In a shocking incident, a well-known Italian model and reality television personality, Pamela Genini, 29, was found dead in her Milan apartment on Tuesday night. Reports suggest that she was allegedly stabbed over 20 times by her older boyfriend, Gianluca Soncin, 52, during a heated argument on her apartment balcony. The incident was reported by neighbors who heard screams and pleas for help.
The altercation between Genini and Soncin reportedly escalated into violence. When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they were alerted by a neighbor about the ongoing situation in Genini’s top-floor apartment. The police had to break down the door to intervene, and it was at this point that Soncin reportedly ceased his attack.
Genini was declared dead at the scene. Soncin, on the other hand, was found with two self-inflicted wounds on his neck, an apparent suicide attempt. He was immediately rushed to Milan’s Niguarda Hospital in critical condition and remains under police supervision. Authorities have confirmed that Genini was stabbed 24 times before the police arrived.
Soncin has been charged with murder, with the charges aggravated by stalking, premeditation, and femicide. In Italy, femicide is defined as the killing of a woman due to gender-based motives or domestic violence and is prosecuted as an aggravated form of homicide.
Investigators have been questioning neighbors, some of whom reportedly witnessed the attack from a nearby building. Others reported seeing a man storm into the apartment just before the crime. One witness claimed to have heard Genini screaming for help moments before she was killed. A friend of Genini told the police that the couple’s relationship had been tumultuous for months and that Genini had been planning to leave Soncin.
Genini, who had a successful modeling career in Milan, was also a co-founder of the swimwear brand SheLux and ran a luxury real estate business. She had appeared on the Italian reality dating show “The Island of Adam and Eve.” Genini often shared glimpses of her glamorous lifestyle on Instagram, including her vacations in Portofino and red carpet appearances at the Venice Film Festival.
Genini and Soncin, a wealthy Italian businessman, had been dating for over a year before the tragic incident. Soncin was previously arrested by Palermo’s financial police in 2010 for his alleged involvement in a fraudulent operation selling luxury cars at artificially low prices and evading taxes through false invoices. It remains unclear if he was ever convicted in that case.