Man in Messina sentenced to 22 years for hiding HIV from partner who died of AIDS

Last Updated: March 19, 2024

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The Court of Appeals of Messina confirmed a 22-year sentence for Luigi De Domenico, 59, for voluntary homicide, accepting the prosecution and civil parties’ request. The man was accused of infecting his partner, hiding his HIV positivity from her even when she fell ill. The woman, a well-known lawyer from Messina, died of AIDS after suffering excruciating pain a few years later, leaving behind a young son.

The first verdict came about halfway through last year after a retrial was requested by the Cassation Court, which had annulled the verdict due to the issue of the so-called “jurors over 65.” De Domenico had also been sentenced to 22 years in the first trial, but then the appeal annulled it in December 2022 because the jurors on the court were over 65 years old. This issue was resolved by a Cassation ruling on a similar case that occurred in Palermo in a mafia trial. The Cassation judges decided that for jurors on Assize Courts, it is the time of their appointment that matters for the age requirement of 65, not the time of the verdict.