Latest news with #RexalFord
Times
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
The ‘Untalented Mr Ripley' accused of double murder
A Hollywood fraudster who fooled the Italian government into funding a non-existent film is at the centre of a real-life murder investigation after he was accused of killing his partner and daughter. Francis Charles Kaufmann, 46, fled from Italy to the Greek island of Skiathos after the discovery of the bodies in a park in Rome last month. He has been arrested and awaits extradition. He is, according to the Italian magistrate Flavia Costantini, 'a highly skilled criminal'. The hunt for Kaufmann started on June 7 when the body of Anastasia Trofimova, a 28-year-old Russian, was found hidden in the bushes in Villa Pamphili park. Trofimova is likely to have died of suffocation. Nearby, the body of her 11-month-old daughter was found, possibly strangled. Witnesses had seen the mother and daughter sleeping rough in the park with a man who had also been spotted drunkenly wandering with them around the centre of Rome, and who was identified during a police check as Rexal Ford. This was later found to be a fake name used by the American. The man's final encounter with police was on June 5, when he was seen walking without the woman but carrying the baby in one arm and a bottle of wine in the other. Officers let him go, although investigators suspect Trofimova may have already been dead by then, and the infant had hours left to live. Kaufmann, a Californian, had posed as a film producer in Rome to obtain €863,595 in tax credits from the Italian culture ministry for a film that was never made. The head of the ministry's film department resigned over the incident this week. Using another alias — Matteo Capozzi — Kaufmann claimed to have worked with the American director Clint Eastwood and on the 2017 Ridley Scott film All the Money in the World, which has been denied by the production. Investigators realised they were searching for a fraudster whose life increasingly resembled the film and novel The Talented Mr Ripley, in which an American con artist invents his past and goes on a killing spree in Italy. Kaufmann is said to have met Trofimova while she was on holiday in Malta in 2023. Their daughter was born last summer. Since Trofimova's tourist visa had expired, Kaufmann chartered a yacht to take them to Sicily to avoid customs upon entering Italy. Once in Rome, Kaufmann tried to broker new film deals but appears to have run out of money. When his real name emerged, the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica tracked down his sister in Los Angeles, who claimed Kaufmann was a dangerous con man. 'Charlie was brilliant, he had a way with people,' she told the newspaper. 'He knew how to empathise immediately. When he lived in Los Angeles he would go to dinner with Hollywood directors, with famous musicians. He knew hundreds of stars of the entertainment world.' Even though he studied film he had only been involved in a few productions, she added. 'He would be capable of selling you your own clothes. He has always been brilliant, handsome, with thousands of women flocking after him,' she said. 'At home we called him the Untalented Mr Ripley.' He also had a dark side, she claimed. 'He is violent, especially when he drinks or takes drugs. His brain goes blank, he cannot manage his anger. He becomes a monster.' She added that after attacking one of his brothers, he changed his name to Rexal Ford and left the US. Italian magistrates have reported that Kaufmann was arrested for assault five times in the US and had spent 120 days in jail. On June 5, the day he was spotted by police with Andromeda, Kaufmann left a voice mail for an Italian contact, claiming Trofimova had left him for a richer man, leaving him with the baby. 'Unfortunately, she is not seeing the big future,' he said, adding: 'Whatever it is, it's all good.' On June 11 Kaufmann took a Ryanair flight to Skiathos and was arrested two days later. He will be brought back to Rome for interrogation next week. In a video conference with an Italian magistrate, he said: 'I am innocent, I didn't kill them.' He also accused the Italian police of being 'mafiosi'. Writing in the arrest warrant, Costantini accused Kaufmann of strangling his daughter, describing it as an act of 'instinctive cruelty' that revealed 'the extreme dangerousness of the man'.
New York Post
17-06-2025
- New York Post
American arrested in Greece on suspicion of murder after woman and baby found dead, naked in Italy
An American man using a fake identity has been accused of murder after a woman and her baby were found dead in a park in Rome just days after the three were seen together. A 46-year-old man who went by the name Rexal Ford was detained by authorities on the Greek island of Skiathos Friday on an Italian warrant, with Rome prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi citing 'strong evidence' that he killed the baby girl, according to Italian outlets. The cause of the 30-year-old woman's death wasn't known, but 'there is a reasonable suspicion that it is a double murder,' deputy prosecutor Giuseppe Cascini said, CBS News reported. Advertisement Police later discovered that the man's true identity was Charles Francis Kaufmann, of California, and he had been going by Rexal Ford with a US passport since 2019, according to Italian newspaper Il Missagero. Kaufmann introduced himself as a filmmaker and claimed to be scouting locations in and around Rome, English-language Italian outlet La Voce de New York reported. 3 The bodies were found in Rome's famous Villa Pamphili Park Advertisement 3 Kaufmann was arrested in Greece on Friday. Greek Police 3 Kaufmann was reportedly using a fake identity. The naked bodies of the woman and baby — who have not been identified but are also believed to be American — were discovered on June 7 in Rome's iconic Villa Pamphili park. The mother's body was found under a black bag while the girl was found several hundred yards away in some bushes. Authorities believe the woman was killed several days before the baby. Advertisement The suspect, who had been seen with a woman and child several times speaking in English, fled Italy for Skiathos on Wednesday, Lo Voi said. The woman, whose identity also appears to have been obscured, introduced herself as 'Stella Ford' and Kaufmann introduced her as 'my wife,' according to Il Missagero. Investigators traced the three back to a homeless shelter near the Vatican, however, their relationship remains unclear, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported. Kaufmann's fingerprints were found on the bag covering the woman and matched a scrap of tent, similar to those provided to people without shelter, the newspaper said. Advertisement Police used cell phone data to track him to the Greek island, where he was taken into custody. He is currently awaiting extradition to Italy. However, his legal team is pushing for his return to the United States.
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Yahoo
A Woman and Baby Were Found Naked and Dead in a Park. Now an American Man Is Under Arrest in Greece
Rexal Ford, a 46-year-old American, was arrested in Greece on suspicion of killing a 30-year-old mother and her baby Surveillance footage, witness testimony and fingerprints led authorities to Ford Prosecutors believe the deaths were a double murder, and Ford is awaiting an extradition hearing in Greece as the investigation continuesGreek authorities arrested an American man on Friday on suspicion of killing a 30-year-old mother and her baby whose bodies were found by police at a park in Italy. The 46-year-old man, identified as Rexal Ford, was detained on an arrest warrant issued in Italy, citing 'strong evidence' of his alleged involvement in the death of the baby girl and her mother — who are also believed to be American — Italian news outlets, L'Unione Sarda, Il Messaggero and Corriere della Sera reported, citing prosecutors. The bodies of the mother and baby were found in Rome's Villa Pamphili park on Saturday, the local outlets reported. Both were found naked and without any identification. Investigators in Italy told CBS News that the cause of the woman's death was unknown, 'but there is a reasonable suspicion that it is a double murder,' Deputy Prosecutor Giuseppe Cascini said to the outlet. According to Rome Chief Prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi, the mother was killed several days before the baby and was found several hundred meters away. The mother was found under a black bag, Lo Voi said to the local outlets. 'It is not exactly understandable that someone who was with a woman and a baby girl, once the woman and the girl died, whom he carried in his arms, would then leave the country without calling for help, without seeking assistance,' Lo Voi said, per CBS News. 'In itself, that doesn't look good.' Video surveillance and witness reports showed that the three were spotted together on several occasions, sometimes speaking in English, Corriere della Sera reported. At one point, Ford and the woman were seen arguing in the street, and police took down his information, which later led to his arrest. Police discovered the identities of the woman, her baby and Ford, by cross-referencing footage of them seen at a soup kitchen nearby the Vatican and testimonies of witnesses who were in the park along with homeless people nearby, the Italian outlet reported. Authorities were able to track Ford down due to fingerprints left on the bag covering the mother when she was found dead by police, CBS reported. He was found on the Greek island of Skiathos through cellphone to Corriere della Sera, authorities found the baby's pink dress in a trash can nearby where their bodies were found. Police estimate that the baby was around 6 to 8 months old. The mother had a tattoo of a skeleton with a surfboard that seemed to have the colors of the Lithuanian flag, the Italian outlet reported. Forensic teams also found a total of 40 items at the scene, including a bra and sleeping bag. When Ford's warrant is forwarded to Greek officials, he will appear in court for an extradition hearing, the local outlets said, citing Greek police. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People
