Two detained over 16-year-old's homicide

(ANSA) - Rome, October 25 - Two people were detained by police overnight in relation to the homicide of Desiree Mariottini, a 16-year-old girl found dead in an abandoned building in Rome's San Lorenzo district last week, sources said Thursday. Investigators believe that Desiree was drugged and gang raped while unconscious before she died.
    The suspects are two Senegalese nationals who do not have legal permits to be in Italy - Mamadou Gara, 26, and Brian Minteh, 43.
    They are suspected of sexual violence in a group, selling drugs and voluntary manslaughter, along with other people. A third person has also been tracked down in relation to the case and investigators are evaluating the position of that person.
    Sources had said the police were trying to track down two other suspects, in addition to the two people detained.
    "Two illegal immigrants held last night for the rape and death of Desirée, two others are wanted," Interior Minister and Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini said via Twitter. "Thank you to the police. I will do everything so that the worms guilty of this horror pay in full for their vileness, with no discounts". Fellow Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio said Thursday that Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi's powers should be boosted following the case. "It's time to give more powers to the mayor of Rome," Di Maio told Radio 24. "Rome has no rivals in Europe in terms of its complexity and size". Raggi is a member of Di Maio's 5-Star Movement (M5S).