The Court of Appeals of Milan has confirmed the 27-year prison sentence for Daniele Rezza, previously handed down in the first instance on July 2, 2025, for the murder of Manuel Mastrapasqua, which occurred on October 11, 2024 in Rozzano, in the Milan metropolitan area. The victim, returning home from work, was attacked and killed with a stabbing during a robbery aimed at stealing a pair of wireless earphones worth approximately 14 euros.

The Court, presided over by judges Ivana Caputo and Franca Anelli, recognized the charges of aggravated robbery and voluntary homicide aggravated by diminished defense capacity, granting equivalent generic mitigating circumstances. The aggravating factor of trivial motives was excluded, as had already been the case in the first instance. The deadline for filing the motivations was set for September 20.

During the appeal proceedings, a psychiatric evaluation of the defendant was ordered at the defense's request. It established Rezza's full mental capacity at the time of the events. The evaluation, conducted by psychiatrist Mara Bertini, found clinically significant alterations in emotion regulation and aggressiveness, but ruled out that these constituted the legal definition of mental infirmity.

The defense, represented by lawyer Tiziana Bacicca, had requested a reduced sentence and admission to restorative justice, citing the defendant's fragility. The restorative justice request had already been rejected in the first instance and again met with opposition from the victim's family.

The family of Manuel Mastrapasqua, civil parties represented by lawyer Roberta Minotti, expressed satisfaction that the sentence was not reduced and reiterated their refusal of restorative justice. The victim's brother, Michael Mastrapasqua, stated that the defendant's apologies, offered a year after the events, are not considered credible by the family. The civil parties' lawyer described the apologies as "procedural," offered for convenience and not accompanied by genuine signs of repentance.

Compensation payments to be paid by the defendant in favor of the civil parties, the victim's mother and two brothers, were confirmed.