The Heroic Sacrifice of Anatolij Korol: A Tale of Bravery and Justice

In 2015, he attempted to thwart a robbery and lost his life, killed while with his 18-month-old daughter. Carabinieri and the Construction Fund of the Province of Naples celebrate the heroic act of Anatolij Korol, awarded by President Mattarella with a medal. It was August 29, 2015, and in Castello di Cisterna around 7:30 p.m., two criminals, both with their faces completely covered with helmets and black masks, arrived at a supermarket on Via Selva aboard a scooter. While the driver waited outside the shopping center, the passenger made an immediate incursion inside the market heading towards the cash registers. At that moment, Anatolij Korol, a 38-year-old Ukrainian mason who was outside the store, having just finished shopping with his little daughter of 18 months, perceiving the intentions of the two criminals, left the cart with the child and tried to stop the scooter's driver. He grabbed him by the strap of a bag he was carrying over his shoulder, but the latter managed to wriggle free, leaving the bag behind and also rushing into the supermarket. Anatolij followed the two criminals inside the store and, after a vigorous, prolonged struggle with the armed robber, managed to immobilize him on the ground. During the struggle between the two, the other criminal realized the impossibility of his accomplice freeing himself from Anatolij's grip and intervened. First hitting the 38-year-old with violent punches, then attacking his head with a pen used as a dagger and, finally, seizing the weapon wielded by the other robber, firing two shots that hit the unfortunate man in the hemithorax and left thigh, causing his death. Anatolij Korol thus left behind his wife Nadiya and daughters Anastasiya (at the time 14 years old) and Lisa (just 18 months old). The pressing investigative activity allowed the arrest, on September 5, 2015, for murder, aggravated robbery, and illegal carrying of weapons, of the two robbers who had hidden in Scalea, in the province of Cosenza. During the operations, two other people who had provided refuge to the two suspects were also reported. The completion of the investigative activity of the provincial command of Naples then allowed the identification and arrest, in October 2015, of the other two accomplices of the robbery, deemed responsible for having carried out the preliminary reconnaissance of the criminal action aimed at acquiring information on the amount of the takings and for having provided the weapon and the motorcycle used in the crime. Following the first-degree trial, the first three were sentenced to 20 years in prison, while the fourth to 3 years and 4 months in prison. On October 2, 2015, at the Quirinale, the President of the Republic, on the proposal of the Minister of the Interior, delivered to the family of Anatolij Korol the Gold Medal for Civil Valor in memory. This gesture is intended as a sign of recognition and gratitude for the sacrifice of a man who gave his life to defend the values of justice and solidarity. The donation delivery was a moment of great significance and unity in sharing the pain and affirming the values of solidarity and justice. Anatolij's wife, Nadiya, wanted to release this statement: "The memory of my dear husband is kept alive thanks to the deep love that united us, and finds continuity in our daughters. His gesture of great courage is still remembered with gratitude by the carabinieri, who turn it into tangible support thanks to their assistance and protection. The support my family receives from the Carabinieri and the Construction Fund of Naples is invaluable to me. I wish to express my deep gratitude to the leaders of these institutions, including General Antonio De Vita, President Rodolfo Girardi, Vice President Dr. Valerio Medici, and General Enrico Scandone."