A 33-year-old Italian man, Filippo Ferlazzo bagged 24 years in jail term on Wednesday for a hate crime in which he bludgeoned to death a 35-year-old Nigerian street hawker with the crutch he used for walking in a Marche coastal city in July last year.

The Court of Assizes of Macerata sentenced Ferlazzo to 24 years of imprisonment for the aggravated voluntary murder of Nigerian hawker Alika Ogorchukwu, which took place in Civitanova Marche on 29 July 2022.

Prior to the incident, the victim asked for alms from the defendant and his companion, whose arm he touched, reacting to the touch, Ferlazzo hit him with the crutch that the Nigerian used to walk, then straddled him, crushing his neck and head.

According to a source, the Nigerian guy, 39, who was physically challenged, was beaten to death in Civitanova Marche, Italy by Ferlazzo who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

The Nigerian embassy In Rome, the capital of Italy, described the occurrence as “brutal murder”.

Both Italians and immigrants have protested the murder Ferlazzo was previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder, according to an investigation, and the Nigerian man’s murder was not “racially motivated.”

The investigation also revealed that the 32-year-old Ferlazzo recently spent time at a neighbourhood mental health facility, according to a court in his hometown of Salerno.

According to Ferlazzo’s attorney, the suspected murderer “collaborated, apologized, and made it clear that there was no racial motivation,” according to investigating judge Claudio Bonifazi.

New Telegraph reports that Race hate was judged to be an aggravating factor in the murder. (New Telegraph)

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