Pippa Bacca
Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo (known as Pippa Bacca) (9 December 1974 — 31 March 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 31 March 2008, she went missing. Her raped body was discovered in the same city on 11 April 2008. 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 8 March 2008.[4] The artists, wearing white wedding dresses, then travelled through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Bulgaria, and arrived in Turkey on 20 March 2008. They had planned to hitch-hike to Syria and then Lebanon by 31 March, 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 31 March.[2] Her credit card was reportedly used at midday on the day she was found dead.[3]. The man who led the police to her body, Murat Karataş [2] was detained,[1] was arrested after reportedly confessing to raping and killing Bacca on 31 March after picking her up from a gas station.[2]. He had 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]
[edit] Reactions
Hurriyet printed an article on the murder entitled "We are ashamed". [6]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d "World peace" hitcher is murdered BBC News retrieved 12 April 2008
- ^ a b c d e Missing Italian "World Peace" Hitcher And Artist Found Dead In Turkey All Headline News retrieved 12 April 2008
- ^ a b c d "Bridges for peace" protester found dead in Turkey BreakingNews retrieved 12 April 2008
- ^ a b Brides on tour - itinerary retrieved 12 April 2008
- ^ Brides on Tour retrieved 12 April 2008
- ^ Missing Italian woman artist Pippa Bacca found dead in Turkey Hurriyet, retrieved 12 April 2008
