Mark Samson, the 23-year-old accused by Italian authorities of murdering and disposing of the body of Albanian Ilaria Sula, is described as a quiet and non-violent boy by friends and relatives.
Italian media report that the boy of Filipino origin who confessed to killing his ex-girlfriend lived with his parents in Rome's African neighborhood.
He lived a quiet life on Homs Street, still at home with his parents, at number 8, in the heart of the African neighborhood.
At 11 a.m., officers from the Rome police station searched the apartment where the young man lived and also took his father and mother, a couple who had lived in Italy for years, to the police station. The mother was a housewife, while the father was a servant in the homes of the Roman bourgeoisie.
"Mark was a very good guy," says a family friend, also Filipino, as he walks past the apartment surrounded by tape from the prosecutor's office.
"He had just graduated in architecture, his parents are very good people," he adds.
Murder of 22-year-old Albanian woman in Italy, photo of ex-Filipino boyfriend suspected of being perpetrator emerges
His social profile carries a series of photos showing neighborhood life.
"His mother underwent heart surgery some time ago," says Maria Pia, 78. "I can't believe something like this happened. Sometimes parents are in danger for their children," adds the neighbor.