Mother and daughter found dead in Turin apartment in suspected homicide-suicide

A 40-year-old woman and her 13-year-old daughter were found dead in their apartment in Turin’s via Domodossola on Sunday morning, in what investigators are treating as a double homicide-suicide. The bodies were discovered by the victims’ 19-year-old sister, who alerted emergency services after entering the flat and finding the two women lifeless. According to a preliminary reconstruction by Turin police, the mother allegedly strangled her daughter before taking her own life with a cord or similar ligature.

The discovery was made shortly before 09:00 local time, when the older sibling arrived to collect documents. Authorities arrived within minutes and pronounced both victims dead at the scene. A forensic team cordoned off the third-floor apartment and began collecting evidence, including the ligature used in the deaths. No signs of forced entry were reported, and the flat showed no signs of a struggle beyond the immediate area where the bodies were found.

Neighbours told reporters they had heard no disturbances overnight. The building’s concierge, who asked not to be named, described the family as quiet and said the mother worked as a freelance translator while the 13-year-old attended a local middle school. The older daughter, who found the bodies, has been taken to a local hospital for psychological support.

The case has sent shockwaves through the city’s tight-knit community. Local councillor Elena Rossi called for urgent mental-health outreach programmes targeting families in similar situations. “This is a tragedy that should have been preventable,” Rossi said. “We need to ensure that anyone showing signs of distress gets help before it’s too late.”

Investigators are reviewing security footage from the building’s entrance and surrounding streets, though no arrests are expected as the primary suspect is deceased. Prosecutors in Turin have opened a case file under article 575 of the Italian Penal Code, which covers homicide, and are awaiting the results of the autopsy scheduled for Monday. The apartment remains under guard as police continue to piece together the final hours of the victims’ lives.

The tragedy comes amid heightened scrutiny of domestic violence cases across Italy, with women’s rights groups calling for faster implementation of the EU’s Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women. Turin’s mayor, Stefano Lo Russo, has pledged to review local support services for at-risk families. “We must act now,” Lo Russo said, “before another family is torn apart by preventable violence.”