Francesca Street, CNN • Updated 27th April 2021
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(CNN) It was a summer s day in Byron Bay, Australia in early 2003. The sun was shining and Gianna Mazzeo, who d been basking in its rays for most of the day, decided to freshen up with a swim.
As she was coming out of the ocean, Gianna noticed a group of men playing soccer further up the beach, calling to one another as they kicked a ball back and forth on the sand.
Gianna, then 27, is Australian but her parents are from Italy, so she d spent a lot of time traveling around the EU. She figured the group were from somewhere in Europe, but she couldn t place the language.