A 29-year-old Italian model and reality television star was found dead in her Milan apartment on the evening of Tuesday, October 14, 2025, after neighbors heard screams and desperate pleas for help coming from inside her residence. Pamela Genini was allegedly stabbed 24 times by her former partner, 52-year-old businessman Gianluca Soncin, in what prosecutors are calling a premeditated attack aggravated by stalking and femicide.
Neighbors in the Gorla neighborhood of Milan reported hearing Genini screaming for help around 10 p.m. that evening. Some witnesses attempted to break into the apartment to rescue her, while others called the police. A neighbor on a nearby balcony witnessed portions of the attack from an adjacent building and shouted to arriving officers to alert them to the emergency unfolding inside the apartment.
Genini was on the phone with another former romantic partner when she discovered Soncin inside her property. He had allegedly used a copy of her apartment key that he had made in the weeks leading up to the attack. Upon hearing her reaction to finding Soncin in her home, the second ex-boyfriend immediately dialed emergency services.
When police arrived and rang the intercom, Genini answered, saying, “It’s Glovo,” in an apparent attempt to pretend it was a food delivery service. The confrontation between Genini and Soncin had escalated into a violent argument. According to prosecutors, Soncin dragged Genini onto the balcony, where neighbors witnessed him attacking her. By the time officers and firefighters broke down the apartment door, Genini had already sustained fatal injuries.
Milan prosecutor Alessia Menegazzo stated that Genini suffered wounds to the neck, back, chest, upper limbs, and hands from 24 stab wounds. She died at the scene before medical help could reach her. Upon seeing authorities enter the apartment, Soncin allegedly turned the knife on himself and slashed his own throat twice in an apparent suicide attempt.
Soncin was transported to Milan’s Niguarda hospital, where he was stabilized and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. He remains under police supervision at the hospital and now faces charges of murder aggravated by stalking, premeditation, and femicide. In Italy, femicide refers to the killing of a woman due to gender-based motives or domestic violence and is prosecuted as an aggravated form of homicide. The suspect has exercised his right to silence and has not provided a statement to authorities.
The second former romantic partner told authorities that the relationship between Genini and Soncin had deteriorated before the incident. Italian news agency ANSA reported that while the pair were still involved, Genini had been planning to leave him. The couple had dated for more than a year before her death. According to prosecutors, evidence and testimonies from people who knew the model indicated that Soncin had been stalking her. There were also accusations that she had suffered physical abuse and threats from him.
Originally from Strozza, a small village in the Imagna Valley of the Bergamo Prealps, Genini had been living in Milan for several years. She had established herself in multiple business ventures, modeling in high-fashion campaigns throughout Milan and cofounding the swimwear brand SheLux with her friend Elisa Bartolotti. The Made-in-Italy beachwear brand reflected her passion for fashion and the sea. She also ran a luxury real estate business in the city.
Genini had begun her modeling career at age eight with her first photo books and turned professional at 16 with her mother’s support. In an interview, she shared her philosophy that photography should be simple, natural, and spontaneous, and that her cheerfulness should emerge in her work. Her social media accounts showcased a glamorous lifestyle, featuring posts from Monte Carlo, Milan, Dubai, and vacation destinations including Venice, Paris, Portofino, the Dolomites, and Positano. She was often photographed with her pet chihuahua, Bianca.
At age 19, Genini appeared on the Italian reality dating show “L’isola di Adamo ed Eva Italia” (The Island of Adam and Eve) on Deejay TV, hosted by Vladimir Luxuria. The controversial program required contestants to meet naked on a desert island. Following news of Genini’s death, Luxuria remembered her as a contestant with a pure soul. The show had previously been touched by tragedy in 2021 when another former contestant, Polina Kochelenko, was found dead after reportedly drowning in a canal while attempting to save one of her dogs.
Soncin, described as a wealthy and well-connected Italian businessman, had previously been arrested by Palermo’s financial police in 2010 in connection with an operation that dismantled a ring accused of selling hundreds of luxury cars at artificially low prices and evading taxes through false invoices. It remains unclear whether he was convicted of fraud in that case.
