Bojano, segregates his sister in a cold room for 20 years: now she is free

Bojano (Campobasso), segregates his sister in a cold room for 20 years: now she is free.

The victim is a 67-year-old from the province of Campobasso, who for over 22 years lived in her brother's house, segregated in a room and harassed daily. The news of another episode of intramural violence, this time sees the victim of an elderly woman and her tormentors are none other than her brother and sister-in-law.

The facts

It all began way back in 1995 when the woman, then very young, became a widow and, in order not to experience the pain in solitude, she accepted the invitation of her brother who decided to host her and make what was her elderly parents' room available to her.

The first years of cohabitation passed in tranquility, but after a while, the woman began to become a burden and was forced to move to a room next to the woodshed, without any form of heating, as it still is today.

Imprisonment

The room is accessible via an external spiral staircase and is equipped with a locking system from the outside, which although rudimentary - a resistant string tied to a nail anchored to the wall - succeeds in preventing the woman from going out in the absence of her spouse .

For years she did not undergo medical treatment, and was only sporadically accompanied by a hairdresser, where she was "supervised" on sight by her sister-in-law. She never went out alone again, not even to go to her late husband's grave, and she was never allowed to have a chat with anyone.

The report that led to the release

A report a few months ago activates the machinery of justice and the Carabinieri who first carry out an access to ascertain the veracity of what is stated in the writing and immediately afterwards request the support of specialized personnel.

A few days ago the woman was accompanied to the local Carabinieri station and interviewed by the Marshal in the presence of a consultant appointed by the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Campobasso who follows the investigations into the criminal conduct to which the spouses will have to respond.

The complaint

Reassured that she would never return to that home and put at ease, the woman reported twenty years or more of deprivation and psychological and physical harassment, having suffered beatings and slaps from both of them.

She had the opportunity to wash herself in the laundry tub once a month, she was not allowed to use the bathroom but above all in the room assigned to her, there was no heating system.

Years of suffering

The "resilience" of the elderly woman has been put to the test over the years, but she has overcome her ability to withstand the very serious deprivations she has suffered, from personal freedom to that of speech and autonomy, showing a desire to live and get out of this situation, trying to ask for help at every opportunity, with attempts that went unheeded for too long.
The woman was therefore placed in a protected facility and subjected to appropriate care, although she appeared very clear and precise in her story, despite her experience.