Veronica Panarello

Veronica Panarello is an Italian woman who murdered her eight-year-old son in November 2014 in a case that received national attention.

Panarello strangled, scratched, and beat Loris Stival at their home in Santa Croce Camerina, Sicily. She threw him into a nearby canalside pit with severe head injuries while he was still alive. He died there before his body was found by a fisherman.

Veronica initially told police Stival went to school and did not return. Next, she said Stival was playing with electrical cables and died accidentally. Finally she said she was having an affair with Stival's paternal grandfather and he murdered the child to prevent the affair being discovered.

Panarello was sentenced to 30 years in prison in October 2016.