Man murders wife and son, kills himself

Rome, June 8 (IANS/AKI) A man in southern Italy allegedly strangled his estranged wife to death before shooting dead their four-year-old son and killing himself with the same pistol, police said on Wednesday.

Luigi Alfarano savagely punched his wife Federica De Luca before strangling her at the family apartment in the port city of Taranto after the couple had a furious row, according to police.

Alfarano then drove with his four-year-old son to the family's beach apartment in Pino Di Lenne, where he killed the child with a Beretta pistol and committed suicide with the same weapon.

De Luca and Alfarano's mothers called police after becoming concerned because they could not contact their children by phone.

Fifty-year-old Alfarano worked as a volunteer coordinator for a cancer charity, while his 30-year-old wife was a volley-ball referee. The couple were in the process of separating.

It is estimated a woman is murdered in Italy every three days, almost always by a man, who is usually a current or former partner.

--IANS/AKI

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