Giacomo Puccini refuting the allegations made against her. Elvira Puccini was prosecuted for slander, and was sentenced to more than five months in prison, although a payment to the Manfredi family by Puccini spared Elvira from having to serve the sentence. Some music critics and interpreters of Puccini's work have speculated that the psychological effects of this incident on Puccini interfered with his ability to complete compositions later in his career, and also influenced the development of his characters such as Liù (from "Turandot"), a slave girl who dies tragically by suicide. According to documents found in the possession of a descendant
Simonetta Puccini started in 1980, Simonetta was proven to be Antonio's daughter and was assigned one-third of her grandfather's (now greatly diminished) estate, which included his villa in Torre del Lago, and took his name. The remainder of the estate remained in possession of its original heirs, who were not related to the Puccini family. Another claimed heir, Nadia Manfredi, believed her father Antonio to be Puccini's illegitimate son, but her case was not proven, and was opposed by Simonetta. After taking ownership of the villa, she established a non-profit "Friends of the Homes of Giacomo Puccini" to restore and maintain it.