A 45-year-old Albanian man in Italy attempted to kill his wife by driving her car into the harbor. The plan failed at the last moment and he was arrested for attempted murder.
The incident took place on the evening of August 19, 2026, at around 4:00 p.m., in the port of Cattolica (province of Rimini). Ismail Picari, 45-46 years old, of Albanian origin and resident of San Giovanni in Marignano, sat in a Volkswagen Golf with his wife (around 40-44 years old, also of Albanian origin). According to the reconstruction of the carabinieri and the wife's statements, he had proposed to her to go shopping. She accepted, although the request seemed strange to her.
After arriving at the port area, Picari pressed the gas with force, drove the car towards the shore, hit a pole and threw the vehicle into the water, where the depth was about 3 meters. The car began to sink. He got out of the cabin first. The woman, who did not know how to swim, remained inside. She said that in the water she felt his hands on her neck, before he left.
Two people (fishermen and passersby) who were there immediately jumped into the sea. They helped the woman out of the back window of the car and pulled her to shore with the help of a rope. She was taken to the hospital in a state of shock, but her life was out of danger.
Meanwhile, Picari fled the scene as soon as he received first aid, escaping between the rocks. The Carabinieri searched for him for hours. In the evening they found him near a wooded area, not far from his apartment, and arrested him. Deputy prosecutor Luca Bertuzzi has ordered a detention for attempted murder (tentato omicidio / tentato femminicidio).
This was not the first incident. Just a day or two earlier, Picari had been arrested after a heated argument with his wife at home and for resisting authorities, but was released. According to some reports, there had been previous tensions between the couple.
Italian authorities have classified the act as intentional. He did not jump the car “in panic” after a simple argument: he planned it, pulled the woman under pretext, drove her quickly towards the water and tried to get away, leaving her, who could not swim, behind. Only the quick intervention of passers-by and his failure to escape ultimately saved the woman and led him to handcuffs.
The car has been pulled from the water. Picari is currently in prison, at the disposal of Italian justice.
