Prosecutors seek life sentence for Francis Kaufmann over Villa Pamphili killings

The prosecution's request

Prosecutors in Rome have asked the First Assize Court for a life sentence with three years of daytime isolation for Francis Kaufmann, an American accused of killing his partner and their daughter. The request was made on 26 October 2026 during the closing statement of prosecutor Antonio Verdi, who coordinated the inquiry with deputy chief prosecutor Giuseppe Cascini. The charges are aggravated double murder, with the motives listed as futile and vile, the victims' defenceless state, the emotional bond with the partner and the family tie to the child. Prosecutors also charge him with concealing the bodies. The two bodies were found on 7 June 2025 in Villa Pamphili, a park in Rome.

From Malta to the park

The woman was a 28-year-old Russian who met Kaufmann on the island of Malta while on a trip to learn English. She moved to Malta from Omsk, in Siberia, in September 2023. Verdi told the court that Kaufmann used the name Rexal Ford, which is an alias, and that he posed as a film director. The three arrived in Rome in early April and rented a flat in Campo de' Fiori for the month. At the end of April Kaufmann was sent away for not paying the rent, and the mother and child were then forced to spend nights at Villa Pamphili. Investigators began their search at the park, and the Rexal Ford name led them to an arrest on the Greek island of Skyathos on 13 June 2025. Kaufmann had fled to Greece after the killings.

Witness accounts

Witnesses heard in court described the woman as frightened in the weeks before the deaths. A security worker at a restaurant in Piazza Farnese told the court that on 21 May he went to help after a tourist reported a bloodied man with a woman and a girl. He said the man was drunk and had a head wound, and that the girl looked sad and afraid of the man beside her. Workers at the San Silverio market said the three were often seen eating there and washing in public toilets in April and May of last year, and one said they never heard them speak to one another.

Verdi also told the judges that police who stopped Kaufmann drunk on the street with the girl had been misled by him.

“If they had done their job properly, perhaps the little girl would still be alive.”

Defence and psychological assessment

Verdi described the defendant in court as a manipulator who presented himself under false pretences, and he rejected any claim of diminished responsibility.

“Kaufmann is cold, lucid, manipulative, a pathological narcissist, but he is not incapable of understanding and willing his actions.”

Two expert assessments requested by the defence, whose lawyer is Francesco Bianco, found Kaufmann fit to stand trial. The parents of the Russian woman are represented by lawyer Mario Angelelli, who said the family wanted to attend the hearing as a moral duty but could not afford the trip to Italy. Angelelli added that Russian authorities had not replied to a request for them to testify by videoconference, and that otherwise prosecutors would have to use the statements the parents gave to police.

What comes next

The next hearing is set for 5 November, when the defence will present its case. After that the judges will retire to deliberate on the verdict. The prosecution's request has not yet been decided, and no sentence has been handed down.