The mysterious death of an Italian volleyball player. Suspected murder just before burial
The Italian volleyball world is in shock after the death of former player Paola Bolognesi. When it seemed that the 61-year-old died of natural causes, shocking information came to light just before the burial. The police arrested the husband on suspicion of murder.
The Italian media (not only sports media) pay close attention to the case of Paola Bolognesi. The Italian volleyball player, who died at the end of December, had a much better career as a youth coach in Ravenna. Years ago, the local Olimpia Teodora was considered one of the leading women’s volleyball teams not only in the country but also abroad.
The former Italian volleyball player could have been murdered
The Italian had been struggling with health problems for years. She suffered from a congenital heart defect and was scheduled for valve surgery this year. When she was found unconscious, she was assumed to have died of natural causes.
– The day before Christmas Eve, I went to bed quite early, and by 10 p.m. I was already asleep. I didn’t even notice what time Paola came home. On December 24, at 7:00 a.m., I was woken up by a cell phone alarm. I went to see what happened and saw her lying unconscious, with one arm hanging off the bed, her husband Miguel Soto told Il Resto del Carlino.
The former volleyball player’s funeral was originally scheduled for December 27. Just before burial, bruises were discovered on Bolognesi’s body. The prosecutor’s office ordered the funeral to be suspended to perform an autopsy. The marks were fresh and, according to investigators, they ruled out a simple fall. Soto was arrested in connection with this.
The police detained Paola Bolognesi’s husband
The police seized the mobile phones of both spouses. Bolognesi was in a relationship with a younger Cuban man for three years.
According to the Italian newspaper, Bolognesi remained at work all the time. She was supposed to have already planned meetings with, among others, the former coach of the Italian national team, Davide Mazzanti, and Marco Bonitta, a trainer associated with Ravenna who coached Polish volleyball players years ago.