A MAN bludgeoned and stabbed a woman and her fiancé to death just days before Christmas after claiming they cursed him.
Andrea Cardinale used a sledgehammer to kill Nino Calabrò, 26, and Francesca Di Dio, 20, in Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire.
Nino Calabrò and Francesca Di Dio were killed in his home
PAAndrea Cardinale has been given an indefinite hospital order[/caption]
The 21-year-old claimed the couple had put spells on him that ruined his life.
He was today handed an indefinite hospital order after pleading guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
Teesside Crown Court heard Cardinale, who acute paranoid schizophrenia, told police he heard voices telling them to kill his friends.
He had worked as a croupier with Nino at the Grosvenor Casino in Stockton-on-Tees but was sacked in September last year.
Cardinale’s mental health deteriorated – culminating in the brutal slaughter on December 21 last year.
Nino and Francesca, who was visiting from Sicily for Christmas, were seen on CCTV at the converted pub where her fiance lived that day.
Their bodies were discovered the next day by Cardinale’s dad, who had flown from Sicily to see his son amid concerns over his mental state.
He called the cops in Rome to say his son had killed two people, with the Italian authorities raising the alarm with Interpol and Cleveland Police.
Officers entered the flat and found Nino in his bedroom. He had been bludgeoned with the sledgehammer and stabbed in his sleep.
Francesca’s body was then found in a basement after she attempted to flee Cardinale.
The killer was captured on footage at a nearby petrol station buying a lighter and diesel.
He doused Nino’s room in the liquid but later said he could not bring himself to set the room alight.
When he was arrested, Cardinale said the couple had put spells on him that removed his teeth and ruined his life.
He had also made searches on his phone for “how to make a bomb”, “voodoo” and “how to remove the evil eye”.
Francesca had tragically shared a post of the couple in a pub just days before saying she was feeling “so in love”.
In a victim impact statement, her mum Anna Nosi said: “The death of my daughter overturned and destroyed my life, that of my daughter Veronica and my ex-husband, Giuseppe.
“Since her death we can no longer find inner peace or comprehend what happened. We no longer sleep at night because our thoughts are all about our daughter.
“I often go to the cemetery and talk to my daughter looking at the small picture on the tombstone hoping for her to answer.
“We are completely exhausted, our every thought is of our beloved Francesca who is sorely missed and whose presence will never be filled and replaced by anyone.”
While Nino’s dad Salvatore Calabro added: “For parents, a child is an extension of life, for a sister, a shoulder to lean on and a person to ask for help, but unfortunately this has been denied us.
“Not having Nino with us anymore, after having cuddled, helped and supported him for 26 years is not easy to overcome, but with a lot of willpower and with the help of our Lord we have to face the future as serenely as possible.”
FacebookFrancesca had been visiting Nino in Stockton[/caption]
Cleveland PoliceThe couple were originally from Sicily[/caption]
Cleveland PoliceTributes flooded in for the pair[/caption]
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