It was carried out onautopsy on the body of the 39-year-old Parabita tragically passed away last Thursday evening while playing a game of five-a-side footballa Collepasso. The technical investigation, which began at 10am and ended around 1pm, was arranged precisely to shed light on the causes of the sudden death which shocked the entire Salento community. It was carried out by the medical examiner Alberto Tortorella, appointed by the public prosecutor Alessandro Prontera. The party consultants also took part in the examination: Roberto Vaglio for the sports doctor who is under investigation and Doctor Dania De Carlo for the Chetta family. According to the first findings that emerged, the death of the young athlete could be traced back to a malignant arrhythmia with ventricular fibrillation. This is a very serious heart rhythm disorder that prevents the heart from pumping blood effectively, leading to cardiovascular arrest in a very short time. During the examination, the forensic doctors also took several tissue samples which will be subjected to in-depth analyzes in the coming weeks.
The investigation
In parallel with the medical tests, the judicial process will continue.
The Public Prosecutor Alessandro Prontera, holder of the file, in recent days, had entered in the register of suspects the sports doctor who, last December, had issued the certificate of competitive fitness to Riccardo, registered with the “Parabita City” club. This was a necessary act to allow the investigations to be fully carried out and to allow all parties involved to appoint their own consultants for unrepeatable investigations, in order to exclude any professional liability. The family is assisted by the lawyers Marco Lezzi and Pompeo De Mitri, while the suspect is defended by the lawyer Ester Nemola. The issue to be resolved for Riccardo’s family, in light of his previous illness, is whether there had been “alarm bells” and whether there had been clinical underestimations in the sports screening process. Now we will have to wait for the report to be delivered by the medical examiner and to follow the observations of the party’s consultants. While justice takes its course, Parabita rallies around the Chetta family, devastated by a loss as sudden as it is unfair. Riccardo was an esteemed and deeply loved man, whose passing has left an unbridgeable void among his friends, teammates and all those who knew him. The funeral will take place tomorrow afternoon, at 3.30 pm, at the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Coltura. That will be the moment in which the community will finally be able to unite in pain and in memory for the last, emotional farewell to Riccardo.
