Alleged Verzeni killer 'under close surveillance' in jail

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 31 - Moussa Sangare, the 31-year-old arrested for allegedly killing Sharon Verzeni, was under "close surveillance" on Saturday in a cell at the prison of Bergamo where he is being detained after confessing the murder, investigative sources said.
    Sangare's attorney Giacomo May said that he appeared "in a daze" when he visited him in prison ahead of a hearing with a preliminary investigations judge (GIP) to confirm his arrest.
    During questioning following his arrest on Friday, Sangare said he left his home in an occupied building in the town of Susio near Terno d'Isola about an hour before the murder, armed with a knife and with the intention of stabbing anyone he met.
    Before seeing Verzeni, he allegedly threatened two teens, according to his account.
    Then Sangare saw Sharon Verzeni "watching the stars" with her earphones on and stabbed her He said he allegedly apologized to the 33-year-old before killing her on the night of 29-30 July in Terno d'Isola and she repeatedly asked him "why" he was stabbing her, investigative sources said on Saturday.
    The 31-year-old said he then fled the scene by bicycle and changed some of its components over the following days so it wouldn't be recognized.
    He also cut his hair for the same reason, the sources said.
    On Friday, Bergamo prosecutor Maria Cristina Rota said " at the end of a very intense investigation, we were able to identify the man on the bicycle" seen in video footage from surveillance cameras fleeing the crime scene who, "when questioned, fully confessed" the murder.
    She also urged the two teens who were allegedly threatened before the murder to come forward to testify.
    Sangare was born in Milan to parents from the Ivory Coast.
    He is unemployed and lives just a few kilometres away from Terno d'Isola where the murder occurred.
    Prosecutors requested his arrest over fears he might reiterate the crime, hide evidence or run away.
    Sangare reportedly wanted to become a rapper and had collaborated with well-known musicians like Izi and Ernia.
    He had a police record for domestic abuse against his mother and sister and was living in an occupied building when he was found by Carabinieri police and arrested.
    He told investigators that he had a "sudden raptus" and could "not explain" why he killed Verzeni, whom he didn't know, saying he was "sorry", according to investigative sources.
    Investigators, however, believe the murder could have been premeditated as he had left home armed .
    The added that the 31-year-old had a knife throwing target at home shaped like a person.
    On Saturday, the attorney representing Sharon Verzeni's family, Luigi Scudieri, said he believed Sangare did not kill due to a 'sudden raptus', or a 'fit of rage', challenging reports about "the absence of premeditation".
    Scudieri instead stressed that fact that Sangare left home armed and, "before killing Sharon, had all the time to threaten two other people", referring to the two teenagers.
    Sangare also told investigators where he hid the murder weapon in Medalogo, close to the Adda river, and the Carabinieri police's RIS forensic unit is examining it.
    State attorneys are evaluating whether similar murders have been committed in the past in the area, according to investigative sources.
    Meanwhile after Sangare's arrest, Verzeni's partner Sergio Ruocco said that, "after a month of uncertainty, the news has given us a bit of relief, cancelling all insinuations against us".
    Ruocco, who cohabited with Verzeni, a 33-year-old beautician who worked at a local bar, was questioned several times by police but was never placed under investigation.
    "Nobody will give me back my Sharon but I will always keep her memory alive and I know this will help me to continue my life".
    Flowers, candles and a sign reading "justice has been done" have been left at the crime scene in Via Castegnate.
    A letter also said "Terno is not a safe place anymore". (ANSA).