Elisa Roveda, 44 years old, works in an accounting firm. She admitted to strangling her baby, Luca. She had started suffering from postpartum depression. Now she is hospitalized in the Psychiatry ward.
First, the repeated interruptions of pregnancy, then the specialist visits, medications, hormonal treatments, pilgrimages between hospitals and clinics, savings invested and new debts to support the medical path, and finally the birth of Luca. Eleven months and twenty days ago. When Elisa Roveda and Maurizio Baiardi, the parents, who remained united, even more united than before despite the long period of suffering, no longer believed it could happen. Between 8 and 9 am on Friday morning, Elisa unsuccessfully strangled Luca, stopping during the act: the baby was already not breathing, the ambulance personnel’s help was useless. After giving birth to her son, the 44-year-old had started suffering from postpartum depression. A profound, swirling illness that prevented her from going out even for a short walk, or getting in the car to go shopping, or treating herself to a short trip to the park with the little one. The crime scene was the couple’s bedroom in their apartment on Via Mezzana, in Voghera. A one-way street, with little traffic, residents walking their dogs and children moving around quietly on bikes. On the sides of the street, mostly old villas and modern low-rise buildings with tidy gardens, hedges, courtyards, and private cameras. The apartment is in one of these buildings. In 2017, Elisa and Maurizio got married after a long cohabitation. She works in an accounting firm, he is a truck driver. The Prosecutor’s Office of Pavia has decided to arrest Elisa who, however, is hospitalized in the psychiatric ward: sedated, monitored by the staff who will guide her through the process of becoming aware of the act and the death of her only son. But not now, not immediately. In the family, no one would have underestimated the woman’s illness. On the contrary: Elisa was followed by a doctor, she had decided to give up her job, which was already part-time, choosing to stay at home with the baby. As long as, that doctor would have recommended – the checks by the carabinieri are mandatory but no anomalies would be found – she never stayed alone. That’s how it happened. Even if the truck driver Maurizio, with the company based in Tortona, was often forced to travel long distances. But when Luca’s father was not there, his maternal grandmother took care of him. They took turns. Trying to ensure a continuous and uninterrupted presence both day and night. Yesterday, the agreement was that when Maurizio left, his grandmother would arrive at the apartment, who also lives nearby. If it wasn’t the exact minute, it was still a limited period. But during that period, Elisa killed the little one. The little body lay on the double bed. Perhaps Luca couldn’t sleep and was complaining. Or maybe he was resting. It is even difficult to linger on the questions with the carabinieri of the Homicide and Crime Scene Investigation, and as usual, these are images that will torment them forever. Elisa was lying on the floor, almost unconscious. She didn’t say a word. The last words she spoke were to her mother, confessing the murder. It was the elderly woman who called for help, while her desperate screams prompted the neighbors, the few left in the usual sweltering July of Voghera. The neighbors rushed to the gate. The woman had hesitated here, in front of the gate that has mailboxes and intercoms on the left side. The elderly woman had rung the bell. Elisa didn’t answer. She tried again. Without success. Then her daughter opened the door. Staring at the walls, she didn’t answer the question of where Luca was. (collaborated Davide Maniaci)
