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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, ABC News reports.
Finnegan Lee Elder and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, who became friends while attending Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, California, were found guilty on all charges of homicide, attempted extortion, assault, resisting a public official, and carrying an attack-style knife without just cause.
Prosecutors alleged that Elder, 21, stabbed Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega 11 times with a knife that he brought with him on his trip to Europe from California and that Natale-Hjorth, 20, helped him hide the knife in their hotel room.
ROME A jury in Italy convicted two American friends in the 2019 slaying in Rome of a police officer in a tragic unravelling 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. Each had been charged with homicide, attempted extortion, assault, resisting a public official and carrying an attack-style knife without just cause. Presiding Judge Marina Finiti announced the jury found them guilty of all the charges in the trial indictment.
His integrity was defended, Rosa Maria Esilio said outside the courtroom, between sobs. He was everyone s son, everyone s Carabinieri. He was a marvelous husband, he was a marvelous man, a servant of the state who merited respect and honor.
The defendants were led immediately out of the courtroom after the verdicts were read. As Elder was being walked out, his father, Ethan Elder, called out, Finnegan, I love you. Both of his parents looked stunned.
Elder s lawyer, Renato Borzone, called the verdict against his client a disgrace for Italy. Natale-Hjorth s lawyer, Fabio Alonzi, said he was speechless.
For the brief final hearing before deliberations Wednesday, the two Californians were allowed out of steel-barred defendant cages inside the courtroom to sit with their lawyers before the case went to the jury.
Two Students, 20 And 21, Sentenced To Life Imprisonment For Murdering Italian Policeman In Drug Deal Gone Wrong faceofmalawi.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from faceofmalawi.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Two American friends jailed for life after killing Italian police officer while teenagers
A jury in Italy has sentenced two Americans to life in prison for the killing of a police officer.
The jury of two judges and six civilians deliberated for more than 12 hours before convicting Finnegan Lee Elder, 21, and Gabriel Natale Hjorth, 20.
There was a gasp in the Rome courtroom as the presiding judge read the verdict: guilty on charges of homicide, attempted extortion, assault, resisting a public official and carrying an attack-style knife without just cause.