Parents of Chiara Poggi speak after 19 years: "She has the right to rest in peace"
After nearly two decades of court hearings, appeals, and final verdicts, the parents of Chiara Poggi say they want the story to end. "After 19 years Chiara has the right to rest in peace," the family told Verissimo on Canale 5, addressing the latest developments in the murder case that shook the town of Garlasco in Lombardy.
Chiara Poggi was 26 years old when she was killed 13 August 2007 at her family home. Her former boyfriend, Alberto Stasi, was definitively convicted of the murder in 2015 after multiple trials that stretched over eight years.
A new investigation and an old conviction
The Procura di Pavia notified a closure of new investigations on 28 September 2026, this time targeting Andrea Sempio, a friend of Chiara's brother. Prosecutors are expected to request committal for trial.
However, Chiara's parents, Giuseppe Poggi and Rita Preda, say they stand by the justice system's earlier conclusion. "Justice gave us a guilty party. For us, it's Stasi," the father said. "If this new investigation, this prosecutor, gives us a new guilty party, we'll take note."
The family indicated they have not read the acts of the new inquiry and do not intend to join as civil plaintiffs against Sempio. "We have no economic claims against people who are innocent," they said.
DNA evidence and a withheld document
The new investigation uncovered elements that could reshape the case. Most significantly, two electrophoretic counter-analyses dated 20 September 2007 — testing the "bu_p" sample from the pedals of Alberto Stasi's bicycle — yielded negative results for Chiara Poggi's DNA. These findings, which might have exonerated Stasi years ago, were reportedly never included in the original trial file.
Additional findings from the new inquiry include:
• A palm print (trace 33) attributed to Andrea Sempio
• A shoe print from a Frau size 42 with a dotted sole, compatible with Sempio's foot measurements — a trace previously linked to Stasi
• Male DNA under Chiara's fingernails with a Y haplotype compatible with the Sempio paternal line, though experts note the sample is mixed and partial
New medico-legal consultations, including work by Cristina Cattaneo, suggest Chiara's injuries may have occurred 15 to 30 minutes before death, with a possible agony lasting up to an hour.
What happens now
The case files have been transmitted to the Procura Generale di Milano, which will evaluate whether grounds exist for a revision of Stasi's conviction. Stasi's defense team is also preparing its own revision request.
For the parents, the strain of reopening wounds remains raw. "Five trials, eight years of trials — they're long," Giuseppe Poggi said. "It's not that we're stubborn. If justice gives us another name, we'll accept it." But, he added, a prosecutor opening an investigation does not mean "a lightbulb goes on and you change your mind."
Their exhaustion is clear, and their plea simple: after 19 years, they believe their daughter has earned the right to be left in peace.
