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A CONVICTED killer allegedly stabbed a hotel co-worker before jumping to his death from the top of Milan Cathedral as horrified tourists watched on.
The man, believed to be Emanuele De Maria, was under a release programme from prison when he launched a frenzied knife attack in the early hours of Saturday.
And just hours later, on Sunday afternoon, he reportedly climbed the terraces of the iconic Duomo di Milano and plunged 40 metres to his death, according to Italian media.
He reportedly fell just after 2pm as horrified onlookers watched in shock.
According to Il Mattino and Ansa, De Maria leapt “without hesitation” from the cathedral’s north walkway and died instantly.
Police identified him by his distinctive tattoos and a photocopy of his ID found in his pocket.
Officers cordoned off the scene as forensic teams examined the body.
Tourists were ushered away and the cathedral terraces were immediately shut down.
De Maria, originally from Naples, had been working at a four-star Hotel Berna in Milan under a work-release programme from Bollate prison.
He had been serving time for murdering a 23-year-old woman in Castel Volturno in 2016.
His shocking death came just a day after he allegedly stabbed coworker Hani Fouad Abdelghaffar Nasr five times outside the hotel around 6.20am on Saturday.
De Maria had been on the run for less than 48 hours after the hotel stabbing, sparking a manhunt involving State Police and Carabinieri.
Meanwhile, officers were also searching for another missing hotel worker, 50-year-old Chamila Wijesuriya, who hadn’t been seen since Friday.
She told her husband she was heading to the gym — but was later captured on CCTV entering the metro with De Maria.
Her phone was found dumped in a bin at a subway stop.
On Sunday, her body was found in a pond in Parco Nord, located in the northern part of the Italian city.
Investigators are working to retrace his final movements and determine the full timeline of events.
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