Garlasco, Alberto's mother's letter to Stasi on Network 4: "I always knew he was innocent"

Elisabetta Ligabò, mother of Alberto Stasi, has broken her silence after years of quiet suffering. In a heartfelt letter delivered to the investigative program Verità Nascoste, she reveals her long-held belief that her son was innocent and explains why she chose to remain silent despite knowing the truth. The letter comes nearly two decades after Alberto Stasi was convicted of murdering Chiara Poggi in Garlasco, a case that shattered the family and left its mark on every member. The letter opens with a reflection on how certain memories refuse to fade. “There are things time cannot take away,” she writes. “Years pass, life goes on, but certain events stay with you. They enter your thoughts and accompany you every day, even when you try to focus on the ordinary things in life.” For Ligabò, these events began with the tragic death of her daughter-in-law, Chiara Poggi, and the subsequent conviction of her son, Alberto Stasi, for the crime. She describes the emotional toll of watching her family unravel under the weight of public scrutiny and legal proceedings. Ligabò recounts how, over the years, she and her husband tried to maintain their lives, focusing on work, home, and daily routines. Yet, she admits, it was impossible to escape the pain of what had happened. “It’s difficult to explain how one lives with such a burden,” she writes. “You learn to live with looks, judgments, spoken and unspoken words. Sometimes silence weighs more than everything else.” She acknowledges the difficulty of speaking out, especially given the societal stigma surrounding criminal convictions. “People don’t care about the truth,” she says. “They just want to believe there was a reason. Explaining that it wasn’t the case feels useless, like justifications from a mother who loves her child so much she can’t see reality.” Despite this, she insists she always believed in her son’s innocence. “If I had ever doubted, I would have been the first to help him take responsibility,” she writes. But she adds, “That didn’t matter to others, and that’s why I thought silence was better.” Her husband’s passing marked another devastating blow. “He was my anchor,” she writes. “After he died, that world already broken collapsed further.” Soon after, Alberto entered prison. “It felt like watching my life fall apart,” she continues. “I knew nothing would ever be the same again. My family was gone.” Throughout the years, Ligabò found moments of solace in small gestures. She recalls waiting anxiously each week for a brief phone call with her son, who could visit only once a week. “Those ten minutes were all I needed,” she writes. “I brought clothes, food, and we talked about anything and everything. But the only thing that made me happy was knowing he was well.” In the end, she reflects on the simple joys that kept her going. “You realize how little it takes to be happy,” she writes. “All you need is to know that the person you love is still there. That’s enough.” As the letter concludes, it leaves behind a sense of unresolved grief and lingering questions. The story of Alberto Stasi and his family remains a painful chapter, one that continues to shape the lives of those who lived through it.