Viola was raised in Alcamo, Sicily in a farming family members. She dated Filippo Melodia, a mafia-connected local within his early 20s, for six months in 1963 before rejecting him. He invested the following season in Germany, as soon as the guy returned and Viola nonetheless didn’t desire him, the guy turned to aggressive actions — making use of expectation that law was actually behind him.

Melodia waited until Viola’s father ended up being out of our home, after that stormed in with 15 friends and abducted the lady. He conducted the woman prisoner in an isolated farmhouse for more than each week, during which the guy raped this lady.

Usually, this type of an appalling crime might be excused in the event that pair afterwards wed in a «reparative wedding» — the person forgiven for his violence together with female’s «honor» revived. This was not just a friendly custom, but an explicit exception when you look at the Italian violent rule.

Instead, Viola got Melodia to court for kidnapping, «carnal physical violence,» and intimidation.