Riccardo Campogiani (8 October 1990 – 7 October 2007) was a Swedish teenager of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent, who was beaten to death at a party in central

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden.

Death

Campogiani died at the hospital from severe injuries sustained after multiple kicks to the head. He was 16 at the time of death on 7 October 2007. The death sparked a media sensation as five other teenagers Campogiani's age were found guilty of manslaughter – the five received different sentences, but because of their young age (all under the age of 18) none could be sentenced to prison. One of the five was acquitted and released. The Campogiani case was special as it involved youth from upper-class areas of Stockholm, with both the victim and the defendants coming from families of wealthy backgrounds.

Reactions and manifestations

The murder became world news when Anton Abele received an award at the

2007 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards were held at the Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany on 1 November 2007. The show received a total of 78 million votes, the most in MTV Europe Music Awards history. Foo Fighters opened the show, with frontman Dave Gro ...

, as a result of his work against street violence following Campogiani's death. Campogiani's death became headline news in Sweden with a number of celebrities speaking out against teenage violence in Sweden. Abele created a Swedish

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group called "Bevara oss från gatuvåldet” (Save us from street violence). In one week, the group grew to having more than 100,000 members. In addition, on 12 October 2007, Anton Abele arranged the demonstration “Stop street violence” with more than 10,000 young people and adults participating in Stockholm. Simultaneous with the massive demonstration in Stockholm, anti-violence demonstrations were also held in other major cities in the Nordic region.

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

and

Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Västergötland (Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée; born 14 July 1977) is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne, as the eldest child of King Carl XVI Gustaf. If she ascends to the throne as expec ...

both paid tribute to Riccardo Campogiani and the work of Abele. The crown princess also attended a memorial service for Campogiani. The Campogiani family had close ties with the Swedish royal family and other high-class society people in Stockholm. Campogiani was also a good friend of electronic producer

Alesso Alessandro Renato Rodolfo Lindblad (born 7 July 1991), better known by his stage name Alesso (), is a Swedish DJ and record producer. He has worked with numerous artists, including Tove Lo, Theo Hutchcraft, Ryan Tedder, Hailee Steinfeld, Ca ...

, his death pushing the latter to succeed in the music industry. The murder was referenced halfway through the music video for his song .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campogiani, Riccardo 1990 births 2007 deaths Murder in Sweden People murdered in Sweden Swedish murder victims Deaths by beating in Europe Swedish people of Italian descent