Italian prosecutor seeks life for US men charged with murder
(AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool)ROME โ An Italian prosecutor on Saturday requested life in prison for two young American men charged with slaying an Italian police officer in central Rome. A lawyer for Elder said he was not surprised the prosecutor requested life sentences. Cerciello Regaโs partner, Andrea Varriale, testified that he tried to stop blood pouring out like a โfountainโ from his partner. AdVarriale has also testified that he heard his partner cry out โCarabinieri!โ as Elder and Cerciello Rega struggled in the street. But Elder told the court he heard no such cry of identification.
US youth testifies he stabbed Italian officer in defense
Elder told the court that Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega had his hands pressing on Elderโs neck. So, the defendant contended, he reached for his knife and stabbed Cerciello, whom he said he mistook for a thug, in self-defense. โIn a blink of the eye, they came around and rushed us without saying a word,โ Elder told the court. But Elder told the court he heard no such cry of identification. Natale-Hjorth has said he didn't realize the police officer had been stabbed while the scuffles were happening.
Masters honors Lee Elder with scholarship and a tee shot
The Masters for some two decades has provided scholarship money for Paine College, a private, historically Black college in Augusta. The Lee Elder Scholarship will be endowed for one man and one woman on the golf team. โThat is one thing thatโs going to be significant to me, because 1975 was just an ordinary shot playing a golf tournament, even though it was the Masters,โ Elder said. Never forget.โThe connection to Paine College goes beyond it being an HBCU. He said Augusta National would pay for everything.
American apologizes in Italy court for taking officer's life
(Remo Casilli/Pool Photo via AP)ROME โ A 20-year-old California man accused of charged with murdering an Italian police officer apologized in court Wednesday, saying he was โfilled with remorseโ and hoped one day the slain manโs family would forgive him. Finnegan Lee Elder, who has been on trial in Rome since February along with a fellow American, asked the court for permission to make a spontaneous statement that, he said, he finally had summoned the courage to give. The defense has insisted the Americans didnโt realize the two Italians were police officers, didnโt see any badges and thought the men who approached them were criminal thugs. He recalled his mother wrote to Cerciello's family months ago, expressing his anguish and desire to apologize. โBut I didnโt have the courage to write or speak outโ until Wednesday, Elder said.
Court experts: US youth "sorry" in police slaying trial
Two tourists from California are accused of murdering Cerciello during their summer vacation in Italy in July 2019. An evaluation was requested by defense lawyers for Finnegan Lee Elder, who has been on trial in Rome since February for the slaying of a plainclothes Carabinieri officer. Also charged with the the murder of Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello is Elder's fellow Californian and former schoolmate Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 19. The defense plans to call its own psychiatric consultant as a witness later in the trial. The officer's partner, Andrea Varriale, testified last week that he and Cerciello identified themselves as police officers and showed their badges.
US teen says news media has 'misrepresented' case
CNN(CNN) - One of two American teenagers accused of murdering an Italian police officer claims the "facts" of his case have been "unfairly misrepresented" by the media, according to a statement from his family's attorney. While in prison he has seen the way the media has portrayed him and the circumstances of the case & it has been difficult to hear the facts unfairly misrepresented," the statement read. He called the police, and they agreed on an undercover meeting with Hjorth and Elder to make the exchange. When Rega and Varriale identified themselves as police, a brawl broke out, during which Rega was stabbed. Police allege that both Elder and Hjorth confessed to taking part in the assault, with Elder confessing to killing Rega.
US teen accused of killing Italian officer had 2016 assault charge
CNN(CNN) - New details have emerged about California teen Finnegan Lee Elder, 19, who is accused of murdering an Italian police officer in Rome last Friday. The details of the assault and Elder's involvement, which took place on Oct. 29, 2016, in San Francisco, were first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle Tuesday. The San Francisco District Attorney's office would not comment on the case as it involved a minor and the juvenile records are sealed. The San Francisco Police did not immediately comment. Lagafua, who is now attending college in San Francisco, said Elder told him about the incident afterward.
Amanda Knox Is 'Withholding Judgment' in the Case of Slain Italian Cop
Amanda Knox is weighing in on the case of the two American teens arrested in the slaying of an Italian cop. Knox spent nearly four years behind bars in Italy after being convicted of the 2007 murder of her roommate. The two American teenagers, Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth and Finnegan Lee Elder, both from San Francisco, face charges after an Italian officer was slain while confronting them over a suspected drug deal in Rome Friday. The slain officer, Mario Cerciello Rega, had just returned to work following his honeymoon. RELATED STORIESAmanda Knox Wants You to Pay for Her Outer Space WeddingEmotional Amanda Knox Returns to ItalyAmanda Knox Memorializes Meredith Kercher in Essay on Anniversary of Her Murder
Police: US teen accused in Italian officer's death brought knife into country
Two 19-year-old Americans have been arrested while on vacation in Rome over the death of an Italian police officer, Italian police told CNN. General Francesco Gargaro, of the Provincial Carabinieri Command, said the weapon was brought to the country by the 19-year-old suspect, Finnegan Lee Elder. Deputy Italian Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who has called for life-long prison sentences for the accused teens, attended the service. After being sold crushed aspirin instead of cocaine, officers allege that the Americans stole a backpack off the man. Both Americans are accused of assaulting the policemen, who reportedly identified themselves as law enforcement officers during the meeting early on Friday morning.