Swedish «Cold case»: Francesco Rubino succeeded in reopening the case after 28 years
Francesco Rubino, our Head of Corporate Criminal Liability Department, played a crucial role in the Italian reopening of the Sargonia Dankha case, a Swedish girl who disappeared in Linköping in 1995, when she was only 21 years old.
The only suspect for this murder was the Italian ex-boyfriend, who currently lives in Italy.
Thanks to our Firm’s international connections, Mr. Rubino was contacted by the victim’s family and, together with his team, was able to have proceedings opened in Italy at the Local Public Prosecutor's Office, which led to the execution of the maximum precautionary measure on June 18th.
For decades, the family urged the Swedish Public Prosecutor's Office in vain to have the case reopened, since according to their local jurisprudence, it was not (and still is not) possible to initiate proceedings on the charge of murder without the victim's body being found.
The case presented procedural and jurisdictional complexities, as well as the risk of a statute of limitations. For all these reasons, it required a long process of reconstruction of the facts and a meticulous analysis of the Swedish police reports.
'The investigation has yet to close,' - explains Rubino - 'but an important first step has been taken for Sargonia's family, which has never stopped believing. It is a very complex case, perhaps unique, but thanks to the long and meticulous work of the entire department, we have reached an important first breakthrough in this case'.
Media coverage
Italy
Sweden