Truck driver who murdered wife with hammer and then used her phone for months afterwards to pretend she was alive has been jailed

A truck driver who murdered his wife with a hammer before using her phone for months to pretend she was alive has been jailed for life.

Francesca Deidda vanished on May 10, 2024, in Sardinia, Italy, with her friends growing increasingly suspicious in the wake of her shock disapperance.

The 42-year-old's husband Igor Sollai, 43, was found to have killed his wife before stuffing her body into a duffel bag and dumping it under a bridge in a remote part of the Italian island, where it lay undiscovered for more than two months. A court in Cagliari heard how Sollai bashed her head with a hammer eight times while she was lying on a sofa at their home.

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The court was told the truck driver then put up that same sofa for sale online just days after and used Deidda's phone to impersonate her. On WhatsApp, he sent cheery messages to her friends and colleagues and emailed a resignation letter to her boss at the call centre where she worked.

He also sold her Toyota Yaris in a bid to gather enough money to flee to his brother's home in the Netherlands, according to investigators.

Deidda's body was finally found on July 18 curled up in the foetal position inside the large duffel bag hidden beneath dense brush near a disused bridge in the countryside outside San Priamo, with the help of police sniffer dogs.

The remote location was only accessible via a dirt track, reinforcing suspicions that the killer had carefully chosen it to avoid discovery. Beside her body, searchers found personal items including a bathrobe, a dental guard, and the remains of a sweatshirt.

Her brother, who had reported her missing weeks earlier, had told investigators Sollai never attempted to search for his missing wife. Although WhatsApp messages continued to arrive from her number, they noticed she had stopped replying with voice notes or answering calls, something highly unusual for her.

Sollai initially told police they were on a break and that he thought she was staying with family. But under questioning, investigators soon discovered that he had been posing as Francesca, messaging friends and relatives.

An autopsy later confirmed that Francesca had been bludgeoned to death with a hammer, though decomposition made the precise time of death harder to determine.

Sollai eventually confessed to the murder in what prosecutors described as an attempt not to show remorse, but to get a more lenient sentence. He was found guilty of aggravated femicide and concealment of a corpse and sentenced to life in prison, with one year in solitary confinement.

He was also ordered to pay €1.4 million (£1.2 million) as compensation to the victim's family. After the verdict, Deidda's brother Andrea said: "I'm satisfied. Of course, nothing will change because my sister is no longer here and won't come back. But in terms of justice, I'm very satisfied - I'm pleased with the work done and with the sentence."

Sollai's defence said the jail sentence was "expected" but they will try to get a decrease in the sum he was ordered to pay.