North East Sicilian couple's families speak of heartbreak

Francesca Di Dio and Antonino Calabro, known as Nino, were brutally slain days before Christmas when they were attacked in their bed.

Cardinale battered Nino with a sledgehammer then stabbed him to death before chasing down a terrified Francesca as she attempted to flee her attacker.

Cardinale and Nino had moved to the North East after training together as casino croupiers and ended up working together in Stockton.

The grim details of the couple’s death were revealed at Teesside Crown Court when Cardinale was sentenced for their killings after statements from their family were read out.

Francesca Di Dio (Image: Family handout)

Anna Nosi, the mother of Francesca Di Dio, said: “The death of my daughter Francesca has completely overturned and destroyed my life, that of my daughter Veronica and my ex-husband, Giuseppe.

“Since her death we can no longer find inner peace or comprehend what happened. We no longer sleep at night because our thoughts are all about our daughter. I often go to the cemetery and talk to my daughter looking at the small picture on the tombstone hoping for her to answer. Besides us, their grandparents, all our relatives and all her friends also miss her daily and do not have an explanation for what happened.

“The entire community of our hometown as well as the community of Antonino’s hometown has been stunned by what happened to Francesca and her fiancé and to this day, we still receive moral support from so many people.

“We are completely exhausted; our every thought is of our beloved Francesca who is sorely missed and whose presence will never be filled and replaced by anyone. This terrible bereavement has caused such a lack of hope in us that psychologically we feel devastated and lost.

“We all hope to find comfort in prayer that will help us get through this time of immense grief from which I hope to recover for the sake of our family since a part of me died on the same day that Francesca died.”

Antonino Calabro (Image: Family handout)

While Salvatore Calabro, the father of Nino, added: “I and my family; my wife Salvina and daughter Alessandra, want to, first of all, thank the British people for the great moral and psychological support that we have received during this terrible time.

“My son Nino leaves behind many people to whom he was very close to in the UK; work colleagues, friends, and many beautiful people who we also got to know. As a father, I constantly have the feeling that my heart, in my chest, is slowing its pace, perhaps it is the famous 'heartbreak'. My wife Salvina and daughter Alessandra also tell me that they feel the same.

“For parents, a child is an extension of life, for a sister, a shoulder to lean on and a person to ask for help, but unfortunately this has been denied us. Not having Nino with us anymore, after having cuddled, helped, and supported him for 26 years is not easy to overcome, but with a lot of willpower and with the help of our Lord we have to face the future as serenely as possible.

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“My wife and I have returned to work, but I am struggling because our daily routine often takes us back to the time when we still had our boy. The evenings are very trying because that was when Nino would video-call us and often now we go to sleep, for many hours, the good times we had with our son flashing before us.”

Cardinale admitted killing the couple when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility.

He was detained in a high security mental health unit.