Convicted murderer Dimitri Fricano freed from jail due to obesity, diet concerns

An obese man who was jailed for 30 years for murdering his girlfriend has been released because his Italian prison could not cater to his low-calorie diet requirement.

Dimitri Fricano stabbed his 27-year-old girlfriend, Erika Preti, 57 times after she accused him of spilling crumbs on their bed.

The couple, who had been together for around a decade, were on holiday in Sardinia in June 2017 when Fricano launched the frenzied attack.

He was convicted of murder in 2019 and sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment, serving his sentence in a Turin jail.

Since being incarcerated, the 34-year-old’s weight has ballooned from 120kg to 200kg.

A court in Turin has now ruled that Fricano should be allowed to serve out the rest of his sentence under house arrest at his parents’ home, saying that the prison is unable to provide him with the special diet he needs.

The parents of the murdered woman said the decision was outrageous.

“Allowing him to be under house arrest is shameful,” said Preti’s father, Fabrizio Preti. “I knew that he would not serve the full 30-year sentence but serving just a few years is far too little. I wouldn’t wish death on anyone, but this whole saga will only finish when he’s gone. In the meantime, nothing can bring back my little girl.”

Hearing that Fricano had been released from prison was “like a stab to the heart”, he said.

In addition to the huge weight gain, Fricano reportedly smoked around 100 cigarettes a day in prison.

The court said his state of health was “no longer compatible with the prison regime”, saying he had trouble walking. Remaining in jail would result in “a danger to his life, linked to cardiovascular risks”.

“The judges have ruled that he needs to be looked after,” said his lawyers, Alessandra Guarini and Roberto Onida.

Fricano, who is from the town of Biella in northern Italy, initially denied the murder, saying that Preti had been killed by thieves during a violent burglary.

After a month of maintaining the lie, he gave himself up at a police station and confessed to the crime.

He said the argument about messy eating spiralled out of control, claiming his girlfriend had hit him with a stone paperweight.

In an interview on Monday, he said he had begged forgiveness from her parents, in person and during his trial.

“I don’t know what happened,” he told an Italian TV network. “I would have paid a fortune for it to have been me that died, instead of her.”

Asked why he had stabbed his girlfriend 57 times, he replied: “I don’t know if that number is real.”

He said he was profoundly sorry for what he had done. “I lived for my girlfriend. I have had no life for the last six years. I went crazy and I now weigh 200kg. I’m confined to a wheelchair, I’ve not been able to wash myself for years, I was not able to leave my cell.”