A 16-year-old Italian girl was tragically killed after being electrocuted in the bath while using her plugged-in phone to chat with a friend.
A quiet town in Italy’s Avellino province is grieving the tragic death of Maria Antonietta Cutillo, a 16-year-old girl who, according to local media outlet Anteprima24, was killed in a heartbreaking accident involving her mobile phone.
“Days pass, months pass but everything has stopped two months ago. We hoped that it was all a bad dream but unfortunately it’s not, so you are always with us, that’s for sure and you are giving us strength to move on. We miss you, love mom and dad,” her father, Giuseppe Cutillo, shared in a heartbreaking June 2023 Facebook post.
Bathtime with charging phone
According to Anteprima24, the high school student was at her parents’ home when she decided to take a bath, bringing her phone with her. With the battery running low, she connected it to a nearby outlet and continued using it while talking to a friend. During the call, the line suddenly went silent. Alarmed, the friend contacted emergency services, fearing something was terribly wrong.
Police say that moments later, her parents rushed to bathroom to face the unbearable sight of their daughter lying lifeless in the bathtub, her phone still clutched in her hands, one of them marked by severe bruising.
Paramedics arrived within minutes, but despite their efforts, nothing could be done to save the teenager – the device had short circuited, and her fate was sealed in an instant.
Died of electric shock
That evening, Maria’s body was transferred to the morgue at Moscati Hospital in Avellino, where an autopsy was performed.
Anteprima24 reports that forensic doctors Carmen Sementa and Alessandro Santurro confirmed that burns on the teenager’s hand clearly pointed to electrocution caused by the device. The report concluded that the phone, connected to its charger, fell into the bathwater and triggered the fatal electric shock.
Town united in grief
In response to Maria’s untimely death, Mayor Angelo Antonio D’Agostino declared a day of mourning to honor the girl and the Cutillo family, who is widely known in the area, especially in nearby Manocalzati, where the father runs a well-established butcher shop.
“This is news we never wanted to hear, news we hoped until the very end wasn’t true. The impact, then, of the bitter, sad, dramatic, and anguished reality,” D’Agostino said of the young girl, who dreamed of becoming a chef.
‘I think it’s a dream’
Her funeral, held at the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, was attended by hundreds. Mourners packed the church and filled the surrounding square in a silent tribute to Maria. Her white coffin, a painful symbol of lost youth, was circled by classmates, teachers, and family members. Many were too overwhelmed to speak, their faces marked by disbelief and sorrow.
Local media reports that at the service, Maria’s best friend, Faby, spoke, saying that she will always remember her most “on the other end of the phone or rather the video call screen.” Struggling to speak through her tears, she said: “Give us the strength to be strong. Every time the phone rings I think it’s a dream and that you’ll wake me up and tell me it was a nightmare, but instead it’s reality.”
‘Vulnerable in the bathroom’
Experts have long warned about the potential risks of mobile devices, or the “inseparable friend” that “could become the mortal enemy.”
According to the Mirror, in 2019, a 13-year-old girl in Amsterdam was electrocuted after her smartphone fell into the bath while it was charging. Her mother rushed to the bathroom after hearing a scream and pulled her from the water before calling emergency services. The teenager survived but was left with amnesia and has no memory of the terrifying moment the phone slipped into the tub.
A similar case in 2017 ended in heartbreak in Ealing, west London, where 32-year-old Richard Bull died after his iPhone charger came into contact with bathwater.
Following that incident, product safety expert Steve Curtler explained that devices like smartphones or laptops pose little risk on their own – but when plugged in and charging, they can become deadly if they touch water.
“Somewhere along the line [the phone] is plugged into the electricity supply and you’re reliant on that cable and a transformer to make sure you don’t get into contact with the main voltage,” Curtler told the Mirror. “You’re wet, which conducts electricity a lot better; you’re in the bath with no clothes on, so skin resistance is less. You’re vulnerable in the bathroom.”
Maria Antonietta’s story, now widely shared across the world, has become more than just a local tragedy – it’s a wake-up call. Parents, educators, and safety advocates are urging families to be cautious and raise awareness among children about how to safely use electronic devices.
Before you share this story with your friends to help raise awareness, please let us know your thoughts on this heartbreaking accident!
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