The Italian justice system has ordered the release on bail of Mohamed Trabelsi, a 41-year-old Tunisian, as part of the investigation into the death of his Italian partner, Daphné Ribaudo, who died after falling from the roof of a building in the Tor Bella Monaca district of Rome.
The decision was made by the Rome Court of Review, which overturned the provisional detention order against Mohamed Trabelsi, arrested last August and suspected of being involved in the circumstances surrounding the death. The suspect, who denies the facts, remains under investigation, which continues.
A new expert assessment alters the reconstruction of the fall
The decision comes as investigations have taken a new direction following a technical expert assessment ordered by the public prosecutor to determine with greater precision the trajectory followed by Daphné Ribaudo during her fall.
The young woman died in the early hours of July 13 after falling from a height of about 27 meters.
According to information reported by the Italian press, notably Rai News, one of the main elements of the new assessment concerns the point of impact of the body on the ground. The initial findings had placed this point about six meters from the vertical line of the building, a distance that had been considered compatible with the hypothesis of a strong push.
The new reconstruction, however, estimates, with a high degree of probability, that the body would have struck the ground at about three meters from the base of the building, i.e., near half the distance initially considered.
This new datum could have an impact on the direction of the investigation. According to the assessment, it would reduce, in particular, the probability of an especially violent external push. The possibility of an accidental fall during a dispute or altercation between the victim and her partner remains nevertheless envisaged.
The publicly released elements also indicate that Daphné Ribaudo would have fallen on her back, which, according to Italian media citing the investigation data, would make the hypothesis of a voluntary leap less likely.
The security camera footage at the heart of the suspicions
At the start of the investigation, several elements had led investigators to focus on Mohamed Trabelsi. Residents had reported repeated and sometimes violent disputes between the two occupants of the apartment on the fifth floor of the building.
Another confrontation is said to have taken place in the stairs during the night of the death.
The footage from security cameras is also an important element of the case. According to information reported by Italian media, the recordings show movements of Mohamed Trabelsi inside the building that do not entirely match his initial version of the facts regarding where he was at the moment of the fall.
The footage shows Daphné Ribaudo moving toward the roof with a bag and accompanied by her dog. Mohamed Trabelsi appears, meanwhile, making several trips between the apartment and the roof.
Between 4:45 a.m. and 4:48 a.m., the time window corresponding to the presumed moment of the fall, the cameras would have filmed the man descending the stairs with his partner’s bag and holding the dog, which reportedly resisted during the descent.
According to the same elements, Mohamed Trabelsi would then not have gone down to the street to check on his partner’s condition.
Mohamed Trabelsi continues to deny any involvement
The official identification of Daphné Ribaudo reportedly took place about a week after the discovery of her body. Investigators had in particular recovered her mobile phone, a purple Motorola, in the apartment, as well as a receipt for a taxi ride paid with her bank card.
Mohamed Trabelsi, who had previously been the subject of a restraining order with a suspended sentence and was under an obligation to check in under earlier drug-related convictions, has always denied any involvement in the death of his partner.
He has maintained his innocence before the judge in charge of the investigation.
Following the decision of the Rome Court of Review, he is now free and is not subject to any new restrictive measure, while investigations continue.
The detailed reasoning of the judicial decision has not yet been made public, according to Rai News. At this stage, the exact circumstances of Daphné Ribaudo’s death remain to be established and the investigation has not yet yielded a definitive conclusion.
