User:DaQuirin/Bacca

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Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo (known as Pippa Bacca) (December 9 1974 — March 31, 2008) was an Italian artist who, together with a fellow artist, was hitch-hiking from Milan to the Middle-East to promote world peace and trust in other people, symbolically wearing a wedding dress during her trek.[1] Arriving in Gebze on March 31, 2008, she went missing, and her sister flew to Turkey to locate her. Her raped body was discovered in the same city, a tourist's attraction due to the presence of the possible gravesite of Hannibal. On April 11, 2008 she was formally identified by her sibling, and taken to Istanbul for an autopsy. The police arrested a man who had placed his SIM card into Bacca's mobile phone and he later led them to Bacca's body. [1][2][3]

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[edit] Brides on tour

Bacca was part of a world peace effort known as "Brides on Tour" that departed from Milan on March 8, 2008.[4] The artists, wearing white wedding dresses, then travelled through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Bulgaria, and arrived in Turkey on March 20, 2008. They had planned to hitch-hike to Syria and then Lebanon by March 31, arriving in Israel and Palestinian territories by mid-April, their final destination being Jerusalem.[4][3] Concerning their attire, they reported on their website that "That's the only dress we'll carry along - with all stains accumulated during the journey."[2][5]

On her sisters hitch-hiking plans, and in light of the discovery of her body, her sibling Maria states to Italian news agency ANSA that "Her travels were for an artistic performance and to give a message of peace and of trust, but not everyone deserves trust... We weren’t particularly worried because she had been hitchhiking for a lot of time, and thus was capable of avoiding risky situations... She was a determined person when it had to do with working for art."[3]

[edit] Disappearance

Bacca and her companion split up just prior to arriving in Istanbul, planning to meet up again in Beirut. However, Bacca disappeared after March 31.[2] Her credit card was reportedly used at midday on the day she was found dead.[3] Her body, described as "naked and decomposing" by All Headline News, was found in bushes in the city of Gebze. A man who led the police to her body, identified as Murat Karataş by AHN,[2] was detained,[1] was, according to some sources, later arrested after reportedly confessing to raping and killing Bacca.[2]

Karataş is reported to have been traced after he inserted his own SIM card into the victim's mobile phone and that he had a previous conviction for theft.[1] The Italian Embassy has thus far refused to comment on the situation.

Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported local news agency Doğan stating that Bacca's autopsy confirmed that she was raped and killed on March 31, and that Karataş (turkish citizen) was arrested on April 11 for the murder, after picking her up from a gas station. Hurriyet printed an article on the murder entitled "We are ashamed". When questioned on events, Bacca's sister stated "They ask me why my sister was hitchhiking. What can I say? She was just trying to prove that people are reliable." The family intends to return to Italy with the body after post-mortem procedures are complete.[6]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d "World peace" hitcher is murdered BBC News retrieved April 12, 2008
  2. ^ a b c d e Missing Italian "World Peace" Hitcher And Artist Found Dead In Turkey All Headline News retrieved April 12, 2008
  3. ^ a b c d "Bridges for peace" protester found dead in Turkey BreakingNews retrieved April 12, 2008
  4. ^ a b Brides on tour - itinerary retrieved April 12, 2008
  5. ^ Brides on Tour retrieved April 12, 2008
  6. ^ Missing Italian woman artist Pippa Bacca found dead in Turkey Hurriyet, retrieved April 12, 2008

[edit] External links