On March 5, 2016, Rome was confronted with one of the most cruel murders in its history: in a dilapidated apartment in the Collatino district, the Carabinieri found the lifeless body of 23-year-old Luca Varani, stabbed over 100 times with a kitchen knife stuck in his chest. The shocking case involving the two perpetrators, Manuel Foffo and Marco Prato, shows how far people can go in their darkness, driven by drugs and a cold, inexplicable desire. Manuel Foffo was a 28-year-old failed student whose privileged background from a wealthy family did not prevent him from falling into the abyss. His father was a wealthy insurance broker and restaurant owner. Manuel had been experimenting with drugs and alcohol for several months prior to the night of the murder. His latest clinical tests had come back positive, and his driver’s license had been returned to him. Marco Prato, 29 years old and a graduate of the Sorbonne, was someone who had made a name for himself as an event organizer. He belonged to a wealthy family whose father was active in the cultural sector. Marco had a special relationship with Manuel, based on mysterious and possibly corrupt ties. The two had met on New Year’s Eve 2016. It was a fateful encounter that had fatal consequences. Manuel later admitted that he was afraid of Marco after Marco made a compromising video of them having sex. Manuel, the failed student, and Marco, the gay party animal who played the womanizer on the outside, turned out to be two lost souls who made a pact that would change their lives forever. In early March, both men consumed drugs and alcohol for days on end. During their intoxication, they had only one goal: they wanted to know what it felt like to kill. Their victim was 23-year-old Luca Varani, a young man who was an adopted child from the former Yugoslavia. He had been with his girlfriend Marta Gaia for nine years. Luca had dropped out of school to earn money so that he could start a family with Marta. He had numerous jobs, but also secretly worked as a male prostitute. This lucrative side job proved to be Luca’s undoing. It unwittingly involved him in a monstrous game between the two men, who had only one thing in mind: to torture and kill him. The night between March 3 and 4, 2016, was wild and intoxicating. Manuel and Marco had been partying for days in Manuel’s apartment, consuming cocaine, and decided to do something terrible. All they needed was a victim, and that victim was Luca, whom Manuel invited to his apartment via WhatsApp. He offered him 100 euros for sexual services. Luca, who was always short of cash, agreed, and so fate took its course. In Manuel’s apartment, they offered him alcoholic drinks laced with Alcover, a drug used to treat alcohol addiction that has an extremely sedative effect on the body. When the unsuspecting Luca undressed for the sexual acts, he suddenly blacked out. This allowed Manuel and Marco to carry out their dark plans. After a brutal attack with a hammer and a kitchen knife, they began to torture him mercilessly for hours. Manuel later reported that they didn’t want Luca to be able to scream, so they cut his vocal cords. The autopsy confirmed the cruelty of the crime. Dozens of wounds, especially on his face and neck, bore witness to unimaginable brutality. How could anyone do such a thing? The hunger for power and control can take on unimaginable proportions, as this case impressively demonstrates. After the murder, Manuel and Marco tried to cover their tracks. They cleaned up the crime scene and disposed of Luca’s clothes. It was only hours later, as they were going from bar to bar in the city, that they slowly realized what they had done. Marco, plagued by his conscience, expressed a desire to take his own life. The two separated and went their separate ways. While Marco eventually attempted suicide at the Hotel San Giusta, Manuel returned home to try to come to terms with the horror. Forty-eight hours after the murder, Manuel confessed to his father what had happened. After this grim confession, Manuel’s father immediately alerted the Carabinieri. Shortly thereafter, Marco was found unconscious in the hotel room by Italian police. He had taken an overdose of sleeping pills. His stomach was pumped immediately. This was only the beginning of a long legal process. In December 2016, the public prosecutor’s office brought charges of murder and particularly serious guilt against both of them. Manuel opted for an expedited trial, while Marco preferred a regular court hearing. This led to a controversial discussion in the media. Politicians and journalists were divided in their opinions. Carlo Giovanardi drew a connection between the perpetrators’ sexuality and their cruelty, which led to fierce opposition. Ivan Scalfarotto, a politician from the Democratic Party, criticized these stereotypes and defended the LGBTQ+ community. Manuel was eventually sentenced to 30 years in prison, while Marco, who suffered from the pressure of public attention, committed suicide in his cell in Velletri prison shortly before the trial began. It was a tragic end to two lives that had fallen into the abyss, and to Luca’s life, which ended far too soon. The case of Luca Varani’s murder is not just a story about murder and cruelty. It reflects deeper questions about mental health, the influence of drugs, and the responsibility that each individual bears for their actions. What drives people to commit such crimes? Is it the search for meaning or simply a desperate attempt to numb feelings of pain and inner emptiness? Society faces the challenge of not only viewing such cases as isolated incidents, but also understanding the roots of violence in our youth, in social structures, and in individual stories. Luca Varani, who was brutally taken from life far too soon, shines a light on the shadows that lurk in the corners of our community.
Rome’s cruel torture murder
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