Francesco Mangione is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

-born

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n, convicted of the 2002 murder of his 26-year-old cousin, Denis Giunta, in his Williamstown home.

Early life

Mangione, of

Moonee Ponds, Victoria Moonee Ponds is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Moonee Ponds recorded a population of 16,224 at the 2 ...

was born 23 July 1957 in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. In 1969 he came to Australia. Apprenticed to the former

State Electricity Commission of Victoria The State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV, ECV or SEC) is a government-owned electricity supplier in Victoria, Australia. It was set up in 1918, and by 1972 it was the sole agency in the state for electricity generation, transmission, ...

, he was in 1978 named by the Industrial Training Commission of Victoria as the outstanding radio tradesman apprentice of that year.. He departed the SECV in 1989 and began operating an ice cream van. In 1992 Mangione was arrested and detained, but he was later released due to there being no evidence to support charges over a missing six-year-old girl found in his ice cream van. In 1993 an incident occurred between his family and that of Giunta, also an ice cream van operator, escalating a

turf war A turf war is a fight over territory or resources, or may refer to: Music * ''Turf Wars'', a 2007 album by the Canadian band Daggermouth * "Turf War", a song on the 2001 album ''Filmtracks 2000'' by American composer Bill Television * ''Turf Wa ...

which included a violent fight between Mangione and Giunta.

Criminal history

On 5 February 2002 Giunta returned home from work. After showering he stepped naked into the bedroom where his wife lay sleeping and Mangione lay in wait. Mangione then attacked Giunta slashing, stabbing, and hacking at him with a homemade

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

. Giunta's wife, Laura, awakened by her husband's screams, escaped via the bedroom's balcony leading to the outside garage roof where she leaped to the ground, breaking her leg, requiring further hospitalization for 21 days and in need of a wheelchair and crutches upon her release. Giunta died at the scene from massive injuries. Mangione fled the scene dropping the weapon as he did. His DNA was later found on the handle of the sword and tools were found in his home which were forensically linked to the making of the weapon..

Trial

The trial lasted for ten days. On 13 February 2004 Mangione was found guilty by a

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

. He was sentenced by Harper J to 22 years imprisonment, with a

non-parole period Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

of 18 years. On 21 February 2006 the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...

Court of Appeal dismissed Mangione's appeal against the severity of his sentence. Mangione continues to maintain his innocence. In 2010 it was reported that Mangione was imprisoned in

Barwon Prison HM Prison Barwon or informally Barwon Prison, an Australian high risk and maximum security prison for males, is located from the township of Lara, near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The facility is operated by Corrections Victoria, part of t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mangione, Francesco Australian people convicted of murder Living people Criminals from Melbourne People convicted of murder by Victoria (state) 1957 births Italian emigrants to Australia