Posted on 06/25/2007 9:15:45 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
The family of an American woman who was found dead in Rome during a custody battle with her Italian boyfriend said Monday they're frustrated and relieved the man accused of killing her died on the witness stand.
Carlo Ventre, 59, was testifying for the first time in Rome about his relationship with girlfriend Toni Dykstra when he suffered a heart attack and died Wednesday, his attorney Roberto Leonardo said.
His sudden death was the latest chapter in a nearly decade-old international murder and kidnapping case.
"I really wish that we had gotten to a conviction because it would have made me feel better, but that didn't happen," said Toni Dykstra's father, Milt.
Ventre, who had suffered a heart attack in 2002, was charged with killing Dykstra in his Rome apartment in 1998.
Dykstra, who lived in the San Pedro area south of Los Angeles, had traveled to Italy to retrieve the couple's daughter, Santina. When she found the girl and Ventre, she obtained an Italian court order requiring Ventre to hand over the girl so she could return to the United States with her.
The day before they were to leave, Dykstra, 29, was found dead on the floor of Ventre's apartment. Ventre told Italian authorities Dykstra struck her head on a fireplace when he shoved her in self-defense after she attacked him with an ax.
Leonardo said the judge had allowed Ventre to go free pending trial because the autopsy showed that Dykstra died of a single blunt trauma to the head - consistent with a hard fall - and that Ventre had cuts on him that were consistent with injuries from an ax.
A day before his court date in Rome, Ventre had told Leonardo he feared he would not feel well when he testified, the lawyer said. Ventre arrived tired and sweating, after traveling an hour on public transport in nearly 95-degree heat Wednesday, Leonardo said.
Ventre appeared to be doing well while testifying in the air-conditioned courtroom, Leonardo said. "He was very calm, secure, detailed and very credible," but then suddenly stopped, said he didn't feel well and leaned back in his chair, the lawyer said.
Attorney Luca Ciaglia, representing the Dykstra family in the civil portion of the case, said the court was stunned.
"It was something incredible, something unexpected," he said, adding that the prosecutor had been calmly asking Ventre about his relationship with Dykstra when the heart attack occurred.
"I'm sorry for him," he said. "He probably was feeling great torment inside."
Ventre was charged with murder; he had pleaded innocent, saying he acted in self-defense.
Dykstra's family and friends had said Ventre repeatedly threatened to kill Dykstra. The couple had lived together in Downey, a south Los Angeles suburb, for about a year but never married.
Ventre was arrested when he returned to the United States in 1999 after Dykstra's father was awarded custody of Santina. He was convicted of international parental kidnapping charges and sentenced to nearly a year in prison.
After completing his sentence, Ventre was held without bond in the United States while he fought extradition to Italy. He was finally sent to Italy in 2005 after his appeals were exhausted to face charges in Dykstra's death.
Shortly after he was extradited, Ventre was also charged in the United States for allegedly soliciting the murders of Dykstra's parents and another kidnapping of Santina.
Dykstra's sister, Teri Martinez, said Ventre's death takes a burden off the family.
"I always carried with me the fear he would kill or hurt someone else in my family," she said. "For the first time in years, I can sleep without fear."
Santina, 11, has been in the custody of Ventre's brother, who lives in Las Vegas.
The girl spent 15 months in foster care in Italy before Dykstra's parents brought her back to the United States in 1999. A judge later granted custody of her to Ventre's brother.
Milt Dykstra said his family considered appealing the judge's decision, but changed its mind.
"The ... family felt the child has suffered enough," he said.
Wonder if it was guilt or sorrow that caused him such distress?
Too much rich Italian food, clogged arteries maybe?
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