Samarate massacre

The Samarate massacre is a case of familicide that occurred in Samarate, in the province of Varese, Italy on 4 May 2022. The massacre was carried out by Alessandro Maja (born Milan in 1964), a surveyor who, on the night between 3 and 4 May 2022, killed his wife Stefania Pivetta and their daughter Giulia, who was only 16 years old, with a hammer. His twenty-four-year-old son Nicolò, attacked with a drill and screwdriver, miraculously survived and was left disabled by the serious injuries he sustained. The perpetrator allegedly attempted suicide after the massacre. The motive, never fully clarified, was attributed to the state of emotional turmoil in which Maja found himself due to financial problems. The crime took place in the Maja family villa, where the family had lived since 1999. On 12 June 2024, the Supreme Court of Cassation confirmed the life sentence for Alessandro Maja, a sentence already pronounced in the first instance.