A severe triple crime shook Albanian and Italian public opinion over the weekend. 59-year-old Albanian Astrit Koni brutally killed his ex-wife, Drita Meçollari, and her new partner, Bardhok Gega, with a farming tool before committing suicide.
Italian media have revealed details of the shocking incident, reporting that everything erupted from uncontrolled jealousy. Koni had not accepted the separation and the fact that his ex-wife had started a new life, turning the personal conflict into a tragedy with fatal consequences.
Koni's body was initially discovered by police at the foot of the castle tower where he worked as a gardener, a location from which he is suspected to have jumped to end his life.
Shortly afterward, the lifeless bodies of the two other victims were also found, thrown into a ditch near a field of beehives. This was the place where Drita Meçollari occasionally worked, as after the separation she lived in Milan with Gega.
The double discovery came from Drita's brother, who, concerned about the lack of contact with her for more than 24 hours, set out to search and came across the shocking scene. A key element is a note left by the perpetrator, in which he wrote: "You destroyed my life for the last 15 years, but now it's over!"—a sentence that sheds light on his emotional state and possible motive.
The couple had two daughters, one living in Dubai and the other in Turin, from where they learned the tragic news of their parents' loss.