Nicolae Romulus Mailat, the migrant who is suspected of killing Italian citizen Giovanna Reggiani in a case that sparked a huge outcry against Romanian migrants in Italy, told his Italian lawyer that he was sorry for what happened and that he only robbed the woman and did not aggressed her, ANSA news agency reports.

Mailat confessed to lawyer Piero Piccinini who visited him at the Reginal Coeli prison where he is held together with other convicted criminals.

Nicolae Romulus Mailat was arrested for killing Giovanna Reggiani after a woman from the baracks he was living in called the police.

His family has returned to Romania afraid for being abused by Italian radicals, romanian news channel Realitatea Tv informs. Family members said that they would return to Italy as soon as the ongoing scandal subsides.