US teen suspected in killing of police officer blindfolded by police in Rome - CNN

The image was leaked to the respected Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera.

One of two Americans arrested over the killing of an Italian police officer in Rome is pictured blindfolded in a police station. Italian police have confirmed to CNN that an investigation has been launched into who leaked the photo to respected Italian newspaper Corriere della sera.

Italian police have confirmed the authenticity of the photo, and told CNN that a two-pronged investigation has been launched into both why the suspect was blindfolded -- and who leaked the photo to the press.

"The general command of the Carabinieri police strongly distances itself from the photo and the distribution of the photo of the people detained for the homicide of the Officer Mario Cerciello Rega. The provincial Carabinieri command of Rome is quickly carrying out investigations to locate who is responsible," police said in a statement Sunday.

The two Americans, Finnegan Lee Elder, 19, and Gabriel Natale Hjorth, 18, were arrested while on vacation in Rome in connection with the murder of Italian police officer Mario Cerciello Rega on Friday, Italian police told CNN Saturday.

Officer Rega, 35, was stabbed eight times at 2 a.m. local time on Friday, in the Prati neighborhood of Rome, near the hotel where the two young men were staying, police said. He was declared dead at 4:30 a.m.

A 'heinous crime'

Surveillance footage and witness testimonies had allowed the Capitoline Investigative Unit to identify the two responsible for the "heinous crime," according to the police statement.

Italian police officer Mario Cerciello Rega was killed on Friday in Rome.

The two Americans, both from San Francisco, were arrested inside their hotel room in Rome.

Police allege the boys stole a backpack from a man whom they had approached about buying drugs. The order and details of what happened next are still being investigated. However, police allege the Americans stole the backpack because they were sold crushed aspirin instead of cocaine.

The teenagers subsequently answered the owner's cellphone, which they had also taken, and told him "they would not return the backpack without 100 euros and 1 gram of cocaine," police added.

After police were contacted by the owner of the stolen bag, officers met the American suspects under the guise of retrieving the backpack, police said.

Both the Americans are accused of assaulting the police officers, who reportedly identified themselves as law enforcement officers. Then one of the suspects took out a knife and stabbed the officer eight times before fleeing the scene, police said. The officers were unarmed, police added.

The Carabinieri police force said in a statement that the Americans were arrested Friday night for "the crime of aggravated murder and attempted extortion."

Alleged confession

Police allege both Americans confessed to taking part in the assault, and say Elder confessed in the early hours of the interrogation on Friday to murder.

Elder's public prosecutor appointed lawyer, Francesco Codini, said that during his court appearance Saturday his client had "maintained his right to remain silent" in front of a judge.

In a statement to CNN, Elder's family said: "We write as a family to express our deepest condolences to the grieving family and community that loved Brigadier Cerciello Rega. We are shocked and dismayed at the events that have been reported, but have very little independent information about these events."

Elder's family added that haven't been able to have any communication with their son, so far, and appealed to the public to respect their privacy.

An undated photo of Finnegan Elder, supplied to CNN by the Elder family.

Italian police can legally hold the suspects for an entire year without official charges.

Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini commented on the blindfold photo Sunday, saying in a statement: "To those complaining about the blindfolding of the arrested, remember that the only victim to cry for is the man, the son, the husband who is 35 years old, a Carabinieri officer, a servant of the homeland who died in service at the hands of the people who, if guilty, deserve only life imprisonment."

The day before, Salvini had called for life-long prison sentences for the accused teens, despite them not having even been put on trial.

"Hoping that the murderers of our poor policeman will never get out of prison, I remind the do-gooders that in the United States whoever kills risks the death penalty. I'm not saying we should go that far, but life in prison (obviously working), this, yes!" Salvini wrote in a message on Twitter on Saturday.

Slain Italian police officer Mario Cerciello Rega with his wife on his wedding day in June.

Slain police officer Rega had only recently returned to work from his honeymoon after getting married on June 13 in his hometown of Somma Vesuvianna, near Naples.

A wake will be held for him Sunday evening at the chapel of Piazza Monte di Pieta, Rome, near the police station where he was based. His funeral will be held Monday in the same church where he was married.

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