Italy Confronts Brutal String of Femicides

Florence has been rocked by an appalling murder-suicide, representing Italy's seventh alleged case of femicide in less than a month. Authorities say 45-year-old veterinary worker Lorena Isceri was abducted Thursday in Florence's Rifredi district, allegedly by ex-boyfriend Federico Vella, 38, who police say forced her into his car trunk and drove toward an A1 motorway bridge, per the Guardian. Isceri managed to phone an emergency line to report the kidnapping, but investigators say Vella grabbed her phone and threw her off the bridge before jumping himself.

Isceri, whose mother says she was "very afraid" of her ex, is the seventh woman reportedly killed by a current or former partner in Italy since mid-August. Another six women were killed over a four-day span around Italy's Aug. 15 Ferragosto holiday, per Toscana Today. In one case, a 39-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her ex-husband, whom she'd reported to police for domestic violence, ANSA reports, noting three other women had reported the same man over two decades. Critics say Giorgia Meloni's government has focused on tougher penalties rather than long-term prevention, and that current efforts to deter sexual violence don't go far enough.