Bologna, accused for the murder of Alessandro Ambrosio goes into a rage in the courtroom

Marin Jelenic, accused of the murder of 34-year-old Alessandro Ambrosio, was taken away from the courtroom because he began punching and kicking the glass cage where he was locked up and insulting his lawyer, using swear words and spitting. The accused, who was declared competent by the psychiatric report, was then taken back to prison.

The trial of Marin Jelenic, the 36-year-old homeless Croatian accused of the murder of the train conductor Alessandro Ambrosio, 34, killed with a stab in the back last January 5th in the parking lot of the West square of the Bologna station, resumed today, Wednesday 23 September, with moments of tension in the courtroom, before the Court of Assizes of Bologna. The motive for the attack has not yet been clarified. At the center of today's hearing was the psychiatric report ordered by the Court: the expert Domenico Berardi concluded that Jelenic is capable of understanding and wanting and of participating in the trial. The parties' consultants were also heard in the courtroom.

The defense lawyer asked to be excused from duty.

During the expert's testimony, the accused threw himself against the walls of the glass cage, insulting the guards and his lawyer and spitting, as well as saying that this "is a political trial, conducted in an undignified and mafia-like manner and that Italy is a mafia country". The president ordered his removal from the courtroom and his transfer to prison. Jelenic's lawyer, Marialuisa Marcuccio, after the insults received, asked to be released from the role. The hearing is presided over by judge Pasquale Liccardo, with prosecutor Michele Martorelli. The victim's parents, Luigi and Lisa Ambrosio, are a civil party with the lawyer Simone Sabattini. Alessandro's girlfriend and other family members were also in the courtroom.

The expertise: "Capable of understanding and wanting".

"When we visited him, he appeared in good condition, lucid, oriented, coherent, in control of the situation", was the report in Berardi's courtroom in Bologna. According to the Court of Assizes expert, the man did not show psychotic problems: "No delusional symptoms ever emerged". The expert described the accused as "intelligent, skilled. He tried to manage the situation and was very self-confident" as well as "he always remained cold, distant". During the examination, Berardi added, Jelenic denied any involvement in the murder and insisted on speaking in English despite knowing Italian well. The professional also reported that the man abuses alcohol, specifying that "when he is not under the influence of substances he is lucid".

A past of attacks and threats for Jelenic.

From the documentation examined, a history of aggression and threats towards other people emerged. As for alcohol consumption, the prosecutor's consultant, Stefano Ferracuti, underlined "a habitual condition, which generates aggressive, destructive, violent crises in him". Responding to a question from the prosecutor on the possible presence of sadistic traits, Ferracuti specified: "That Jelenic can take pleasure in imposing himself, in controlling and dominating others was evident in our meeting. In this sense there is a sadistic dimension". Berardi's report highlights the defendant's capacity for understanding and will and his ability to participate in the trial. Conclusions also shared by the prosecutor's consultant.