Chiara Petrolini in court: "I'm not a killer mother, I wasn't sure I was pregnant"

Today in the courtroom in Parma, the atmosphere was heavy, almost solemn. Chiara Petrolini, the 22-year-old at the centre of a case that has shaken Italy, broke her silence. Facing the judge, she took out a sheet of paper and read her spontaneous statement. Those present describe a thin voice, breaking at times, but determined to be heard. She wanted to look her accusers straight in the eye, and perhaps all of us who for months have been trying to make sense of this story.

"I am not a mother who kills her children." This phrase, as stark as a punch, is the cornerstone of her defence. Chiara Petrolini reiterated that at the time of the events, those two highly secretive deliveries, she was not at all aware she was pregnant. "I wasn't sure," she stressed repeatedly, almost as if trying to convince herself first. She described a body that was changing, yes, but interpreted with uncertainty, in a spiral of fears and denials. She spoke of a frightened girl, alone, without even knowing who to turn to for help.

From the prosecution's documents emerge details that have chilled many to the bone: the tiny bodies of the newborns allegedly abandoned in horrifying circumstances. But today, she forcefully rejected the label of "monster" that has been attached to her. She said her life became a living hell long before her arrest, and that she never intended to kill. Her words reignite the debate: is it truly possible to be unaware of two pregnancies?

Among the benches of the court, I gathered impressions from some of the lawyers present: for them, the strategy is clear. Chiara Petrolini is trying to shift the focus from premeditated murder to an incapacity to face reality. But the prosecution has its evidence and its own version of the truth, and this trial is only just beginning.

Here are the key points from the statements made today by Chiara Petrolini:

• "I wasn't sure I was pregnant": she insisted on her lack of awareness of her pregnancy, for both the first and second deliveries.
• "I'm not a killer mother": she categorically denied any intention to kill the newborns, rejecting the charge of voluntary manslaughter.
• "I was alone and scared": she painted a picture of a young woman in the grip of panic, unable to ask for help or even to realise what was happening.
• Reading from a sheet: she chose to read a prepared text to avoid being overwhelmed by emotion and to ensure she said everything on her mind.

Leaving the courtroom, the feeling is that this case is far more intricate than can be summed up in a few news reports. It's not just a story of alleged crimes, but also of youth isolation, of bodies changing and not being understood, of fears that become insurmountable walls. Here in Parma, we feel it keenly, because it touches a raw nerve. Chiara Petrolini is now no longer just a name in the papers: she is a young woman who has spoken and who awaits judgment. And the trial, as they say in these cases, has only just begun.