The lay councilor specified that “from investigations carried out in the First Commission, there is no trace of any communication relating to the aforementioned criminal proceedings. I therefore believe it is right that the autonomous governing body of the Judiciary be brought to its attention in order to allow, if necessary, the acquisition of the procedural documents available for viewing in order to be able to carry out any most appropriate assessment”.

Given the sensitivity of the case and the outcry it has caused, Aimi has announced that it has already “formalized an urgent request to the Presidency Committee to open a case aimed at asking the Venice Prosecutor’s Office for confirmation of what everyone, except the CSM, knows: the existence of criminal proceedings against Dr. Letizia Ruggeri”. In short, the CSM also wants to see clearly and evaluate whether the Bergamo prosecutor, who fought to find Yara’s murderer, acted correctly and in compliance with the guarantees of the convicted. Especially in light of the Netflix series “The Yara Case: beyond any reasonable doubt”, which has cast shadows even on the star evidence of the entire proceeding, namely the DNA that nailed Bossetti after three years of an investigation that has no precedent in the world of genetic investigation. The “Unknown 1” profile found on the victim’s underwear was compared with approximately 25,000 DNA from local residents, leading to the discovery of a relationship with the murderer. And to the identification of Bossetti.