The Malta Independent on Sunday
Italy shocked as two Americans, 19, detained for slaying of policeman over drug deal gone wrong
Rome was in shock yesterday after Italian police said that two 19-year-old American tourists confessed to having fatally stabbed an Italian paramilitary policeman who was investigating the theft of a bag with a cellphone.
In a statement, Carabinieri officers investigating the death of officer Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, said the American men were detained for alleged murder and attempted extortion after being questioned overnight.
They were taken to a Rome jail as the investigation continues. Italian authorities have not released their names.
The two had snatched the bag of a drug dealer in Rome after the man apparently gave them ‘a different substance’ instead of cocaine, according to an Italian investigator who spoke on condition of anonymity since the probe was ongoing.
The Carabinieri said the Americans demanded a €100 ransom and a gram of cocaine to return the bag. The alleged dealer called police, saying he had arranged a meeting with the thieves to get his bag and cellphone back. Police says there was a scuffle at the meeting point and the policeman was stabbed eight times, dying shortly afterward in the hospital.
The Carabinieri said video surveillance cameras and witnesses allowed them to quickly identify the two Americans, who were found at a hotel near the scene of the slaying.
Police said the two Americans had been ‘ready to leave’ Italy when they were found.
A search of their hotel room led to the discovery of a long knife, possibly used to attack Cerciello Rega. Police said the knife had been hidden behind a panel in the room’s ceiling. Police also said they had found clothes worn by the pair during the attack.
The Carabinieri statement said the two Americans admitted responsibility after being questioned by prosecutors and faced with ‘hard evidence’.
It was not known if the Americans had an Italian lawyer.
Carabinieri Lt. Col. Orazio Ianniello said the suspects were not being immediately named because they had no criminal records.