A man who killed his own father to stop him from beating his mother to death has said he “never stopped loving him”.
Alex Pompa, 20, stabbed his dad Giuseppe “dozens” of times to protect his terrified mum from a brutal attack on April 30 last year in Collegno, Italy.
He maintained he had no memory of the murder and heartbreakingly said he would give his life up for his slain father, despite the campaign of violence the 52-year-old inflicted upon his wife.
Alex was acquitted by a juryat the Court of Assizes in the city of Turin after they heard harrowing recordings of his father's jealous outbursts.
The domineering dad regularly beat the 20-year-old, his brother and his mother - so much so, that the children coordinated their schedules so that their mother was never home alone with her husband.
The court heard she was controlled and abused by Guiseppe and her sons became collateral damage when they rushed to her defence.
But despite the relentless abuse he, his brother and his mother experienced, Alex heartbreakingly said: "I never stopped loving my father."
Guiseppe had become convinced that his spouse, who worked in a local supermarket as a cashier, was having multiple affairs with her colleagues.
Alex explained: "As a cashier at the supermarket, she would smile at the customers and that didn't sit well with my father," local media reported.
Giuseppe flew into a fit of rage on April 30, 2020, after spying on his wife at work and noticing that a workmate had touched her on the shoulder twice.
He reportedly drank several glasses of wine before attacking her, believing he had caught her flirting with one of her supposed lovers.
A desperate Alex watched the savage beating at the family home and believed his mother was about to be killed - so he grabbed a knife and stabbed his father multiple times.
Speaking out after his court case, Alex said: "I have no memories of those moments, I was completely in shock.
"I am absolutely sorry for what I did, I said from the first moment that if I could go back I would never, ever do it again. I would rather die than my father."
He called the emergency services himself and immediately confessed his actions to the police as his dad was pronounced dead at the scene.
His mum had previously told the court that her son's actions saved her life, as both said the beating was like nothing they had seen before.
Alex continued: "There wasn't a time when I decided to kill my father. It was a moment I don't remember, I don't know what happened that evening."
The judges concluded that his actions "[did] not constitute a crime".
Testimony from Alex's brother also proved key in his acquittal, with his sibling telling the judges: "My father was a sick man, obsessed with jealousy and control over my mother."
Court documents catalogued over 300 threats directed by Giuseppe towards his wife and children.
The 20-year-old said he now simply "wants to go home and get his life back".
In an interview with La Repubblica after he was granted freedom, he added: "See the Inter match, have dinner with my family. Take a trip, a normal life."
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