Satanism ruled out in Italian society murder

A personal computer may offer clues to a Milanese society murder that has shocked Italy. Ruggero Jucker, 36, an entrepreneur and heir to a catering empire, is in custody for stabbing his 26-year-old girlfriend of two years, Alenja Bortolotto.

There is not much of a puzzle about the chain of events. At 8.30pm last Saturday, Mr Jucker had dinner in a restaurant in central Milan with his father and brother. Two hours later he telephoned his girlfriend and then went to pick her up and take her back to his flat. At 4.40am neighbours heard Ms Bortolotto's screams and saw Mr Jucker at the bathroom window. Minutes later, police found him naked in the street, covered in blood and clutching a kitchen knife. He was reported to be shouting: "I am Osama bin Laden."

Ms Bortolotto was found dead in the flat upstairs, with a wound to the stomach. Mr Jucker has since confessed but his motive remains a mystery. Bewildered friends call him a sweet and kind man. Some reports say he had not been sleeping and had lost weight recently.

Investigators have been conducting drugs tests but they expect them to be inconclusive. They are hoping that notes found in Mr Jucker's flat and clues left on his computer will offer some explanation for his actions.

Early suspicions that the murder might have been part of a Satanist ritual were ruled out yesterday. Mr Jucker and his mother ran a catering empire and had recently opened a soup restaurant in Milan modelled on US-style soup chains. His family came to Milan from Switzerland in the last century and made their fortune in the textiles and property businesses before moving into catering. Ms Bortolotto was also from a well-known family.

Mr Jucker's lawyer said that his client was "more than upset" and had said sorry to Ms Bortolotto's family.