Germany orders extradition of Italian man suspected woman's murder that triggered riots

An Italian man who is believed to have killed a 22-year-old woman inciting outrage in his native country is to be extradited, a German court ruled on Wednesday.

German news agency dpa reported that the extradition of the 21-year-old suspect was announced by the Higher Regional Court in Naumburg, in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt.

Filippo Turetta, the suspect, was taken into custody in Halle after being apprehended over the weekend in the vicinity of Leipzig, in the east.

Turetta consented to the extradition, according to the court. He won’t be released from custody until the Italian authorities receive him. The exact date of the extradition was not immediately known. According to dpa, Italy requested his extradition on Tuesday.

Police in Germany over the weekend arrested Turetta, who had been on the run since Nov. 11, when he was last seen fighting with 22-year-old Giulia Cecchettin, hitting her in a physical attack that was captured by roadside video cameras.

Cecchettin’s body, reportedly with multiple stab wounds, was found wrapped in plastic on Saturday in a ditch near Lake Barcis, in the province of Pordenone north of Venice.

Italian newspapers had been consumed with the search for them both, given multiple reports from friends and family that Turetta had refused to accept Cecchettin’s decision to end the relationship. Cecchettin’s sister, Elena, said she had been concerned about Turetta’s possessiveness of her sister but never imagined he could hurt her.

The fate of Cecchettin, who had been due to graduate university Thursday with a degree in engineering, had dominated news reports for a week and led to an outpouring of anger when her body was finally found.

(with inputs from The Associated Press)