MILAN (AP) — A lawyer for an American teenager jailed in Rome in connection with the fatal stabbing of an Italian police officer has petitioned a court for his client’s release.
Attorney Renato Borzone on Monday confirmed he filed a request to get 19-year-old Finnegan Lee Elder out of Regina Coeli prison.
Another lawyer made a similar request last week on behalf of Elder’s friend, 18-year-old Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth.
The two Californians are being held while prosecutors probe the July 26 slaying of 35-year-old plainclothes officer Mario Cerciello Rega.
Prosecutors contend Elder stabbed Cerciello Rega during a scuffle while Natale-Hjorth allegedly punched and kicked the officer’s partner.
The Carabinieri officers were investigating an alleged extortion attempt involving the teens and a stolen knapsack.
It’s unclear when a court might hear the petitions to free the Americans.
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