This is an article of mine which was published in Italy Magazine yesterday. It's an upsetting story and I cannot stop thinking about it. What desperate loneliness this woman must have felt:
In an incident which has shocked all of Italy, but particularly the South, where family ties are strongest, a thirty-year-old woman drowned her two children in the sea at Torre di Manfria, Gela [Sicily] on Friday: just after midday Vanessa Lo Porto drove to the sea with the two boys, aged nine and two.
In stunningly beautiful surroundings she walked into the sea with them and let them go, then, according to some reports, tried to drown herself. According to these reports, her instinct for life took over and she managed to return to the beach. What is certain is that she walked back to her car and called the police, who maintain that she did not try to drown herself.
The body of the older child – who was autistic - was found immediately but that of his brother was recovered on Saturday morning.
Lo Porto was taken to hospital and is under sedation. She had been separated from her husband for some months and one theory is that she was suffering from depression because of this. Recently she had been given the news that her younger son was also autistic.
On 16th April she had left a positive status update on facebook, writing,
“When you cannot go back, you must think about the best possible way to move forward. You cannot choose how you feel, but you can always do something to ensure you feel as well as possible.”
A latter-day Medea or a desperate woman in the darkest depths of depression?
The investigation continues and the funerals of the two boys will take place today.
11 comments:
How sad!
These stories are not unusual. Humans are quite fragile.
It's funny ... before I read the details, the scenario you described flashed through my mind... it is quite common. People who do that aren't trying to be cruel, apparently ~ they see their actions as the greatest kindness they can possibly do for their young children, to save them from the pain and horror of the world. I just pity her that she survived and they did not... how could life get any more unfair?
What a horrible tragedy. I am sure she must be very tormented now. I think drowning must be one of the most terrifying ways to die and these poor children at the hands of a mother they trusted.
so sad when you become so desperate and luckily i have never become that desperate BUT i think its one of these things that could so easily happen to any one of us :-(
Unfair and very sad. I have not been that desperate either...
I know how it feels though when you lose a person through depression... !
Such a shame that she did not have anyone to talk to about her fears.
What about the father of the children?
Hi, lakeviewer. Yes, we are all more fragile than we think. Hi, Gleds. I agree totally. Hello, Carmen. Yes, it is horrific. Hi, Sally. Yes, "There but for the grace of God...".
Such a desperately sad story. I just can't say any more...
Hi, Anne. I can only repeat, "There but for the grace of God go I". The woman was separated from him, WW and he is, of course, devastated. I know, Dragonstar. What can we say?
I think of the selfishness of killing your own children, as a mother myself I cannot possibly ever see that thought entering my head. BUT then again , I do not know what pushed this woman to do what she did. Extremely sad that she felt she had to go to such lengths. Some say these type of murders occur under misguided good intentions but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Sad.
Hi, Nunyaa. Like you, I find it incomprehensible. But, as you say, we cannot imagine her state of mind.
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