Chiara Jaconis was walking down a quiet street in Naples with her boyfriend on September 15, 2024, when she was hit in the head by the statue. According to major media reports, she was taken to hospital and underwent emergency surgery but succumbed to her injuries two days later. The incident, captured on CCTV footage, occurred while Jaconis was on a holiday to mark her birthday; she worked for the fashion brand Prada in Paris.
The teen accused of throwing the statue was cleared by a juvenile court because he is under 14, an age below criminal responsibility under Italian law. However, his parents now face charges for negligent manslaughter. Prosecutors argue that Jaconis's death could have been prevented if the parents had kept a closer eye on their son, alleging the teen has a history of similar dangerous acts, though the specifics of those past incidents remain unclear.
In response, the teen's parents have appealed the court's decision to clear their son's name due to his age, arguing he should be acquitted based on the facts of the case rather than his youth. They have strongly denied any wrongdoing and claim the statue did not belong to them, asserting they had no involvement in the incident. It is unknown what specific evidence they are relying on for this argument or how the statue came to be on the balcony if it was not theirs.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 26 to address the negligent manslaughter charges against the parents. The details of these charges and the legal standards that apply have not been publicly specified. The statue weighed 4.4 lbs, according to major media reports, but the exact circumstances that led the teen to throw it remain undisclosed.