2 Individuals Discovered Responsible of Homicide of Italian Police Officer

ROME – Two American men were found guilty of murder on Wednesday and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of an Italian military policeman in July 2019 when the two young natives from San Francisco were vacationing in Rome.

A jury ended a 14-month trial, largely behind closed doors due to pandemic restrictions, and found Finnegan Elder, 21, and Gabriel Natale Hjorth, 20, guilty of murdering Deputy Brig. Mario Cerciello Rega, 35.

A gasp was heard in the courtroom as the verdicts were pronounced, and the slain officer’s widow leaned against her lawyer and sobbed.

The two Americans were teenagers on July 26, 2019 when an early morning argument on a deserted street corner with two plainclothes police officers – Brigadier Cerciello Rega and another officer, Andrea Varriale – became fatal.

The defense argued that the two Americans acted in self-defense during the altercation, which lasted less than a minute, believing the officers were malicious thugs. Prosecutors alleged the couple acted with murder intent.

The fight crowned a tangled evening that began with an abandoned drug deal in a trendy nightlife. After an unsuccessful attempt to buy cocaine, the two Americans stole a backpack from Sergio Brugiatelli, a middleman who brokered the drug deal, and then asked for money to return the bag.

Brigadier Cerciello Rega and his partner had been dispatched to fetch the backpack and the officer was killed on the rendezvous for the surrender.

Mr. Elder stabbed Brigadier Cerciello Rega repeatedly with a 7-inch military-style knife after they began fighting, and Mr. Natale Hjorth briefly wrestled with Officer Varriale. Mr. Elder never denied killing Brigadier Cerciello Rega but said he defended himself and believed the officer tried to suffocate him.

The teenagers were arrested a few hours after the murder at their hotel, just one block away, where Brigadier Cerciello Rega was killed.

Officer Varriale, 27, who was injured while wrestling with Mr Natale Hjorth, has repeatedly admitted to his report that he and his partner identified themselves as Carabinieri or members of the Italian military police when they approached the teenagers. When he commented last July, he said they pulled out their badges and announced themselves clearly.

The case attracted international attention partly because of the young age of the victim and the men on trial. Brigadier Cerciello Rega, who had just returned to work after his honeymoon, received a hero’s funeral which was broadcast live on national television.

The widow of Brigadier Cerciello Rega, Rosa Maria Esilio, was in the main courtroom – usually used for larger terrorist trials – when the verdict was read. After learning the charges prevailed, she hugged her husband’s brother.

Mr. Elder and Mr. Natale Hjorth have spent the past 21 months in prisons in Rome while awaiting trial and judgment.