Andrea Sempio, the new suspect for the murder of Chiara Poggi at Garlasco near Pavia in August 2007, used the right to remain silent on Wednesday when he appeared before prosecutors who had summoned him for questioning over a case that has gripped the Italian public's attention for years.
The Poggi case was reopened last year after DNA compatible with that of Sempio, a 38-year-old friend of Poggi's brother Marco, was found under two of the victim's fingernails, leading him to be put under investigation.
According to Pavia prosecutors, Sempio stabbed the 26-year-old economics graduate after she rejected a sexual advance by him.
Marco Poggi also appeared before prosecutors on Wednesday after being summoned as a person with knowledge of the case.
Poggi's former boyfriend Alberto Stasi, 42, is nearing the end of a 16-year sentence handed down in 2015 for the murder.
