It was a femicide that shocked Italy for its brutality and the young age of the protagonists, forcing a reckoning with the issues of femicide and gender violence in the country.
The young man admitted to stabbing Cecchettin, 22, to death at Fossò, near Venice, on November 11, 2023, days before she was due to graduate from Padua University.
Turetta, who was studying biomedical engineering with Cecchettin, stabbed her 75 times.
He was present in court on Tuesday, as was the victim’s father, Gino Cecchettin, who is among the civil plaintiffs in the trial.
Cecchettin was reported missing on the day she was murdered after she met up with Turetta and went for a meal with him.
Her body was found in a gully at Val Caltea, near Lake Barcis in Friuli, on November 18, 2023.
Turetta went on the run after dumping the corpse.
He was tracked down to the side of a road near Leipzig, Germany after he ran out of money and his car ran out of petrol, a week after the murder.
Speaking at her funeral in December, Gino Cecchettin said he hoped his daughter’s death might mark a turning point in the fight against gender-based violence in Italy.
Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara, who had already committed to tackling the issue, subsequently sent a circular letter to schools inviting them to get pupils to reflect on his words.
Valditara then spurred an outcry by saying the patriarchy was finished in Italy and a rise in sexual violence against women was linked to illegal migration.
Giulila’s sister Elena responded by saying her sister had been killed by a “nice white Italian”.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said there was “significant” impact from mass illegal immigration on sexual violence against women.
According to 2022 figures, over 90 per cent of Italian female murder victims were killed by Italian males.
Turetta’s defence attorney also spurred outrage by saying his client didn’t deserve a life sentence because he was “not El Chapo or Pablo Escobar”, referring to the Mexican and late Colombian drug lords.
ANSA