Two U.S. teens arrested in murder of Italian military police officer

[rooster59]

Two U.S. teens arrested in murder of Italian military police officer

 

 

ROME (Reuters) - Two American teens were arrested on Saturday in Rome accused of the stabbing murder of an Italian military police officer in a crime that has shaken Italy, law enforcement officials said.

 

Judicial sources named the students as Finnegan Lee Elder, 19, and Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth, 18, both from San Francisco. They face charges of murder and attempted extortion.

 

Mario Cerciello Rega, a 35-year-old officer with Italy's Carabinieri military police, was repeatedly stabbed early on Friday while trying to arrest two people suspected of stealing a backpack. Another officer was injured in the incident.

 

The New York Times, citing a statement from the Carabinieri, said the pair were taken into custody at a four-star hotel in the Prati neighbourhood of Rome and confessed to the crime during interrogation.

 

An Italian lawyer for Elder, Francesco Codini, told the Times that the two men had asserted their right to remain silent during a court hearing in Rome on Saturday afternoon.

 

Codini declined to confirm or deny that his client had confessed, but the Times quoted him as saying Elder was "not well" and did not speak Italian.

 

Initial media reports had suggested the assailants were from North Africa.

 

Police released video showing two men following another person in the Trastevere district of Rome. The person being followed accused the two men of later stealing his bag, containing his phone and a small amount of cash, police said.

 

The owner called his own phone and one of the thieves offered to sell the bag back to him, agreeing to meet in a nearby neighbourhood. The owner then alerted the police, who approached the suspects.

 

One of the two men pulled a knife and stabbed Rega, who was in civilian clothes and had married less than two months ago. He died almost immediately.

 

Police murders are rare in Italy and politicians of all parties expressed their horror and outrage.

 

(Reporting by Francesca Landini in Milan and Domenico Lusi in Rome; Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Clelia Oziel and Sonya Hepinstall)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-07-28

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[zydeco]

Piano wire needed for these two.

[timendres]

5 hours ago, zydeco said:

Piano wire needed for these two.

Agreed.

[balo]

They look like normal teenagers to me, probably think life is just a computer game. 

Well time to grow up and face reality. Inside a prison cell.  

 

[Joe Mcseismic]

Excessive violence.........as American as baseball, hot-dogs and apple pie

[Basil B]

14 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Codini declined to confirm or deny that his client had confessed, but the Times quoted him as saying Elder was "not well" and did not speak Italian.

Probably as sick a parrot, but on the bright side he will have plenty of time to learn Italian.

[Cereal]

Two young guys facing serious time in prison. They won't be as lucky as Amanda Knox, who I think was guilty as hell.

[howbri]

From San Fran. Maybe Pelosi's sons?

[HLover]

23 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Initial media reports had suggested the assailants were from North Africa.

Meh, North Africa/North America... the urban ghettos in the United States are the worse of the two.

[Jingthing]

Two young guys facing serious time in prison. They won't be as lucky as Amanda Knox, who I think was guilty as hell.

I don't. But I agree these boys are toast. Or bruschetta if you like. One way ticket!  

That said only one wielded the knife. So maybe the other one has a defense angle.

 

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[saminoz]

1 hour ago, howbri said:

From San Fran. Maybe Pelosi's sons?

I'm sorry, but that was a ridiculous, uneccessary comment.

Very stupid. Grow up.

[wisperone]

Idiots. They will get what's coming to them. Stay away from drugs kids.

[wisperone]

2 hours ago, Cereal said:

Two young guys facing serious time in prison. They won't be as lucky as Amanda Knox, who I think was guilty as hell.

I don't think so. It was pretty apparent the prosecutor was corrupt, and suffered many legal failures and needed to try and regain some credibility, and was doing whatever he could to get a guilty finding and he hoped that Knox was his ticket.  Didn't work.

 

Just reiterates the fact, do not get in trouble in a foreign country.

Edited July 29, 2019 by wisperone