The truth always comes up in the end. In a shocking interview, Lorenzo Carbone, 50, confessed to a reporter that he had killed his 80-year-old mother. Weeping during his confession, the footage was seen live on an Italian television show, Pomeriggio 5.
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Fabio Giuffrida, the Pomeriggio 5 reporter, interviewed Carbone right outside his Spezzano di Forano home. Visibly distressed, Carbone eventually confessed to his crime right when he was questioned about her mother's troubling death.
"I couldn't stand it any longer, I couldn't manage her," said Carbone, referring to her mother's dementia and Alzheimer's. "I strangled her, I don't know why I did it. Every now and then she made me angry as she kept repeating herself."
Her mother, Loretta Levrini, died from strangulation after Carbone reportedly used shoelaces after failing to suffocate her with a pillow and ribbons.
After the interview, Giuffrida contacted the police and they arrested Carbone. He was already the main suspect in the crime and he had returned to his home after fleeing town.
Giuffrida would later comment regarding his interview with Carbone: "Never would I have thought I would find myself in front of an alleged killer." He continued: "At one point I noticed a man who was nearing the entrance, he was sweating, he was in a state of confusion."
When he asked who that man was, Carbone answered: "It's me." While Carbone remains in custody, the body of Loretta Levrini will undergo a post-mortem examination in the coming days.
A Controversial Broadcast
While the interview was broadcast on Pomeriggio 5, many thought of it as inappropriate. Gaia Tortora, deputy director of TG LA7 - an Italian TV channel -, was flabbergasted by it. "This is not our job. Tearing up the code of ethics, we are hitting rock bottom," said Tortora.
However, Myrta Merlino, the show's host, defended her decision after receiving criticism. "I received a call from the correspondent a few minutes before going live, I had little time to decide," said Merlino. "I only care about one thing: that it doesn't damage the investigation."
"The man was wanted," she continued. "The police were called and authorized me to broadcast the images of the interview."