Three Croats Suspected of Murdering Swiss Man

A student was beaten to death during a carnival celebration. Three Croats have been apprehended and remanded in custody.

Three Croats are being held as suspects in the murder of a 22-year-old Swiss student in the Swiss town of Locarno Friday night, swissinfo.ch reported.

A carnival celebration in the town was stopped after the body of the local student, Damiano Tamagni, was found.

The 22-year-old student was beaten to death during the celebrations on Friday night. The three Croats, Ivica Grgic, 21, Ivan Jurkic, 19, and Marko Tomic, 19, have been arrested and remanded in custody.

Mayor Carla Speziali stopped the celebrations on Saturday and told Swiss Public Radio that ‘such a form of random violence is not acceptable and has shocked the entire nation’.

A thousand people took part in a procession for the murdered student 

Damiano Tamagni, a student at a Zurich university, was pronounced dead at a hospital in Lugano on Saturday.

The attackers were apprehended several hours after the assault.

A day after the student’s death, on Sunday, a thousand people took part in a procession to pay their respect to Damiano.

Damiano’s parents: no to hatred

Damiano’s parents wrote a letter to the media inviting people not to use their son’s death to raise hatred and racism.

Damiano Tamagni’s parents have sent a letter to the media. The parents of the victim thanked the people of Ticino for their support and solidarity. However, they urged everyone to avoid any kind of behaviour that could ruin the good relations existing in Swiss society, rtsi.ch reports.

“We thank all the population for their support to us and to our family”, they wrote. “We ask though, in respect of Damiano and of our great pain, not to make use of his tragic death to raise hatred and racism. We think that the murderers of our son should be punished as severely as people, regardless of their origin. We would like Damiano’s death to put an end to senseless violence once and for all, starting from schools to sporting events. If violent people are isolated from their group, they will have no reason to be violent and if they are really stubborn, then extreme measures should be taken. Young people, and all those who live in a civilised country, have the right to take part in public events, to have fun, or even just to take a walk in town without being afraid of being molested or killed”.

Meanwhile, the investigation of Damiano Tamagni’s murder is being carried out. The 22-year-old’s funeral, whose organs were donated by request of the family, will be held this afternoon in Gordola.

The case has been assigned to prosecutor Rosa Item, who will file charges of aggression and intentional murder. One of the suspects has a criminal record but no charges of violence. Two of the suspects are naturalised Swiss.

Croatian embassy reacts

The Croatian embassy in Bern has released a communiqué in which they stated their regret about Damiano Tamagni’s death. The diplomatic representatives have expressed hope that the accident will not ruin the good relations existing between Croatian and Swiss people, expecially in Ticino County, where the Croatian community is highly integrated.  

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