Trial begins in Rome of man accused of killing two Irish women

THE evidence of more than 30 witnesses to the hit-and-run deaths of two Irish tourists in Rome will be admitted.

Judge Anna Maria Pazienza made the ruling at the start of the case against Friedrich Vernarelli in the city’s central criminal court.

Vernarelli is accused of causing the deaths of Limerick woman Elizabeth Gubbins and Kildare woman Mary Clare Collins.

Witnesses due to be called will include all police officers called to the scene and an American tourist who allegedly witnessed the fatal crash in the early hours on March 18 this year.

The licence plate of the car, which broke off during the crash, led to the prompt discovery of the car’s owner, Vernarelli, some 800 metres away from the scene of the crime in a state of inebriation. Although initially placed under house arrest, the public outcry and political furore surrounding the case meant Vernarelli was remanded in custody where he remained for six months.

Technical matters relating to insurance and civil liability were dealt with first.

Vernarelli’s defence team objected to a number of Irish witnesses being called to testify about Ms Collins and Ms Gubbins.

Questions were raised as to the bearing of such evidence but Ginevra Bajno, representing the Collins family, said: “In Italian law it is important to show the quality of life enjoyed by the victim to help decide damages. As such we are calling family members and friends and I also have letters from the choir and a dance group to attest to the life Mary Collins had.” Judge Pazienza allowed the witnesses.

Manuel Ruiz, a US tourist, was named as an official witness for the defence. Soon after the crash, Mr Ruiz was asked by police to identify Vernarelli as the driver of the car involved but failed to do so.

In a recent video affidavit he claimed: “The man I saw slumped in a wheelchair outside the hospital (Vernarelli) was someone I had never seen before… the driver was six feet tall wearing a striped sweater, jeans and glasses with no jacket.”

Vernarelli was found that day wearing a leather jacket, dark trousers and a fedora style hat and no glasses.

Lawyers representing the families of Ms Collins and Ms Gubbins dismissed defence claims that Mr Ruiz’s testimony was new evidence. Lawyer Paolo Carrugo said: “They claim to have ‘discovered’ Manuel Ruiz but he has been down in the evidence book since the beginning. The police took his statement, there is nothing new there.”

It is yet to be decided by Judge Pazienza whether to allow two medical experts, Dr Paola Popolla and Dr Alessia Micoli, to testify on behalf of the defence team.

The doctors have been called to invalidate Vernarelli’s admission under interrogation that he was driving the car when it killed the two women. According to the defence, Vernarelli was interviewed by police in Rome when he was under the influence of alcohol and suffering from shock and then three days later when he had been prescribed sedatives by his doctor.

The defence will claim any admission was made under duress and if allowed to testify, the doctors will verify the negative effects alcohol, shock and sedatives have on mental capacity.

Several objections were raised by the lawyers representing the Gubbins and Collins families but Judge Pazienza chose to reserve judgment in the matter.

Other witnesses confirmed to be on the list include Zsolt Balogh and Andras Kozma, the two Hungarian men Vernarelli claims were in the car at the time of the fatal accident.

The suggestion by the defence is that one of the two Hungarians was driving when the car crashed.

If Balogh and Kozma, believed to be in Britain, appear in court they could cause the trial to be delayed while their responsibility in the case is investigated.

The case was adjourned until December 19 when the prosecution’s first witness Dr Maria Rosaria Aromatario, the state pathologist who carried out the autopsies of both victims, will be called to the witness box.

Vernarelli still maintains he was not driving the car when it killed the two women and is anxious for the trial to continue. “I have faith in the justice system, the truth will come out.”