US Tourists Become House Detainees In Rome Police Murder Case

PIXABAY ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - An American tourist convicted of the murder of a police officer in Rome was placed under house arrest by a judge in the Italian capital. The perpetrator will soon be released from prison.

Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth and his friend Finnegan Lee Elder were initially sentenced to life for the murder of Mario Cerciello Rega, 35, in 2019, who was stabbed to death after a failed drug deal.

The initial sentence of both was repeatedly cut when the case was transferred to court in Italy's multi-level justice system.

Earlier this month the appeals court ruled that Natale-Hjorth should serve a sentence of 11 years and 4 months.

Natale-Hjorth did not hold a knife during the attack but fought with other Carabinieri police officers when Elder stabbed Cerciello Rega, according to court documents.

Elder was finally sentenced to 15 years and 2 months in prison.

Judiciary sources said the judge ruled that Natale-Hjorth was under house arrest at the request of his lawyer, and he would remain detained at his grandmother's home in the town near Rome. There are no details regarding the reasons for the decision.

Cerciello's widow Rega was "very surprised by the news" about the house arrest, his lawyer Massimo Ferrandino said.

The two Americans are known to have tried buying drugs while on vacation in Rome. They said they were tricked and took bags belonging to traders when they tried to escape, court documents said.

They then agreed on a meeting with someone to exchange the bag for money.

But two policemen appeared in plain clothes, the document said. Italian media reported the dealer was a police informant.

Lawyers Elder and Natale-Hjorth argue both act to defend themselves because they think the two policemen are thugs who want to arrest them.

Prosecutors, calling for tougher sentences for the two tourists, will be able to appeal the latest ruling to Italy's highest court.