The tragedy of Nole Canavese: a desperate act of a mother

Drama by Nole Canavese. She killed her 10-month-old daughter by drowning her in the bathtub and then unsuccessfully tried to take her own life using a knife. Carola Finatti is currently in hospital custody. Before taking the child and killing her, she wrote notes in which she tried to explain the meaning of this inhumane act. “I can’t do this anymore”, “I can’t keep the baby”, “I can’t raise her” – it was written, as “La Stampa” reports today. Perla’s father: I had to take Carola to a psychologist. It was the father, Antonio Parrinello, who found the girl in the bathtub. “I came back home specifically because I wanted to accompany Carola to the psychologist. Since she started feeling unwell, we did everything possible. We immediately sought help. We wanted this baby very much. We have been together for eighteen years and we have been waiting for her for so long,” said the 36-year-old, who lost everything in a few hours. He found the house strangely locked, including the key inserted into the front door from the inside. So much so that he had to climb through a window to get inside. After entering the house, he found a dead child in the bathtub and nearby the mother injured in the chest. He called 112 and tried to resuscitate the child – all in vain. Depressed Carola Little Perla drowned, according to what the Carabinieri have reconstructed, in the bathtub of her parents’ house, a detached villa on Via Grazioli, a stone’s throw from the city center. The girl would have died at the hands of her mother, 34-year-old Carola, who had been struggling with severe postpartum depression for some time. The woman also tried to commit suicide: she is currently in the Molinette Hospital in Turin and is under protection, and her life is not in danger. She injured herself with a knife in the chest and neck, but the wounds did not damage any vital organs. She underwent surgery and her prognosis is optimistic. The doctor who followed her: Carola did everything she could. “I have been following her along with other specialists since the first symptoms of her postpartum depression appeared. It was certain that this was it. We had no doubts. When we realized this, we launched the entire healthcare network. Me as a doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist. Karolina was in therapy. What more could she do? explains Grazia Beva, a psychologist who followed Carola Finatti. Then he sums up: ‘But Karolina, please write it down, you have to, she was sensitive to care from the very beginning. Everyone followed her. And her whole family, united with her, rushed to help her. She did everything she could. Recently, in this very recent period, things seemed to be improving a bit. Yet. Investigation into the phones A few hours after the discovery of the body, Ivrea’s prosecutor, Elena Parato, conducted a long inspection of the villa. There are still many issues to clarify. For this reason, some technical examinations will continue in the coming hours, starting with examinations of the child’s parents’ mobile phones. Psychiatrist Giancarlo Cerveri, member of the Council of the Italian Psychiatric Association, mentions that the period after pregnancy is a “phase of great fragility.” We must pay attention to the warning signs. Many studies have shown how physiologically a temporary low mood occurs, which in many cases goes away on its own, but unfortunately some women struggle with a very serious, persistent state of depression, which in some cases can develop into the so-called postpartum psychosis, in which the mother mental health becomes even more serious.”