The nine-year-old boy whose mother slit his throat in their home in Italy with a large kitchen knife has been named and pictured for the first time.
Olena Stasiuk, a 55-year-old Ukrainian woman, cut the throat of her son, Giovanni, in their home in Muggia, Trieste province, earlier this week.
Cops stormed the home after being contacted by Giovanni’s father, Paolo Trame, after he had lost contact with them.
Police officers found the boy’s body on the bathroom floor, and took the woman into custody.
He is said to have been dead for several hours before police arrived.
Local media reported that she was being tracked by local courts and mental health services.
It was said to be one of the first times she and her son were left alone together, following an eight-year battle over custody between Olena and Paolo. The couple separated in 2017.
Since little Giovanni’s passing, it has since emerged that he told a psychologist that he was wary of being in his mother’s presence on his own.
Though he reportedly told the psychologist, who was writing a report for a court amid the custody battle, that it was his dream for his mother and father to get back together, when asked about the possibility of being left alone with his mother, he said: ‘I don’t know if that’s a good idea’.
It was also revealed by local media that Paolo gave his son a smartwatch as a gift, to help him communicate in case of emergencies.
The device was not used on the night of the young boy’s death.
At a memorial service in Muggia, a tearful Paolo reportedly told the gathered mourners: ‘That child was my whole life’.
One of Giovanni’s friends, Pietro, is said to have left a note with a drawing of a sailboat ‘because I knew you liked it so much’.
Another note, which was left by the father of one of Giovanni’s friends, read: ‘Thank you for being my son’s friend. Forgive us for not saving you. Forgive us’.
Stasiuk is under investigation for aggravated voluntary manslaughter.
A local court is set to examine her mental health in depth with an expert to understand whether pre-trial detention is appropriate, due to the risk of her absconding.
For now, the Ukrainian mother is said to remain under guard at a local hospital.
