This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
On July 26, 2019, a tragic incident occurred in Rome, Italy, that would change the lives of two American students forever. Finnegan Lee Elder, 20, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 18, were arrested and charged with the murder of Italian police officer Mario Cerciello Rega.
According to eyewitness accounts, Elder and Natale-Hjorth were approached by Cerciello Rega and his colleague, Andrea Varriale, in plain clothes. The Americans claimed they were attacked by the policemen, who they believed were dangerous drug dealers. However, Cerciello Rega was actually a police officer who had been working undercover to combat drug trafficking in the area.
Elder has admitted to stabbing Cerciello Rega several times with an eight-inch combat knife, but insists he did not know he was a cop. The San Francisco native claims Cerciello Rega attacked him from behind, while Varriale wrestled with Natale-Hjorth.
The two Americans face life sentences if found guilty of knowingly killing a police officer. The case has sparked widespread outrage in Italy, with many calling for harsh punishment for the perpetrators.
"He was an exemplary man, the best," Cerciello's brother Paolo told ANSA news agency in a rare interview. "My father died 11 years ago and he (Mario) took his place. He loved his job, the police, his family, and helping people."
"He was an exemplary man, the best," Cerciello's brother Paolo told ANSA news agency in a rare interview. "My father died 11 years ago and he (Mario) took his place. He loved his job, the police, his family, and helping people." Natale-Hjorth initially told investigators he had not been involved, but his fingerprints were found on a ceiling panel in the hotel room where the students had hidden the knife. Under Italian law, anyone who participates even indirectly in a murder can face homicide charges. The defence has raised questions about the credibility of Varriale's testimony, citing lies he told in the immediate aftermath of the stabbing. Varriale admitted to taking a photograph of Natale-Hjorth being illegally blindfolded and handcuffed at the Rome barracks, and later confessed to conspiring with a superior officer to lie about his gun. The Americans had earlier that night stolen the bag of a man who had introduced them to a drug dealer, and they claim it was revenge for the dealer having tried to rip them off. However, what they did not know was that the dealer was also a police informant.
