Cerciello murder, colleague Varriale testifies: "Mario was a teacher for us"

2020-07-16T14:54:15.238Z

In the courtroom of the Court of Rome it is the turn of the carabiniere Andrea Varriale to answer the questions of the judges. The military retraced the most significant moments of that night in July 2019 during which he witnessed the death of his colleague, Vice-Brigadier Mario Cerciello Rega, stabbed to death. The process involves two American boys: Finnegan Lee Elder and Gabriel Natale Hjorth. "Marveled by the boy tied and blindfolded" "While I was in and out of the offices in via In Selci, I saw Christmas sitting on a chair, handcuffed with his hands behind his back and blindfolded. He surprised me, I had never seen an arrested person held in this way. It seemed to me a very strange thing. Around me there were many superiors. It was an open situation. I saw people entering and leaving the room. I was the last wheel of the wagon. " The reconstruction "I go to the office, I start recording the video. I wanted to associate the voice with the face and so I asked him some questions: 'where was the red sweatshirt or something like that' '- added Varriale -. I didn't have any answer, but he said 'what changes, what's the use'. Someone was there while recording the video. " The carabiniere, listened in the courtroom, added: "I detached the video and I ran it to my superiors. We heard the recordings acquired by whatsapp and then the video. I did not disclose it to anyone. It remained on my mobile phone". "My mistake to say that I had the gun" "I made a stupid mistake, to say that I had the gun with me and that I had given it to my station commander in the hospital. But already now, to many colleagues I had already said that not I had it, so I was hiding behind a finger. I committed lightness. " "Extortion, it seemed trivial to us" "That night we didn't worry. It seemed like a trifle, as a chicken thief." "In Trastevere there are many scams that are made to those looking for drugs. That seemed to us to be 'one' and the tablet found in Piazza Mastai was clearly tachipirine. It did not seem like an extortion made by real criminals, it seemed like a small thing ". "Cerciello was a master for us" "Mario Cerciello Rega was always on the front line, a master. Some of our investigations started from his intuitions, he was the most expert of all, he had an eye on the road. Most of all of us" . "Cerciello was absolutely not a violent and I learned a lot from him. Our approach in these interventions has always been peaceful. Mario always told me 'tranquility should also be bought, do you want to eat, do you want a pack of cigarettes?', He was a way to 'captivate' the arrested. Mario was loved and esteemed in our environment and also by the population. In the days of Mario's death, thousands of people, at the funeral. We do not discount, but people appreciate honesty. " Tension during the hearing "Every time I intervene, the emergency room is activated against the witness. I appeal to the human rights convention. It is as if you have already decided." This was stated by lawyer Renato Borzone, Finnegan Lee Elder's lawyer, during the cross-examination of the witness Andrea Varriale, during the trial for the murder of the deputy brigadier of the carabinieri Mario Cerciello Rega, addressing the Court of Assizes. Immediate response from the president of the first section of the Court of Assizes, Marina Finidi, who replied harshly: "I will not allow you to make certain statements", and temporarily suspended the hearing.