Reggio Emilia, August 2, 2026 – A farewell letter that does not convince and the cord of an iron on which the suspicions of the investigators have focused. Almost a month later, the death of Maria Daniela Hernández Ramírez, a 31-year-old of Colombian origin, remains a mystery yet to be clarified. The woman was found dead in an apartment in Marola, in the Reggio Apennines, on July 5. But what at first appeared to be an extreme gesture might hide something else.
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Her partner Niccolò Pampaloni was in the house with her
Her partner Niccolò Pampaloni, 39 years old, originally from Lucca, was in the house with her. He was immediately investigated while free on the charge of incitement to suicide, without any precautionary measures issued against him. A formal act by the Reggio Emilia judiciary to carry out unrepeatable technical investigations. Deputy prosecutor Maria Rita Pantani wanted to get to the bottom of it from the very beginning.
The boyfriend himself called for help
The boyfriend called for help and the carabinieri, telling them he found the woman on the stairs with a rope around her neck and removed the noose to try to save her. But at the time of the arrival of the medical personnel, there was nothing more to be done. The 39-year-old said they had argued a few hours earlier and then he had locked himself away to play music in the garage where he pursued his hobby. Later, while returning upstairs, he said he found her on the stairs.
The investigators searched the house thoroughly
The investigators then searched the house, which was seized (the seals were removed only a few days ago). On the kitchen table, a farewell letter was found explaining the reasons for the alleged extreme gesture, half in English and half in Spanish. An anomaly that aroused the Prosecutor’s Office’s suspicion, ordering a handwriting analysis to verify if it was really written by the 31-year-old.
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An iron was seized
Furthermore, the Carabinieri seized an iron for analysis. And from the very first checks – still to be completed – it seems that the cable could be compatible with the injuries to the woman’s neck. Therefore, according to the hypothesis – not yet formally stated by the prosecutor, pending the final results of the autopsy performed at the legal medicine institute in Modena – this could have been the object that caused Maria Daniela’s death and not the rope found next to her body.
Both brilliant researchers living in Germany
The two had been living together in Germany for some time where they studied. Both brilliant university researchers, he in engineering in Berlin and she in biophysics in Bonn. Being able to work also remotely, they had decided to spend a holiday period in Italy, choosing Marola, a quiet and cool location at 800 meters altitude. They had rented the apartment for two months where Maria Daniela was later found dead. “Is it possible that she took her own life on vacation, so suddenly?” is whispered in the mountain village. Just as the young woman’s family, who arrived from Colombia the day after the tragedy to carry out the identification, does not believe in the extreme gesture. The relatives reportedly told the investigators that the couple was going through a difficult period.
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