Mercedes Ibáñez
Died 30 August 2015
Who they were
Mercedes was 70, Spanish, and lived with her husband Vincenzo Solano in Palagonia, Sicily.
What happened
On 30 August 2015 Mercedes was raped and thrown from a balcony at the Palagonia villa after her husband Vincenzo had been killed. An Ivorian asylum seeker from the CARA centre in Mineo was arrested the same evening. The Catania assize court imposed life imprisonment in 2019; the appeal court and the Corte di Cassazione (2022) made the sentence final. The daughters have criticised the lack of compensation, not political use of the case.
Verdict / confirmation
Corte di Cassazione, 2022: life imprisonment confirmed (Corte d'assise di Catania, 8 Feb 2019; upheld on appeal 9 Apr 2021).
Perpetrator: An Ivorian asylum seeker housed at the CARA reception centre in Mineo (LiveSicilia, Il Giornale Popolare).