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Thread: Finnegan Lee Elder (19) & Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth, (19) accused of Killing Deputy Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega

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    Finnegan Lee Elder (19) & Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth, (19) accused of Killing Deputy Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega

    https://abcnews.go.com/International...ry?id=64602848

    Two American teenagers have confessed to fatally stabbing a police officer in Rome on Friday, according to authorities.

    Deputy Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega was allegedly killed by the two American college students shortly after they had stolen a backpack from an Italian man and then tried to extort the victim for "100 euros and 1 gram of cocaine," according to a police statement.

    The Italian man agreed to pay the Americans after reporting the extortion attempt to police. The authorities attempted to arrest the Americans when they showed up for the exchange, but a scuffle broke out and Rega was stabbed and killed, Italian police said.

    Rega worked for the Carabinieri, Italy's paramilitary police corps, in Rome. A spokesman said the officer was dressed in plainclothes at the time of the stabbing.

    (MORE: Amanda Knox returns to Italy for 1st time since her acquittal)
    The two Americans, Finnegan Lee Elder and Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth, both 19, and from San Francisco, were able to escape briefly, but investigators tracked them to their luxury hotel room and managed to detain them as they were planning to leave the country, authorities said.

    "The two, once in the barracks, were questioned by the Carabinieri, under the direction of the magistrates of the Public Prosecutor of Rome, faced with overwhelming evidence, they confessed," the Provincial Command of Rome said in a statement, translated from Italian.

    PHOTO: An Italian Carabiniere, paramilitary policeman, patrols near the site where his colleague, Carabiniere Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega was stabbed to death by a thief in Rome, Friday, July 26, 2019. Angelo Carconi/ANSA Via AP
    An Italian Carabiniere, paramilitary policeman, patrols near the site where his colleague, Carabiniere Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega was stabbed to death by a thief in Rome, Friday, July 26, 2019.more +
    Police said they searched the Americans' hotel room, and a knife "of considerable size" was found hidden in the ceiling along with the clothes believed to have been worn during the stabbing. Authorities said they captured the crimes on surveillance video.

    A decree of detention has been issued for the U.S. citizens for aggravated murder and attempted extortion, the Carabinieiri said.

    (MORE: EU court reaffirms their ruling that Amanda Knox's defense rights were violated)
    The two are being held at the Regina Coeli district jail in Rome.

    The pair were allegedly trying to buy drugs just before the stabbing, but were sold a fake substance, a spokesman from the Carabinieri's press office told ABC News. Authorities believe the man they stole the bag from was not involved in the drug deal, but may have told the Americans where they could purchase drugs before he was robbed of his bag, the spokesman said.

    PHOTO: A car of the Italian Carabinieri, paramilitary police, is parked near a blood stain, the site where Carabiniere Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega was stabbed to death by a thief in Rome, Friday, July 26, 2019. Angelo Carconi/ANSA Via AP
    A car of the Italian Carabinieri, paramilitary police, is parked near a blood stain, the site where Carabiniere Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega was stabbed to death by a thief in Rome, Friday, July 26, 2019.more +
    Early reports by Italian media that the Americans went to John Cabot University are not true, a school spokesperson told ABC News.

    Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini posted a photo of Rega from his wedding last June on his Twitter account.

    Salvini had said before the official announcement of the teens' arrests and confessions that they would make the culprits "pay dearly," according to The Associated Press.

    ABC News' Kirit Radia contributed to this report.

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    https://patch.com/california/san-fra...er-italian-cop

    Two Americans from San Francisco have been arrested in connection with the murder of an Italian police officer in Rome, according to a news report from CNN.

    Italy's Carabinieri police force told CNN that the two 19-year-olds were arrested for "aggravated murder and attempted extortion." The officer, identified as Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, died after being stabbed eight times in the early morning hours of Friday, according to a statement from the Carabinieri.

    According to the CNN report, the two men had stolen a backpack from an Italian citizen and said they would return it for 100 euros and one gram of cocaine. The Italian contacted police and cops showed up to retrieve the backpack but when they identified themselves as officers, one of the men stabbed Rega, the report says.

    The men were identified by the Carabinieri as Christian Gabriel Natale Hjorth and Elder Finnegan Lee, CNN reports.

    Only one of them is accused of stabbing Rega but both men admitted to police to taking part in the altercation, according to the report.

    Rega was newly married and had celebrated his birthday just two weeks ago.

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    Wait. So their defense is "Oops, we thought we were stabbing a drug dealer?!"
    You are talking to a woman who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom and chuckled at catastrophe.
    ...Collector of Chairs. Reader of Books. Hater of Nutmeg...

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    Senior Member KimTisha's Avatar
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    Yeah, I don't see them getting out of this one.
    You are talking to a woman who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom and chuckled at catastrophe.
    ...Collector of Chairs. Reader of Books. Hater of Nutmeg...

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    More at link
    https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/...rial-in-italy/

    ROME (AP) — A jury in Rome on Wednesday began deliberating the fates of two young American men who are charged with killing an Italian police officer near the hotel where they were staying while on summer vacation in 2019.

    Finnegan Lee Elder, 21, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 20, were indicted on charges of homicide, attempted extortion, assault, resisting a public official and carrying an attack-style knife without just cause. They face possible life in prison, Italy’s maximum sentence.

    Judge Marina Finiti indicated the verdicts could come later Wednesday or on Thursday.

    Prosecutors alleged that Elder stabbed Vice Bridgadier Mario Cerciello Rega 11 times with a knife he brought with him on his trip to Europe from California and that Natale-Hjorth helped him hide the knife in their hotel room.
    Last edited by puzzld; 05-05-2021 at 10:38 AM. Reason: tldr

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