A TRIBUTE was read out in court on behalf of a murder victim’s mother after her killer was given a life sentence.

Antonella Castelvedere, 52, was stabbed to death by Ertan Ersoy in the kitchen of the couple’s family home in June last year.

According to the Italian publication L’Unione Sarda, Dr Castelvedere’s family held a cremation service near the village of Bagnolo Mella, a village in the Brescia region, later the same month.

At Friday’s sentencing, Judge Christopher Morgan read out a tribute on behalf of Meena Castelvedere.

It read: “On May 31, Antonella sent a screenshot of an email showing Ersoy had applied for divorce.

“I sent four messages to her and asked her to contact me – when I didn’t receive feedback, I spoke to our friend, and I told her I was worried and asked her to check on her.

“When she went to check, she found the police at the home.

“Later, I was told she was dead.

“In one of my last text messages, I mentioned my heart was in pieces – I didn’t know that at that very moment, my daughter was being murdered.

“Truth and justice remain important for those who remain, even though I will never be able to hear her voice or hug her.”