In the southern Italian town of Foggia, a 46-year-old Moroccan woman was stabbed to death. Charged with her murder is her ex-companion, also a Moroccan, aged 47.
It appears to have been all too preventable. The woman had asked for help from an anti-violence center. A restraining order was issued against the suspect, but he allegedly showed up in front of her residence as she returned home late at night, early morning from her job as a cook. She managed to call the police, but by the time they arrived, she was already dead. The suspect was arrested in Rome about 12 hours later.
The article below by Foggia Corriere is translated by Fousesquawk.
Feminicide in Foggia, 46-year-old stabbed to death by ex: Was under protection of "Code Red", but the man had disappeared. Arrested in Rome.
By Luca Pernice
August 7, 2025
Hayat Fatimi, a cook in a restaurant, originally from Morocco, was found dead a few steps from the house where she was living in the historic center of Foggia. She had filed a complaint against her ex, a co-national (Moroccan), age 47: An arrest order had been issued against him, but never executed because his location was unknown.
When she saw her ex-companion, she called the police, but the man had stabbed her before anyone could help her. These were reportedly the last moments of life for Hayat Fatimi, a 46-year-old of Moroccan origin, resident of Foggia, where she worked as a cook in a restaurant, stabbed to death during the night. The hunt for her murderer, a 47-year-old co-national without a fixed abode, ended after several hours in Rome: He was located and stopped with his clothes covered in blood.
The incident occurred in vica Cibele, a cross-street of via Nicola Parisi, a few steps from the house in the historic city center in which she was living.
Finding her immediately after the stabbing were a few residents who heard the screams as the 46-year-old, presumably, was trying to flee from her attacker. "I heard the woman screaming," a woman who lives in the area said.
Then, the arrival of the police and 118 (emergency personnel), alerted by a phone call from the same woman. But for her, there was nothing more to be done.
The ex-companion was awaiting the 46-year-old outside the house
According to an initial reconstruction, the victim reportedly returned home around 2 am and immediately thereafter went out to meet her killer a few meters from the house. But it is not excluded that the man had waited until the woman, who worked as a cook in a restaurant, returned home to attack her.
The victim, seeing him, called the police to report that her ex-companion was there. But it was all in vain.
During the night, the street was blocked off to allow for the forensic investigation, while the police attempted to track down the ex-companion of the 46-year-old.
The complaint and the arrest never executed
The woman had filed a complaint against her ex-companion, and the process of Code Red was initiated, which provides protection for women who are victims of domestic and gender violence.
Judicial officials in Foggia report that the man was the subject of a restraining order from approaching the victim, including the application of an electronic bracelet, but it was never carried out due to "technical problems". Finally, on 28 July, a preventative custody warrant was issued against him. A measure that was reportedly never executed because the man had disappeared.
According to what has been ascertained, there was reportedly a relationship between the woman and her ex-companion that lasted a few months and became a nightmare. Last April, the 46-year-old turned to the "Telephone woman" anti-violence center (part of the Commitment Woman Association) to ask for help, explaining that the ex-companion was violent during the months of the relationship, the reason she ended the relationship-harassing her, following her, and threatening her.
The operators of the center had convinced her to report him. Something that happened last May although the woman, despite the urgings of the operators of the center to leave Foggia and find refuge in a shelter or with a relative, reportedly refused to leave the city.
In addition, the anti-violence center reportedly sent a high-risk assessment to the police as to possible feminicide, until July 23, the day on which the woman again turned to the anti-violence center, saying that the man was stalking her. On July 28, the custody in jail order was finally issued, but it was never executed because the man could not be found.
It took about 12 hours to arrest him after the homicide of Hayat Fatimi. But for her, it was already too late.
The mayor: "What happened is a defeat for everybody"
The mayor of Foggia, Maria Aida Episcopo, in a statement, says that, "the tragic homicide that occurred last night is a painful defeat for each of us, also because the victim had asked for protection to guarantee her safety, and the anti-violence center had formulated a high-risk assessment for feminicide. This is a case that cannot be dismissed as isolated, much less exploited, but requires due reflection by the relevant institutions, to the Prime Minister's Office (and) the competent ministers, starting with the need to maximize the activity and the numbers of law enforcement and justice workers in our territory". The mayor offered a moving tribute to the victim on the part of the communal administration, stressing that, "we will institute clear and strong actions to remember the victims of violence and continue to sensitize the citizenry and institutions in this dramatic emergency."
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