Woman found dead in Lake Ceresio had posted Zali phone recordings

A 52-year-old woman living in the Lugano area was found dead on Tuesday afternoon in the waters of Lake Ceresio, at Melide, a few metres from the shore. The alarm was raised shortly after 5.30pm.

Several people nearby helped her and brought her to shore. Cantonal police officers began resuscitation efforts, which were continued by paramedics from the Lugano Red Cross. The death could not be prevented. The Lugano city police and the Ceresio Sud police also responded to the scene.

According to initial information, the cause of death was drowning. Authorities currently rule out third-party involvement. The investigation is being led by public prosecutor Roberto Ruggeri and is proceeding with the utmost discretion. An autopsy will determine the exact cause of death.

The link to the Zali case

The woman is the same person who, in recent weeks, had posted on social media recordings of phone calls with then state councillor Claudio Zali. The audio recordings, shared on an Instagram profile since deleted, had contributed to Zali's resignation from the Ticino cantonal government, announced on 29 July.

In the recordings, a man identified as Zali advised a woman to beat another woman, claiming he had done so himself in the past. In his resignation letter, Zali did not deny the authenticity of the recordings but gave his own version of events: he said he had only pushed the woman away from his property, almost ten years earlier, without hitting her. The former state councillor is also under investigation for abuse of authority and coercion, in connection with an alleged intervention concerning the situation of the 14-year-old son of an acquaintance.

The woman's death comes about three weeks after the affair that shook Ticino politics. It is also the third drowning recorded in Ticino in two days, following deaths in Magliaso and at the mouth of the Maggia river.