American Teen Arrested In Death Of Italian Cop Was 'Illegally Blindfolded'

Italian newspapers published a leaked photo showing one of the American suspects accused of stabbing an Italian police officer to death sitting in the police station with a blindfold over his eyes before he was interrogated.

Police say that 18-year-old Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth and 19-year-old Finnegan Lee Elder stole a backpack from a drug dealer after he sold them $100 worth of aspirin powder instead of cocaine. The teens told the drug dealer they would return his bag if he gave them the drugs.

The drug dealer contacted authorities, who set up a sting operation to bust the American teens. When the undercover officers went to arrest the pair, a fight broke out, and 35-year-old police officer Mario Cerciello Rega was stabbed to death.

A few hours later, officers raided the hotel room where the two men were staying and took them into custody. One of the officers placed a blindfold over the eyes of Natale-Hjorth before he was set to be interrogated and somebody inside the station snapped a photo and sent it to the Italian news media.

Provincial Cmdr. Francesco Gargaro admitted to the Associated Press that the teen was "illegally blindfolded" for about five minutes prior to his interrogation. He explained that the officer used the blindfold to prevent Natale-Hjorth from seeing documents related to the case. The officer was placed in a different unit while officials investigate how the photo was leaked to the press.

Natale-Hjorth admitted that he punched an officer, while Elder confessed to stabbing Rega to death. Under Italian law, both men can be charged with murder.

Photo: Getty Images