Americans hope for 'truth' in officer's murder trial in Rome

Lawyers and family of two young American men convicted of murdering an Italian police officer are hoping for a better outcome in an appeals trial in Rome

ROME -- Lawyers and family of two young American men convicted of murdering a police officer in Rome said they are hoping for a better outcome in the defendants' appeals trial, which began on Thursday in the Italian capital.

Carabinieri Vice Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega, who had just returned from his honeymoon, was hailed as a national hero after he was stabbed 11 times in the street while on a plainclothes mission in July 2019, near the hotel where the two U.S. tourists were staying.

Finnegan Lee Elder, now 22, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, now 20, were convicted in May 2021 of slaying the 35-year-old officer, as well as of attempted extortion, resisting a public official and carrying an attack-style knife without just cause.

Since the two young men, who had been friends back home in California, were given Italy’s harshest punishment — life imprisonment — the defendants’ essentially have nothing to lose in seeking the appeals trial.