Nizza Monferrato, Italy, February 10, 2026 — Zoe Trinchero, a 17-year-old, was still alive when she was thrown into a canal, according to initial medical-legal investigations. This tragic detail, linked to “precipitation trauma,” appears to be definitively established as authorities continue to analyze the events surrounding her death on the evening of February 6th.
A Disputed Encounter Turned Deadly
Investigators are exploring whether the case constitutes femicide, a crime recently defined in Italian law.
Despite sustaining punches from Alex Manna, a friend with whom she had gone “to talk,” Zoe was breathing when she was thrown from a height of approximately three metres into the river. Alex Manna remains in prison facing charges of voluntary homicide aggravated by trivial reasons, though a shift towards a femicide classification—introduced into Italian law in December—is being considered. Friends reportedly told ‘Storie Italiane’ that Manna had attempted to initiate a romantic relationship with Zoe two weeks prior to the incident.
“From what we understood – this is their story – on Friday evening they went aside to discuss this. And we think that something was triggered by yet another refusal,” friends recounted. The Italian penal code defines killing a woman due to rejection in a romantic or emotional context as a circumstance constituting femicide. Witnesses describe a disturbing change in Manna’s behaviour. “When we met him he seemed like a softie. But then in the latest social stories he seemed much more extroverted, confident, he played gangster and trap music.”
Obsessive Behaviour and a False Accusation
The testimony of Zoe’s best friend, Nicole, could be crucial. Friends say Alex exhibited obsessive tendencies, controlling aspects of her life, including her interactions and attire, and experiencing bouts of anger. They also noted Zoe was unwell during that period. A particularly troubling detail emerged: Alex publicly blamed an innocent person for Zoe’s death. “He was there with us, he came down to cry on her and shout ‘it’s my fault I didn’t save her, I left her alone’. He was shaking, he kept crying and unfortunately we believed him. He immediately blamed a black boy who without the police would have risked being lynched.”
What constitutes femicide? According to the recently amended Italian penal code, killing a woman because she has not accepted an emotional relationship is now considered a specific aggravating circumstance.
A torchlight procession in memory of Zoe is planned for the evening in Nice, organized by the Futura association and the Municipality. “It is our ‘no’ to violence,” declared the mayor, Simone Nosenzo.
