An 84-year-old former Olympic skier, Vera Schenone, was arrested on January 3 on charges of attempted aggravated murder and illegal possession of a firearm after allegedly shooting her neighbor, 53-year-old engineer Stefano Milanese, in Moncalieri in the Turin area. According to Il Messaggero, the incident occurred following an argument between Schenone and Milanese.
Milanese sustained serious injuries to his abdomen and right arm from at least two of the four shots fired from a .38 caliber revolver. He was transported to Molinette Hospital in Turin, where he underwent emergency surgery for a thoraco-abdominal injury and is currently in a pharmacological coma. His prognosis remains uncertain, as reported by Die Welt.
During interrogation, Schenone confessed to the shooting, stating, "He was bothering a fox that came here to the park every day; I was feeding it, but he didn't like it, so I took the gun and shot," according to TGCOM24. The fox had been a point of contention between the neighbors, with Schenone having an almost obsessive love for animals and reportedly domesticating the wild creature, as noted by La Stampa.
Her husband, 90-year-old entrepreneur in the chemical sector Carlo Cazzaniga, is under investigation for negligent custody of the firearm used in the shooting, as he did not secure the weapon properly. The .38 caliber revolver was legally held by Cazzaniga since the 1980s, when he decided to purchase it out of fear of kidnappings and to feel safer in their large villa in the green hills, where a gang of thieves had previously broken in and forced Schenone to hand over all her valuables, according to La Stampa.
Cazzaniga told his lawyers that he was unaware of any disputes between his wife and Milanese over the fox. "When I saw my wife come back home, she had a twisted face—I couldn't understand what had happened. I heard noises outside, went out, saw the ambulance, and understood everything," he said, as reported by La Stampa.
Lawyer Francesca Peyron, representing the family, commented, "What happened is a great tragedy for everyone," and noted that Cazzaniga and their children are in shock, hoping for the recovery of Milanese, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano.
Following the incident, Schenone was committed to a psychiatric hospital and is awaiting medical assessments for potential house arrest, as reported by Bild. She is reported to be suffering from a mild form of senile dementia, a degenerative memory disease that had worsened over time, and had not left her house for almost two years prior to the incident, according to TGCOM24.
The case has caused a stir in Italy due to Schenone's status as a former figurehead of her sport. She made sports history 69 years ago, participating in the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo at the age of 15. Schenone competed in downhill, slalom, and giant slalom events, finishing 36th in downhill and 29th in slalom, though she did not finish the giant slalom, as reported by Il Messaggero. She was the youngest athlete on the Italian Olympic team at the time.
After her skiing career, Schenone joined and eventually led the family business, Schenone Sport Torino, founded in 1930, according to Die Welt.
Italian authorities are investigating the case. The weapon used in the crime is registered to Cazzaniga, but Schenone is charged with illegal possession of a firearm because she should not have known where the .38 Special caliber revolver was kept, as reported by La Stampa.
At the time of the shooting, Schenone allegedly entered Milanese's property, and a long-simmering dispute between the neighbors reached a critical point, as noted by Die Welt. According to Il Fatto Quotidiano, at 2:30 PM on January 3rd, a call was received by the Carabinieri of the Moncalieri company: "Come, a neighbor has shot me," was the message from Milanese.
Milanese is currently in the intensive care unit after undergoing a three-hour surgery. While initial reports suggested his injuries were life-threatening, Bild later reported that his injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Cazzaniga told his lawyers that he and the neighbors renovating the estate across the street had never had a discussion, according to TGCOM24.
Lawyer Francesca Peyron mentioned that she might meet Schenone in the Molinette psychiatric ward, awaiting her probable transfer to a facility that considers her condition, as reported by La Stampa. "Mr. Cazzaniga is a destroyed person to whom now only matters that Milanese recovers as soon as possible," she said.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.