U.S. teens charged with killing military cop in Rome

Undercover officer slain in dispute over backpack stolen after drug deal

Two teenage American tourists were arrested Saturday and accused of murder and attempted extortion in the fatal stabbing of a military police officer in Rome, Italian officials said.

The teenagers, identified as Finnegan Lee Elder, 19, and Gabriel Christian Natale Hjorth, 18, both born in San Francisco, were accused of stabbing the officer, Deputy Brig. Mario Cerciello Rega of Italy’s military police, or carabinieri, on Friday morning.

The officer had tried to recover a backpack the two men were accused of stealing a few hours earlier, officials said. The suspects have admitted to the crime, according to a statement by the carabinieri press office.

The killing of the 35-year-old officer, who had recently returned to work after his honeymoon, shook Italians and spurred front-page newspaper headlines. “Rome, violent city. Carabiniere murdered” was the headline emblazoned on the Roman daily Il Tempo.

The two Americans were arrested at a hotel in Rome on Friday as they were getting ready to leave the country, according to the carabinieri press office.

The statement said officers found “a knife of considerable size,” believed to be the weapon used to kill Cerciello Rega, hidden behind a panel in the hotel room ceiling, along with clothes the men had allegedly worn during the attack.

A military police spokesperson said the crime had unfolded after the two Americans approached an Italian man asking where they could buy drugs, and he indicated a seller nearby. The spokesperson said the Americans bought drugs, but “according to what they say, they weren’t real drugs,” so they sought out the seller to get their money back.

When they couldn’t find him, the spokesperson said, they returned to the first Italian man and stole his backpack, which contained his cellphone.

Later, when the man called his phone, the Americans demanded “100 euros and a gram of cocaine” for its return, police said. They made an appointment to meet near the hotel where the men were staying.

The victim of the theft called the carabinieri, and two plainclothes officers went to the meeting in his place. A fight ensued, and Elder then stabbed Cerciello Rega eight times, police said.

Elder’s lawyer, Francesco Codini, said in a phone interview that the two teenagers had availed themselves of the right to remain silent during a court hearing on Saturday afternoon.