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Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
California teacher stabbed in neck while on Italian vacation is returning home
With every beat of his heart, 29-year-old Nicholas Pellegrino felt like he was another pump closer to death. The religion and Spanish teacher at San Francisco's Archbishop Riordan High School was at the San Donato Milanese train station in Milan, Italy, and he was bleeding out. It was just before noon on July 15, and Pellegrino was supposed to be on a two-hour train heading southeast to Florence but was instead grasping for hope that an ambulance would arrive in time to save him. Photos taken of him on the station floor showed his chest and shorts soaked in blood. After 15 minutes, paramedics arrived and rushed the Staten Island, N.Y., native to a local hospital, where he somehow survived being brutally slashed in the throat. Authorities say the attack was carried out by a group of North African migrants. Now, more than a week removed from what he described as 'ISIS-level barbarism,' Pellegrino confirmed to The Times he had recovered enough to fly back to New York on Thursday. 'Miracles still happen,' Pellegrino, a professed Catholic, said in a phone interview Wednesday evening. 'I'm grateful to be alive.' The train ride was supposed to have been a small blip in Pellegrino's day. He was leaving one set of friends in Northern Italy to join another in Tuscany on what was an Italian vacation before the start of the fall semester. Within minutes of boarding the train, Pellegrino said he was surveilled by four men sitting about 10 rows away from him. When he put his head down, one slashed his jugular vein with a pocketknife while another stole his laptop, clothes and passport, according to Pellegrino. One also violently ripped off a gold cross hanging around Pellegrino's neck. The 'thugs were not afraid of me,' Pellegrino said. 'They were armed with pocketknives and had the intent to murder me.' Pellegrino thought he would die as he dragged himself off the train and to a nearby platform. The attack happened around 11:30 a.m., according to authorities. Pellegrino boarded the train at a previous station. He said he thought of two things in the moments after the attack. 'A, I was looking around to see where the suspects were just to make sure they wouldn't come around to finish me off,' he said. 'And then, B, I felt the blood literally pumping out of me with each beat and just hoped the ambulance would arrive on time.' Pellegrino was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he received emergency care to stabilize the wound, according to Italian medi. He was then moved to an intensive care unit, where he received nine stitches. He had been hospitalized there from July 15 to Sunday, then was staying with a friend until his flight to the U.S. The Italian newspaper Milano Today reported that two 21-year-old men were detained by police on suspicion of aggravated robbery. Pellegrino said he testified in court Wednesday and the pair were now facing more serious charges of premeditated attempted homicide. He said authorities found his gold cross and chain inside one of the suspect's intestinal tracts. The two hailed from Tunisia and are part of a gang, according to Milano Today. 'The police told me I was the seventh victim they attacked over a 48-hour stretch,' Pellegrino said. 'That's crazy stuff; that's something from a movie.' Although the alleged perpetrators fled the train platform, they were identified through CCTV footage, according to Milano Today. The two men were arrested attempting to board a bus carrying a switchblade and a stolen pendant, the news outlet reported. Pellegrino said two other suspects standing guard at the time of his attack were also arrested. Italian authorities did not respond to a call from The Times, nor did anyone from the American Consulate in Milan. With his passport still not recovered, Pellegrino confirmed that he was granted a temporary passport to return home. 'I was told these guys had previously served six months on various other small robberies,' Pellegrino said. 'These are evil people with bad intent.' Before working at the San Francisco high school, Pellegrino was a teacher and track coach at Monsignor Farrell High School in Staten Island, N.Y. One of his friends and former students, Finn McCole, set up a GoFundMe along with other former students of Pellegrino. 'We are setting up this GoFundMe to help Nick pay for any medical expenses incurred during his hospital stay, and to replace his lost valuables,' McCole wrote on the page. 'Finn's a great guy and a former student-athlete of mine and we're still friends,' Pellegrino said. 'I'm surprised by that amount of money, and it just goes to show that even though teaching is a thankless job, the students are craving and grateful for a role model.'
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Convicted Killer Dead After Throwing Himself ‘Dozens of Meters' from Milan's Duomo Cathedral While on the Run: Reports
A 35-year-old man — identified as Emanuele De Maria — fell to his death from Milan's Duomo Cathedral on Sunday, May 11, according to local news reports De Maria, a convicted killer, had been working at the Berna hotel with permission from the Bollate prison for nearly two years His death comes as police were searching for him in connection with the alleged stabbing of a colleagueAn Italian man who police were searching for in connection with allegedly stabbing his colleague is believed to have taken his own life. The 35-year-old man — identified as Emanuele De Maria — fell 'dozens of meters' from Milan's famed Duomo Cathedral after seemingly throwing himself toward the square below shortly before 2:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, May 11, local outlets Milano Today, Corriere della Sera Daily and ANSA news agency reported. Having 'grazed a little boy with a stuffed toy in his hand' while falling, De Maria was recognized by his tattoos, according to the outlets. Witness Emanuele Sanità told Corriere della Sera Daily that it was a 'miracle' the boy wasn't killed in the incident and said the child sat in shock for around 20 minutes. 'I saw a black spot fall very quickly. Then I heard a bang, like a gunshot,' Sanità, who is the owner of the Fresco e Cimmino bar in Piazza Duomo, told the outlet of De Maria's fall. 'All the people around ran away. Everyone from my bar got up. It was deserted." "I approached and noticed a man on the ground, without shoes because they had flown off,' he continued. 'There were some doctors passing by, they felt his pulse but there was nothing they could do: he was dead. Then some police officers approached and alerted the emergency services." An ambulance and a medical car arrived on the scene but were unable to revive De Maria, Milano Today reported. Prior to the incident, the convicted killer had been working as a receptionist at the Berna hotel with permission from the Bollate prison for nearly two years, according to CBS News. On Friday, police were forced to launch a search for him after he went on the run, having allegedly stabbed a 50-year-old colleague, later identified as Hani Fouad Abdelghaffar. Authorities were suspicious that De Maria may have fled to Northern Europe, as back in 2016, he boarded a train and went on the run after killing a 23-year-old Tunisian girl in Castel Volturno, in the province of Caserta, per Milano Today. He became a fugitive in the Netherlands before his arrest in Germany in 2018, which concluded with a 15-year prison sentence for the murder. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Abdelghaffar's condition seemed to be improving on Sunday after undergoing an emergency operation on his neck and chest at Nihuarda Hospital, Milano Today reported. According to the outlet, police are keen to interview him about De Maria's motive for the attempted murder and to gather details about a 50-year-old woman, originally from Sri Lanka, who was found dead after disappearing on Friday. She had also worked with De Maria in the hotel, according to the ANSA news agency. Milan Police Headquarters didn't immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Monday, May 12. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Convicted killer falls to death from famous cathedral, reports say
A convicted murderer permitted to work outside prison threw himself from Milan's famed Duomo cathedral on Sunday, killing himself, after allegedly stabbing a colleague, local news reports said. ANSA news agency and other outlets reported said the Italian man, whom they identified as Emanuele De Maria, 35, fell "dozens of meters" after reportedly throwing himself from the Gothic cathedral into the square below. The area surrounding the Duomo, Milan's most famed landmark, is usually teeming with people but news reports did not cite any injuries among passersby. Television images showed police blocking off the area surrounding one of the sides of the cathedral. Authorities identified De Maria — who went on television last year to describe his life — from an ID in his pocket and his tattoos, according to several reports, including Milan's Corriere della Sera daily. One witness, a bar owner named Emanuele Sanità, told the outlet that De Maria landed right next to a boy who was holding a stuffed animal. "He fell next to him. He was in shock. He sat there for twenty minutes without speaking," Sanità said. De Maria had been serving a 14-year sentence after being convicted for the 2016 murder of a woman, according to reports. He was arrested in Germany in 2018 after hiding as a fugitive in the Netherlands, Milano Today reported. But for nearly two years he had been working part-time at a hotel near Milan's central train station. Police had been searching for him since Friday, when he allegedly stabbed a work colleague. The condition of that man, identified as a 50-year-old Italian-Egyptian, was improving Sunday after emergency surgery on his neck and chest, Milano Today reported. Newly discovered vintage photos reveal San Francisco mystery Josh's mom on making a move What will Pope Leo XIV mean for the Church?
Metro
11-05-2025
- Metro
Convicted killer dies after falling from roof of iconic landmark
A prisoner has died after falling from the Milan Duomo cathedral, according to reports. Convicted murderer Emanuele De Maria had gone on the run yesterday after stabbing a colleague, Italian news agency ANSA reported. He had permission to work as a receptionist in a local hotel, where he is reported to have stabbed another employee before disappearing. De Maria was identified as the man who fell from the cathedral by his tattoos on both arms, the agency said. He was serving a 15-year sentence for murdering Oumaima Racheb, a 23-year-old Tunisian girl, in Caserta, southern Italy, in 2016. Milano Today reported he was arrested in Germany in 2018 after living as a fugitive in the Netherland. More to follow. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Who is the new Pope Robert Prevost? What we know about Pope Leo XIV MORE: Pope Leo XIV to lead his first holy mass in Sistine Chapel after already making surprise visit MORE: I thought Italian food couldn't go wrong until I visited this city
