Andrea Cardinale: Killer of Italian couple in Stockton sentenced

A man who bludgeoned his friends to death after claiming they had cursed him has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.

Andrea Cardinale, 22, killed Antonino Calabrò, 26, and Francesca Di Dio, 20, in their shared Stockton home on 21 December, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Cardinale, who came from the same area of Italy as the couple, killed them with a sledgehammer and kitchen knife,

He admitted two counts of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

Three forensic psychiatrists diagnosed Cardinale with acute paranoid schizophrenia after the killing, and he told detectives he could hear the couple's voices in his head telling him to kill them.

Professor Donald Grubin of Newcastle University told the court Cardinale's "unrecognised psychosis was so acute his culpability for the killing was minimal".

Cardinale and Mr Calabrò were friends in Sicily and both came to the UK in 2019 to work as croupiers at the Grosvenor casino, prosecutor Nick Dry said.

They lived in a converted pub on Thornaby Road, used by the casino's Italian workers. Ms Di Dio was visiting her fiancé ahead of Christmas.

The couple, who came from Messina, were last seen alive on CCTV at the converted pub at about 03:30 GMT on 21 December.

Their bodies were discovered at about midday by Cardinale's father, who had flown over to see his son amid concerns over his mental state.

He contacted police in Rome to say his son had killed two people, with the Italian authorities raising the alarm with Interpol and Cleveland Police.

Officers found Mr Calabrò's body in his bedroom. He had been hit about the head with a sledge hammer and stabbed in his sleep.

Ms Di Dio's body was found in the basement, with prosecutors saying she had attempted to flee but been caught by Cardinale, hit with the hammer and stabbed.

After killing the couple, Cardinale went to a nearby petrol station and bought a lighter and diesel which he then doused Mr Calabrò's room with, but he later told police he could not bring himself to set the room alight.

He was arrested at about 14:30 on Outram Street, Stockton.

In his police interview he claimed the couple had put spells on him and it was their voices in his head telling him to carry out the attack.

He had also conducted internet searches for voodoo and how to "remove the evil eye", police said.

A psychologist saw Cardinale in Italy in November after the killer's mother raised concerns about his mental state, Mr Dry said.

The court was told the doctor suggested Cardinale had depression but needed a further appointment to make a diagnosis, but Cardinale missed it and returned to the UK on 1 December.

Cardinale's mother contacted Mr Calabrò and asked him to persuade her son to return to Italy for Christmas, with Mr Calabrò saying his friend "deserved" help.

The court heard Cardinale wore a balaclava when he killed the couple, who he claimed had "conjured" against him to make him impotent, removed his teeth and subjected him to a witchcraft which had ruined his life.

In statements read to the court, Ms Di Dio's mother Anna Nosi said her daughter's death had "completely overturned and destroyed" her relative's lives.

She said they could not understand what happened and the family could "no longer find inner peace".

Ms Nosi said their hometown was "stunned" by the couple's deaths.

Mr Calabrò's father Salvatore said a child was an "extension of life" for the whole family, but that had now been "denied".

He said the evenings were particularly hard as that is when his son would video call him, adding: "Not having Nino with us anymore, after having cuddled, helped and supported him for 26 years, is not easy to overcome."

In mitigation, Peter Makepeace KC said the case "could not better illustrate the hideous consequences of such an acute mental illness".

He said Mr Cardinale had previously been a "decent" man before suffering a "devastating and acute" psychosis.

Sentencing Cardinale to detention at a secure mental health hospital without a time limitation, Paul Watson KC, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, said the killings were "wholly unprovoked, unforeseen and unpredictable".

He added Cardinale may never be safe to be released.

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