Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s crime film ‘The Catholic School’ revolves around the students of St. Luigi High School, a distinguished Catholic institution located in Rome, Italy. Gian Pietro, one of the students of the institution, happens to give a lift to Donatella Colasanti and her friend Nadia. He talks about the same to his friends Angelo Izzo and Gianni Guido, who express their wish to meet the two girls.
Gian arranges the same but Donatella meets Angelo and Gianni with Rosaria Lopez instead of Nadia. The two boys propose a party after a few days and take Rosaria and Donatella to the villa of a friend, only to rape and torture both of them. As the Italian film depicts the appalling suffering Rosaria has to endure, the viewers must be wondering whether she is a real rape victim. Let us share everything we know about the same!
Was Rosaria Lopez a Real Rape Victim?
Yes, Rosaria Lopez was a real rape victim. On September 29, 1975, Angelo and Gianni took Rosaria and Donatella to the villa of one of their friends Andrea Ghira’s family in San Felice Circeo under the pretense of attending a party in Lavinio. After arriving at the villa, Gianni produced a gun and locked Rosaria and Donatella in a tiny bathroom. Angelo and Gianni told them that they are a part of the Marsigliese gang and they are awaiting their leader Jacques Berenguer to join them.
Throughout the night, Rosaria, along with Donatella, was tortured and raped by Angelo and Gianni. They were locked up in the bathroom, naked, without food or water. Donatella and Rosaria broke the sink in the bathroom, infuriating Angelo and Gianni. The two boys then separated the two girls. On September 30, 1975, Andrea Ghira joined Angelo and Gianni, only to barbarously torture and rape Rosaria and Donatella. Andrea at first reassured the two girls’ return home but the harassment didn’t see any immediate end.
Who Killed Rosaria Lopez?
During the last hours of September 30, 1975, Rosaria was taken to an upstairs bathroom. Angelo, Gianni, and Andrea beat and drowned Rosaria in a bathtub full of water, killing her. In an interview, Donatella revealed that the last time she saw Rosaria alive was when she was taken to the bathroom. She also added that she heard her friend’s screams and the sounds of her drowning. As per the autopsy report, Rosaria died due to drowning asphyxiation since the murderers “repeatedly pushed her head into the bathtub.”
After the rescue of Donatella and the discovery of Rosaria’s dead body, Angelo, Gianni, and Andrea were sentenced to life imprisonment. Andria was sentenced while he was on the run and Gianni’s sentence was later reduced to thirty years. Rosaria’s family didn’t become a civil party during the trials after accepting compensation of one hundred million lire from Gianni’s family. Over the years, Rosaria’s sister Letizia Lopez has expressed how the judicial system failed to deliver justice to her murdered sister, especially when Gianni became a free man. She described the same as “a wound that has reopened once again.”
Letizia also expressed her concern regarding Gianni becoming a free man when he hadn’t completely served his sentence term due to his escape to Latin America, permits, and other relaxations. A few years before, Letizia revealed her fear concerning the possibility of Angelo’s release as well.
Read More: Where is Rapist Giovanni “Gianni” Guido Now?
