The search for two missing sisters in Italy’s rugged Abruzzo region has entered its second week with no sign of the teenagers, as prosecutors open an abduction inquiry and their mother issues a desperate public appeal. Alisya Di Giacinto, 16, and her 12-year-old sister Sarah slipped away from a care home in the mountain village of Civitella Alfedena overnight on 6 April, possibly through a side window. Investigators fear the pair may have been persuaded or assisted by an unknown third party; the elder girl’s boyfriend has been questioned but offered no significant leads. From Rome, the case has drawn intense media scrutiny, with experts noting the vulnerability of minors in institutional care.

Some 600 kilometres north, in the lakeside town of Brezzo di Bedero, Lombardy, the body of Maria da Conceição Serra Santos, a 51-year-old Brazilian caregiver, was discovered by her son on 6 April. Italian police are treating the death as a homicide and have collected biological traces and genetic material, while an autopsy has been ordered. The timing coincides unsettlingly with the sisters’ disappearance, although no link is suggested. Analysts in Milan observe that violent crime against women remains a persistent concern across Italy, prompting calls for strengthened protective measures.

Across the globe, Indonesian authorities in Central Java are investigating the deaths of two women found in a house in Patikraja, Banyumas. Police responding to an early-morning report on 12 April encountered what local media described as a grisly scene, though officials have yet to determine the cause of death. Forensic teams are processing the scene, and investigators have not ruled out foul play. Viewed from Jakarta, the case adds to a troubling pattern of unreported violence, as activists push for greater accountability in rural areas.

In Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia, a 59-year-old woman, Clarice Teles dos Santos, was found dead beneath a wardrobe in her home in Irecê. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition when discovered on 11 April. Police say there were no signs of violence and the initial theory is that the furniture toppled accidentally. Yet the necessity of a full examination underscores how even seemingly straightforward domestic deaths can mask darker truths, a reality familiar to forensic experts worldwide. As these disparate investigations unfold, they highlight the enduring vulnerability of women across societies and the painstaking work required to deliver justice.