The women tell their story in Italian media. The homophobic father of 23-year-old Immacolata is said to have taken them for a coffee in the evening, only to threaten her and her girlfriend Francesca with a knife. "I am prepared to serve thirty years in prison," the father is said to have said, public broadcaster RAI reports. "Do you want to die together?"
The father chased the two girls until early in the morning. In the end, the two managed to get home safely with the help of the police. There they packed their bags and left for southern Crotone. They filed a complaint there. Francesca and Immacolata had just moved from that city to Salerno.
The father denies assaulting them, but the two women say they have evidence. They had to be treated in hospital for minor injuries.
The incident caused outrage in local politics. For example, councillor Francesco Borrelli tweeted that it is "absurd" that people "will have to risk their lives in 2022 because of their sexual orientation".