ROME - More than a year after a murder in Italy, the crime is on the verge of being solved, thanks to a selfie video taken by the alleged perpetrator, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
After many unsuccessful attempts, the victim's father managed to unlock his son's smartphone, various Italian media reported on Sunday. On it, the father discovered a video that the suspect had recorded of himself after the crime.
The case made headlines late-April last year. A 32-year-old man was found stabbed in the town of Villafranca Padovana, with a population of 10,000, in northern Italy near Padua.
Suspicion quickly fell on an acquaintance two years older, who was then arrested.
However, attempts by police to unlock the victim's iPhone, possibly to find clues about the perpetrator, were unsuccessful.
Eventually, the Carabinieri returned the smartphone to the father. He then managed to open the device with the correct pin.
According to a report by the local newspaper Il Gazzettino, the video, only a few seconds long, was recorded at the crime scene and around the time the crime occurred.
It reportedly shows the alleged perpetrator saying some unclear sentences before running his hands through his hair.
The trial of the 34-year-old man, who is in custody, is set to begin in September.
The man must answer to charges of murder in court. He faces a long prison sentence. Due to drug problems, he had been in a rehabilitation clinic shortly before the crime.
The alleged perpetrator and the victim had known each other since childhood. They are said to have had multiple disputes with each other previously. -- BERNAMA-dpa