" I apologize ," declared 23-year-old Filipino Mark Antony Samson , who admitted to killing 22-year-old Albanian Ilaria Sula. During questioning, he added, "I'm sorry for what I did."
The macabre crime is suspected to have occurred in the young man's apartment at Via Homes 16, in the Africano neighborhood, while his parents were at home, but their role in the crime is still unknown.
23-year-old Mark Antony Samson, who pleaded guilty and was arrested for murder and concealment of a corpse, stated that he stabbed Ilaria Sula to death after an argument between them in the apartment.
Several knife wounds were found on the body of the Albanian student, one of which was in the neck.
After the crime, the young Filipino man locked her body in a suitcase and drove her to the forest area of Pol, about 50 km from home, where he threw her off a cliff.
Investigators are searching for the girl's cellphone, which the young man allegedly threw down a manhole in Rome, and the murder weapon thrown into a cistern in the Montesacro neighborhood.
Ilaria reportedly had a relationship with Samson. It was the analysis of her phone records and cell phones that incriminated the 23-year-old, as the killer used the victim's phone to post on Ilaria's social media profile.
The prosecution explained that the body was not cut into pieces and that Samson helped investigators find the suitcase.
According to Il Messaggero, the evening of March 25 is the moment of Ilaria's disappearance.
The 22-year-old was at the home of Samson, whom she met over a year ago, when both, as university students, worked part-time at McDonald's across from Piazza del Popolo.
They had been dating for several months, but their relationship went into crisis. According to the police reconstruction, that night the suspect discovered some messages that the girl had exchanged with another young man, whom she had recently met on Tinder.
It is reported that they had exchanged messages with each other, but had not met. Meanwhile, Samson got up at dawn on March 26, took a kitchen knife and started hitting her.
Samson loaded his girlfriend's body, sealed in a suitcase, into his car and drove about 50 kilometers until he reached the outskirts of Pola, a small town inland from Rome.
The young man had known this place for a long time, having gone there several times by bicycle.
He then retrieved the suitcase with her body from the cliff and returned to the apartment, keeping the cell phone for several days.
Under investigation is the presence in the home of the 23-year-old's parents, who are not currently under investigation, but who could be charged with complicity in the murder.
The Scientific Police found several small stains in the apartment yesterday that are being analyzed and are suspected to be Ilaria's blood.