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Rome jury convicts 2 American men to life in prison in slaying of police officer

Rome jury convicts 2 American men to life in prison in slaying of police officer

Rome jury convicts 2 American men to life in prison in slaying of police officer
May 05, 2021 1 min, 48 secs

A jury in Italy convicted two American friends to life in prison in the 2019 slaying of a police officer in Rome.

A jury in Rome on Wednesday convicted two American friends of the 2019 killing of a police officer in a drug sting gone awry, sentencing them to life in prison.

ROME – A jury in Italy convicted two American friends in the 2019 slaying in Rome of a police officer in a tragic unraveling of a small-time drug deal gone bad, sentencing them to the maximum life in prison.

More than 12 hours after deliberations began, the jury of two judges and six civilians delivered verdicts and sentences Wednesday night that set off a collective gasp in the courtroom: Finnegan Lee Elder, 21, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 20, former schoolmates from the San Francisco area, were each found guilty of murder and four other counts and received Italy’s stiffest punishment, life imprisonment.

Prosecutors alleged Elder stabbed Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega 11 times with a knife that he brought with him on his trip to Europe and that Natale-Hjorth helped him hide the knife in their hotel room.

Varriale, who suffered a back injury in a scuffle with Natale-Hjorth while his partner was grappling with Elder, testified that the officers did identify themselves as Carabinieri.

Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, left, and Finnegan Lee Elder, are pictured during a trial hearing in Rome, (Photo: Remo Casilli, AP)

Prosecutors alleged that Elder thrust a 7-inch (18-centimeter) military-style attack knife repeatedly into Cerciello Rega, who bled profusely

Elder said he pulled out the knife and stabbed him to avoid being killed, and when the officer didn’t immediately let him go, he stabbed again

After the stabbing, the Americans ran to their hotel room, where, according to Natale-Hjorth, Elder cleaned the knife and then asked him to hide it

Natale-Hjorth, who testified that while he wasn’t aware that his friend had brought the knife to the rendezvous, he stashed the knife behind a ceiling panel in their room, where it was discovered hours later by police

Photos of the newlyweds, with Cerciello Rega in his dress uniform, after their wedding, were widely displayed in Italian media after the slaying and during the trial

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