Police say Finn Elder and 18-year old Gabriel Natale-Hjorth stabbed Carabinieri officer Mario Cerciello Rega 11 times following what they say was a drug deal gone bad.
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I-TEAM EXCLUSIVE: Italian Police stabbing suspect posted on Instagram with knife before trip
Lawyers for Natale-Hjorth are asking judge to release him while the investigation is underway.
Elder's family tells the ABC7 I-Team they arranged this solo trip to Italy for him, hoping he would have a break from his circle of friends. They booked one night at the Meridian Hotel in Rome so he could meet Natale-Hjorth, who had been visiting his grandfather, who lives near Rome.
The young men were 2018 graduates of Tam High in Mill Valley.
The I-Team has learned that a second investigation was launched into why police handcuffed and blindfolded Natale-Hjorth before his interrogation. An Italian judge has already called that "illegal" and "unacceptable".
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Lawyers for both suspects and the widow all came back to the hotel, where the young men stayed. They want a forensic team to look for new blood evidence.
The I-Team's Dan Noyes is in Italy covering the investigation for ABC7. Follow his updates on Twitter and Facebook.