The beauty queen, who was doused with acid by her ex-fiance, showed a disfigured face
Former Miss Italy Jessica Notaro was sprayed with acid on her face in January 2017. According to her, it was done by her former lover, bodyguard Georges Tavares. The girl spent two months in the hospital in a solitary ward, she will have to wait a year until the wounds heal and plastic surgery can be done. Tavares is under arrest and awaiting trial, he denies his guilt. A few days ago, Notaro came to a TV show to talk about the incident.
(16 photos in total)
Before the injury, 28-year-old Jessica Notaro was a TV presenter, built a career as a singer and recorded an album.
In 2007, she won the Miss Italy beauty pageant.
In January 2017, a woman was doused with acid by her former lover Georges Edson Tavares, a native of Cape Verde in West Africa. He ambushed Notaro at the window of her house.
Notaro was taken to the Rimini hospital with severe burns. The woman's life was safe, but she was in danger of losing her sight.
Tavares and Notaro met three years ago when they were working at the dolphinarium in Rimini. According to the girl, before the breakup, he was an exemplary guy, but in August 2016, when Jessica decided to end the engagement, he began to pursue her and even faked suicide.
Jessica Notaro
Notaro did not start a new relationship, fearing for her safety.
Jessica Notaro
Shortly before the attack, the local justice authorities banned Tavares from approaching his ex-girlfriend. Notaro has repeatedly contacted the police, reporting threats from her ex-boyfriend.
Jessica appeared on the Italian program Maurizio Costanzo Show to tell her story and warn all the girls about what happened to her. At first, the model covered her face with a handkerchief, but then decided to show it to the audience.
Now Notaro is taking painkillers and wearing a mask, she can't go out in the sun. Medicines, eye drops and ointments cost $600 per month. In the hospital, she communicated with guests only through glass, only her mother was allowed into the ward after disinfection.
I have to spend all my money on treatment: I need to instill my eyes every half hour and moisturize my skin all the time. I can't do my job because I'm not allowed in the water. Even when I get better, the scars inside will remain, and this is for life. I will always be afraid to get out of the car, go home: I will relive this scene again and again."
Jessica Notaro
Notaro received threats from her ex-boyfriend to pour acid on her and was preparing for this to happen. Her colleague at the dolphinarium uses acids to clean filters, and Notaro asked what she should do in case of an attack: wash her face or not. The colleague replied that in her place he would not use water: there is an acid that, when combined with water, corrodes the skin. The former model even thought of buying a helmet in the car so as not to be afraid to walk home from the parking lot.
In the end, Jessica went to the police and provided employees with evidence of threats, including WhatsApp messages, but they simply told Tavares to stay away from his ex-girlfriend.
On January 10, the man fulfilled his threat.
Jessica Notaro
After the attack, Jessica prayed to preserve her eyesight: "I thought, OK, take my beauty, take anything, but please leave my eyes."
Unlike other acid victims, Notaro wasn't afraid to look at her wounds.
"Very soon I wanted to look in the mirror. At first they showed me the photos, but then I decided that I wanted to see my reflection. At first, the face was dark and in wounds, one side dark brown and the other green. It shocked me a little, but then I decided to focus on the eyes — they say it's a mirror of the soul. I looked into my eyes, recognized myself and said: "Okay, it's still me.""
Jessica Notaro
Jessica claims that she does not want to take revenge on the criminal: "The only thing I really would like is for him to see me and see what he did."
Keywords: Lovers | Italy | Acid | Beauty queen | Beauty | Models | Assault | Crime | Jealousy