Nurse screamed for help as 'ex-boyfriend stabbed her 20 times outside home'

09 September 2023 , 18:20

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Rossella Nappini died after being stabbed 20 times outside her home in Rome (Image: Newsflash)

Italian police have arrested a man on suspicion of murder after his ex-partner was stabbed 20 times outside her apartment block.

Neighbours described hearing Rossella Nappini, 52, scream for help when she was attacked as she left her home in Rome on September 4 and made her way to an ATM.

Police later arrested her ex-boyfriend, 45-year-old Adil Harrati, who had been seen fleeing with a knife in his hand, and charged him with aggravated homicide.

Investigators believe he planned the killing and ambushed the nurse as soon as she walked out of her apartment, with one unnamed neighbour telling a local news outlet: "I was coming back from work, I hadn't even entered.

Adil Harrati, the victim's ex-partner, was arrested by murder police in Italy (Newsflash)

"I talked to other neighbours: they said they heard screaming. She was yelling 'Help, help me,' and then went silent." Rossella's sister, Monica Nappini, expressed her anger at a tragedy that she says should have been avoided.

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She took to social media post suggested her sister had been threatened by her killer before. She wrote: "Unfortunately this time I was unable to save you." Rossella's hospital colleagues told local media the couple had briefly dated after meeting when Harrati did some building work at her mother's home.

The victim allegedly said she had broken things off but Harrati could not come to terms with it and apparently had began stalking and harassing her. Meanwhile, Harrati is detained at the Regina Coeli prison as police search for the murder weapon and investigate the motive. The investigation is ongoing.

The nurse could be heard screaming for help while she was being attacked (Newsflash)

One resident who lives nearby told Italy24: "I live in the building, I think she lived here with her mother. She as far as she knows she has two children and is separated.

"My husband heard ‘help’ yelling around 5pm but when he leaned over the balcony he saw nothing. When he left to go to work he walked past the lift and saw a body lying down but it was already covered with a tarp."

Sean McPolin