The boyfriend of an 18-year-old Sardinian woman who fell four storeys from a Paceville hotel last week admitted to harming her and paid a €250 fine for drug possession, sources confirmed with Times of Malta.
Last Wednesday, Claudia Chessa, from Arzachena in Northern Sardinia, suffered grievous injuries after she fell from the balcony of a St Julian’s hotel she was staying at.
She was on holiday with her 27-year boyfriend, Alessio Lupo, with initial findings indicating that the two argued shortly before the fall.
Sources told Times of Malta the argument between the two began in a club and continued in their hotel room. There, the argument escalated and became physical.
Chessa suffered back injuries and will require surgery for injuries she sustained in the balcony fall, which was cushioned by an awning beneath her balcony.
She lost consciousness and hotel staff called authorities for help after realising what happened.
Lupo was arraigned on Friday in front of magistrate Jean Paul Grech, where he pleaded guilty to charges of slight bodily harm, causing his partner to fear violence and drug possession.
A sachet of cocaine was also found in the hotel room.
He was fined €250 for drug possession and granted a conditional discharge for two years. He has since left Malta.
Lawyers Joe Giglio and Michaela Giglio represented Lupo.
'My daughter is not crazy'
The incident drew significant attention in the Italian media.
Sardinian news portals quoted Chessa's father as saying his daughter had jumped from the balcony in a desperate attempt to get away from her aggressive boyfriend.
“My daughter is not crazy, she didn’t throw herself off the balcony because of a simple argument, she was beaten and tried to run away and save herself,” Silvano Chessa told a L'Unione Sarda.
Silvano said the two argued after his daughter "didn't like the atmosphere" at the club they were at and wanted to leave.
He said there were CCTV cameras in front of the window where she “threw herself” and that she was "screaming for help" before leaping in desperation.
Her body was full of marks suggesting assault.
"She was hit in the face, her hair was pulled and torn out (...) he bit her and punched her in the chest," the father said.