Francis Kaufmann

Introduction

Francis Kaufmann, a 46-year-old American from California, is on trial in Rome accused of the double homicide of his partner, Anastasia Trofimova, and the couple’s infant daughter, whose bodies were found in separate spots of Rome’s Villa Pamphili park on June 7, 2025. For years he traveled under the false name “Rexal Ford” on an authentic US passport, and he also carried an Italian identity card in the name of Matteo Capozzi. On October 26, 2026, prosecutor Antonio Verdi asked the court for life imprisonment with three years of daytime solitary confinement. Kaufmann, who is being held in a Rome jail, maintained his innocence during the trial.

Background Information

Kaufmann promoted himself as a film producer and screenwriter, using the Rexal Ford alias to scout movie locations — including several rooftop terraces in Rome — according to prosecutor Giuseppe Cascini. Italian and Greek authorities established his real identity through consular records, immigration databases and biometric matches; investigators reported that the Ford identity dated to 2019.

Trofimova’s mother told Italian media her daughter had met a man called Rexal Ford in Malta, where she was studying English; Rome prosecutors said a registration for a child named Andromeda Ford, born in Malta on June 14, 2024, had been initiated at the US Embassy in Malta. The family later reached Sicily by rented catamaran, then lived rough in Rome’s parks and ate at soup kitchens — even as Kaufmann carried multiple credit cards and took potential film investors to expensive restaurants, police said. His parents were reportedly sending him €5,000–6,000 a month from the United States. Interactions with FBI personnel at the US Embassy, quoted in the Rome investigating judge’s order, indicated approximately five prior US arrests for domestic violence and assault, and a 120-day prison term for assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not convicted. The claims in this section are the charges and trial evidence presented by Rome prosecutors in a criminal trial still underway. Kaufmann has been charged but not tried to verdict; he maintained his innocence at trial and is presumed innocent unless and until a court convicts him.

The bodies of Trofimova, 28, born in Omsk, Russia, and her baby daughter were found on June 7, 2025 in overgrown areas of Villa Pamphili, about 200 metres apart. Police said in early July that the baby had been starved and strangled, while her mother’s cause of death had still not been determined. The victims’ identities were unknown for more than a week until the Rai missing-persons show “Chi l’ha visto?” aired photos of Trofimova’s tattoos, which her mother in Moscow recognized.

Kaufmann was arrested on the Greek island of Skiathos on June 13, 2025 — a week after the discovery — based on evidence including witness testimony and surveillance footage. The European Arrest Warrant drawn up by Rome prosecutors accused him of voluntary manslaughter aggravated by the victim’s minority and concealment of a corpse; Italian police said his DNA was found on the black garbage bag in which Trofimova’s body was found. “Italians are mafiosi,” he allegedly said after his arrest, and he refused extradition; his legal team reportedly pushed instead for repatriation to the United States. Before the bodies were found, he had sent audio messages to a Roman screenwriter pitching a three-million-euro film project — including one on June 5 saying he was “left alone with the child” — which national broadcaster Tg1 later aired; Il Sole 24 Ore noted the woman was already dead when it was recorded.

Extradited to Italy in mid-July 2025, Kaufmann appeared before investigating judge Flavia Costantini at Rome’s Rebibbia prison and exercised his right not to answer questions, represented by lawyer Carlo Ludovico Favino. At trial he has denied involvement in the murders. On October 26, 2026, prosecutor Antonio Verdi asked the court to sentence him to life imprisonment with three years of daytime solitary confinement, describing him as manipulative and narcissistic; prosecutors did not explain what motive they believe lay behind the killings. A lawyer for Kaufmann did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The case became one of Italy’s most closely followed crime stories of 2025 — Il Sole 24 Ore called it “a real murder mystery,” fed by the false identities, a nameless “tattoo woman,” the catamaran arrival and a filmmaker persona with no verifiable credits. National television aired Kaufmann’s audio messages, and the missing-persons show that identified Trofimova became central to the story; Greek police released footage of the Skiathos arrest. The reporting also surfaced his prior US arrest record for domestic violence and assault, documented in the Rome investigating judge’s order.

Current Status

Kaufmann is on trial in Rome for double homicide, held in a Rome jail. Prosecutors requested a life sentence with three years of daytime solitary confinement on October 26, 2026. A first-instance verdict is expected on November 5, 2026, and under Italian law he would be entitled to two levels of appeal after any conviction. He maintains his innocence, and no verdict has been reached.

Impact on Their Career/Life

Whatever the verdict, Kaufmann’s filmmaker persona is finished: the aliases he lived under are exposed as false identities, his Rome film-project networking is now prosecuted as part of the record, and his prior arrests for domestic violence and assault are public through the Italian court file. A paternity DNA finding could aggravate the indictment further, and a life sentence would mean he never returns to the industry he claimed to represent.

Sources

The New York Post, “Man accused of killing wife, daughter — prosecutor requests life sentence,” October 26, 2026 — source
Reuters (via Central Oregon Daily), “Italian prosecutor seeks life term for US man accused of double murder,” October 26, 2026 — source
CNN, “American accused in murders of mother and baby appears before Italian judge after extradition,” July 15, 2025 — source
Il Sole 24 Ore, “Dead woman and child at Villa Pamphili: Kaufmann arrested five times in the US,” June 2025 — source
Il Sole 24 Ore, “Identity revealed: the 28-year-old Russian woman killed in Villa Pamphili is called Anastasia Trofimova,” June 2025 — source
La Voce di New York, “Villa Pamphili Murder: ‘Rexal Ford’ Is Actually Charles Francis Kaufmann,” June 16, 2025 — source
@nypost on X, “US man accused of killing wife, daughter in Rome has prosecutor request life sentence,” October 26, 2026 — source