Rome Jury Convicts 2 US Youths in Slaying of Police Officer

ROME - A jury in Rome on Wednesday convicted two American friends in the 2019 slaying of a police officer in a tragic unraveling of a small-time drug deal gone bad, sentencing them to life in prison. 

The jury deliberated more than 12 hours before delivering the verdicts against Finnegan Lee Elder, 21, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 20, handing them Italy's stiffest sentence.  Elder and Natale-Hjorth were indicted on charges of homicide, attempted extortion, assault, resisting a public official and carrying an attack-style knife without just cause. They were found guilty of all counts.   The slain officer's widow, who held a photo of her dead husband while waiting for the verdict, sobbed and hugged his brother, Paolo.