Italian police are investigating whether an elderly woman was killed by eating a plate of spaghetti from a relative who would inherit 500,000 euros ($826,000) from her.
Maria Basso, 80, died shortly after being taken to a restaurant in Sicily by her niece, Paola Pepe. The young woman was accused of changing her will and planning a plot to kill her.
Maria Basso had saved more than $800,000 during her work at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which included sending her to Australia.credit: www.today.it
During the meal, Basu ate a plate of pasta despite following a strict diet of only pureed or finely chopped food because she was at risk of choking.
The spaghetti settled in the 80-year-old woman's airways, causing her death two days later.
The death in December 2022 was initially attributed to natural causes, but Bibi, 58, was later placed under house arrest after authorities launched a murder investigation, after discovering she had amended her aunt's will just 48 hours before the meal.
Basso had saved a small fortune during his distinguished career in the Italian Foreign Ministry. She had positions in Iran, Australia, and the United States before retiring alone in Asiago, in the Veneto region in northern Italy.
She had no children and reportedly amassed an inheritance worth around €500,000, which was allocated to the Christian Youth Education Institute.
Other relatives of Basso told investigators they suspected a plot to kill her and steal money after distant relatives from Sicily, including Bibi, suddenly showed up at her 80th birthday party and disappeared with her for hours afterward.
Police later discovered that Bibi had made arrangements for her great aunt to be transferred to a nursing home in the southern coastal town of Ache Castelo, about 1,300 kilometers from where she was being cared for.
