Nahomi Valentina Cittadini, 22, died from blunt force injuries after being struck by a car on the freeway, but the true story was more sinister than anyone could imagine.
When police found her lifeless, naked body on the side of 1-95 in Miami on the morning of Dec. 7, signs pointed to more than a tragic hit-and-run, but it would take three long months before an arrest.
Her boyfriend, Lorent Pion, is now facing second-degree murder charges for hurling her into oncoming traffic.
Workers from the Florida Department of Transportation witnessed the horrific assault in real time via traffic cameras, police say.
According to Pion’s arrest warrant obtained by local station WPLG, the 29-year-old is accused of stopping his SUV near an entrance ramp and “forcefully beating her and dragging her” on the side of the road following an argument.
Cittadini desperately tried to crawl to safety, but police say Pion pulled her onto the highway and shoved her directly into an oncoming car. “One individual was on the ground fending off the attacker who was standing over her, throwing punches,” a dispatcher told investigators, according to the police report.
When the passing car struck Cittadini, she was flung onto the shoulder of the highway. Pion allegedly attempted “to load” her body onto his SUV before giving up and dragging her into a grassy median that was outside of plain view.
Her body may have never been discovered that day if it weren’t for a diligent FDOT worker.
Surveillance footage showed Miami-Dade Fire Rescue stopping near Pion’s SUV after the attack, but according to the Miami Herald, the glare of the truck’s lights obscured the video.
It was clear, however, that first responders drove away without treating anyone, and both Pion and the sedan that struck her also left the scene soon after.
About an hour later, an FDOT worker inspected the area via video more carefully “out of curiosity” and discovered a trail of bloodstains on the road that led to Cittadini’s body lying face-down and unclothed in the grass. The FDOT alerted the Florida Highway Patrol to the finding.
After the gruesome discovery, police quickly caught up to Pion at a Miramar apartment complex thanks to his ankle monitor — Pion was already under house arrest for a previous domestic violence case involving his girlfriend. But questioning him proved more difficult than expected. He fled in a black BMW and led police on a wild car chase.
After crashing into multiple vehicles, he attempted to escape on foot but was eventually caught and taken to a hospital for treatment, per the arrest warrant.
Police found bloodstains in the BMW, including on the hood, side-step bar, and rear wheel, and eventually found blood inside the car after obtaining a search warrant, reported the Miami Herald.
Despite this, Pion was charged with aggravated fleeing and failure to stop at the scene of an accident, but not for murder — until now.
After his arrest in December “as a person of interest,” he was held at the Broward County Jail, and is expected to be transferred soon to Miami-Dade County, where the murder took place.
Last month Pion wrote a letter to the judge pleading for his charges to be dropped. “I am innocent,” he wrote. “I didn’t kill my girl. It was a car accident and the car that hit her ran away and nobody is looking for!!!”
In a tragic twist, just months before the alleged murder, Pion was charged with battery and ordered to stay away from Cittadini after a similar attack was caught on bodycam video.
Footage obtained by WPLG shows him pummeling Nahomi and throwing her to the ground in the middle of a Miami Beach street in August 2024. When questioned by an officer, the couple insisted nothing was wrong. “Nobody’s fighting,” she reportedly said.
Known as Lulu by friends and family, she was described as a “loving, bright, outgoing silly girl,” in a GoFundMe set up to help with funeral expenses. “Anybody who knew her, knew how she would always light up any room she’ll enter. She was highly loved by everyone around her,” it read.
