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Yara Nardi/F3 Press
Reid Schepis is taken into custody Thursday after he was alleged to have stabbed fellow student Fabio Malpeso.
Updated at 4:15 a.m. ET on Nov. 5: ROME -- A 19-year-old American was in critical condition Friday after he was allegedly stabbed while he slept by a fellow student following a night of partying in the Italian capital, officials told NBC News.
The victim, New Jersey-born Fabio Malpeso underwent surgery for stab wounds to his lungs and other parts of his body. Police said Friday that Malpeso was in critical but stable condition in intensive care at a hospital in Rome.
Authorities said the motive for the attack, which happened in an apartment that overlooks Rome's famous Colosseum early Thursday morning, was unclear. However, detectives suspect "drug- and alcohol-related delirium" might be a factor.
The alleged assailant, who was taken to a police station and then a prison in central Rome, was named as Reid Alexander Schepis, 20. The suspect and victim are both students at John Cabot University, an American college in Rome.
Police said Schepis, a resident of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy, appeared to have joint U.S. and Italian citizenship, but they were working to establish his nationalities.
Lawyer: Suspect a 'model student'
Schepis' lawyer, Vincenzo Comi, said his client was "distraught and exhausted," after visiting the young man in jail Friday.
"He is clearly under shock, and nothing in his past could have prepared him for this. He has never had any problems with the law and has always been a model student with top grades,” Comi said, adding he did not want to say what Schepis had told him at this stage.
Comi said Schepis’ mother was American and his father Italian, and as far as he was aware Schepis had dual citizenship.
A third man, an Italian aged in his 30s named Andrea Rinaldi, suffered injuries to his arms and hands trying to defend Malpeso, and was also in the hospital, police said.
Paolo Guiso, a judiciary police inspector who is leading the investigation, told NBC News Friday that Schepis and Malpeso had returned to the apartment, where Malpeso's sister Federica and Rinaldi were also staying, after partying in a nightclub Wednesday night and early Thursday.
Yara Nardi / F3 Press
The building where Schepis is alleged to have stabbed Malpeso is not far from the Coliseum in central Rome.
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"Federica, Rinaldi and Fabio went to bed at 6 a.m. [Thursday]. Reid stayed in the living room. At a certain point, he went to the kitchen, fetched a knife and went into Fabio's room, where he started to stab the sleeping youth," Guiso alleged.
"Hearing the screaming and commotion, Rinaldi and the victim's sister ran in to see what was happening. They stepped in to defend Fabio, which resulted in Rinaldi suffering cuts to his hands and arms," he said.
"The motive of the attack is still not clear. At present we … believe that the violence was brought on due to a drug- and alcohol-related delirium," Guiso added.
'Best friends'
Guiso said early Friday that he had not been able to speak properly with Schepis as he was "still half asleep and at times catatonic ... he was almost in a state of unconsciousness at times."
"We have taken him to Regina Coeli prison in the heart of Rome. Within 48 hours from the arrest, he will have to go before the judge who will need to confirm his arrest," he added.
Marta Canigiulia, 20, a student at John Cabot, told NBC News Friday that she was friends with Schepis and Malpeso, though she had only recently met the latter.
“They were best friends ... they are best friends, I hope they still are,” she added. “I loved them for the fact that they were always very cheery. They would always come up to you and say: ‘Hi Marta, what’s up?’ They were always smiling.”
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Referring to Schepis, Canigiulia said with tears in her eyes, “he is a good person.”
“I can’t explain why this happened. Probably it’s because of drugs,” she speculated.
Geraldine Gully, 18, another student, said she did not know Schepis and Malpeso personally but “saw them all the time at school. ... They seemed like very good friends. I was so shocked to hear what had happened because it was so unexpected and you wouldn’t believe it,” she said.
In a statement, John Cabot University President France Pavoncello said he was dealing “with this situation personally” with support from other staff and was in touch with the “involved parties and their families.”
He confirmed the suspect and victim were students at the university, saying they were roommates in an off-campus apartment.
“I trust you will all join me in sending our prayers to the victim's family for their son's full recovery as well as to the family of the alleged attacker, who is likely shattered by this tragic event,” he added.
Thursday was the fifth anniversary of the brutal murder of British student Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy, that led to the arrest, trial and eventual acquittal of American student Amanda Knox.
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Leave a Comment:
Best wishes to those injured, hope your recovery is swift.
Drugs and alcohol in combination are such a wonderful thing! (sarcasm alert)
Good Morning Tracy, seems entire post 1 GW Bush in Caymans, where you hailed at got collapsed. Wonder who peed on nbc's cornflakes - some monitors only collapse just the offending comment, i.e. #1.5 or 1.6. However, some monitors must be lazy and just trip the entire switch.
Sarcasm is right by me - see the USAF Academy article comments! ;*)
Yes and if it were in America you could add guns.
Seems that a knife did just fine...Dick.
Any one or combination of the above can be lethal in the hands of the "Lucky Sperm Club." Claudine Longet is proof that, even if you have money and are a celebrity, you must do at least 30 days in jail for murder.
The guy was partying with the victim and the victims sister... he wants to get with the sister but the brother steps in and tells her to steer clear of him or does something to embarrass him in front of her... that is your motive. 20 year old guys never want to nail their roommates sister, or any other remotely doable girl staying in the same house with them, do they? (sarcasm)
Notice how the sister and the 30 year old went in to defend the victim... but only the 30 year old has injuries.
I'm sensing a sex crazed Satanic cult...they have a real problem with that over there.
Curious speculation there.
European Gun Control is working....same as in Illinois where that crazed expired VISA illegal Bi-atch stabbed those two kids 150 times.....
Taking that last slice of PIZZA is a no-no!
Guy had alcohol, hashish( another form of marijuana) and ectasy....... I don't know about you, but all three are commonly found in the US.
So they want to make marijuana legal now? What's next, the ectasy?
Bath salts strike again!
I'm with the Bath Salts argument. That or a previously undiagnosed psychotic condition aggravated by the drug cocktail these kids were messing with.
Hash can be very strong but does not make a person violent. Extasy is known as "The empathy drug" and does not typically bring on violent actions. Alcohol?....Well, I think we all know what too much booze can do......
So, you folks wanting to blame the Hash? Just showing how little you know.
The issue with MJ in the USA is to stop having non - violent modest "drug" users fund the continued failed prohibition against themselves. Decriminalization is all most want. Stop arresting people for something many MILLIONS use. Hammer down on the drunks and meth heads!
Nothing has been confirmed yet by any source as far as what type of drugs. What "you heard" is crap at this point. Pot, however is different from ecstacy, stupid argument. They will never make ecstacy legal again, it kills people quite often. By again I mean several years ago you could find ecstacy in health food stores in vitamin supplements.
ok first dectives,
because
and then even more detectives conclude
gee ya think?
these guys are good.....wonder how long they had to compare notes to come to such an astounding conclusion on such a complex case....
GM Scooter! That's makes them Sherlock Holmes? LOL
Morning Jack, I am used to being closed by mods, they love to hate me....
You should try to scotland yard scooter
Really?
Wouldn't you think that Drugs, Alcohol, hashish and ecstasy could/would be a problem especially when combined together?
And so many people want to legalize pot and god knows what else here in the US,
What a huge mess all these drugs got this guy into if that is indeed what caused all this.
I hope the victim fully recovers and somehow they all get help with there drugs issues before it does kill someone somehow.
I'm just waiting for the Italian prosecutors to claim the American was apart of some kind of Satanic cult or something and that the other student was just defending himself.
It's coming...don't you worry.
No---I'm sure they were good Catholics---Oh, good grief!
Chill with that, Fabio is a great kid. He was my buddy in high school, this hit me so hard when I first read it. He just enjoys parties, that's all. The other kid clearly has problems. I just found a photo of Fabio with the other kid on Facebook from about 5 days ago, and they're both very buddy-buddy. I don't know where this could have come from, other than the drugs.
Chill with that, Fabio is a great guy. He's my buddy from school, and he's a good kid. He just enjoys partying. I found a photo of him and the other kid on Facebook from 5 days ago, and they seem very buddy-buddy. I don't know what could have caused this kind of a reaction other than the drugs.
Nice try but drugs and alcohol didn't do that, they've got one crazy boy on their hands!
dude was snoring too loud?
oh-oh...hope the G.F. dont read about this sure fire cure.............
Ah, the lifestyles of the US upper 10% rich kids. Such brilliant minds.
Just because they're studying in Rome? Ever hear of the Study Abroad programs at most colleges? You can still get financial aid when Studying abroad.
I know Reid personally, I sat next to him in AP Psych and at lunch, and I can verify that he is not rich. I can also say that he was a stable individual in high school. Easy going and funny. Don't leap to conclusions when you have 0 facts to back it up.
College room mates? - this scene begs to ask, who was holding the candle? Don't ask - don't tell...
This sounds like some kind of gay love triangle...
Maybe just maybe american students should try going to school in usa, and keep the money at home. what he gets for playing around with his friends sister......hope he makes and moves home where he belongs...
The person that did the stabbing probably taking lessons from amanda knox.....but has not got a chance he is a guy not a girl with long eyelashes that can bat their eyes and shed a few tears...and get off.....Buddy your so s****
At least he's Italian. He'll get more sympathy that way...
*sigh*
I suppose we all know 'Merica is the worthwild country in the world, and here we'd have the good sense to use a gun.
"Worthwhile?" Because otherwise it doesn't make sense.
Why try only one drug at a time? Good move.
I'm suspecting a lovers' breakup.
this article bugs me because the first thing they say is that it was a drug-induced delirium. it's not the gun that kills people, it's the person who pulled the trigger. actually it makes me outright angry.
Doest thou well to be angry?
haha true, no. anger leads to hate, hate leads to pain, and pain leads to SUFFERING!!! :(
There was no gun involved.
:)
You misunderstood, Mymomdidnotraiseafool. They are blaming his actions on drugs when he did it. Just because he didn't use a gun doesn't make it any less disturbing that they are excusing his alleged behavior on drugs and alcohol.
After what happened with Amanda Know and that "world class" Italian police force, I'm gonna reserve judgement on this one...
With 3 living witnesses (the victim, his sister, and her boyfriend) I think this is a much clearer case than the Knox trial. Motive may remain a little hazy, but it's seems like there is actual evidence in this case, as opposed to pure speculation in the Knox matter.
If anyone can eff up an investigation, it's the Italians.
That should be "Kercher matter", since she was the murder victim.
Ah, the bravery, the heroism....wait til the man's asleep then knife him.
Nothing says "Machismo" like waiting til he falls asleep to mount your attack.
I think they should let this guy go and arrest some more geologists for failing to predict an earthquake.
I hope these men both have full and short recoveries.
Too bad the Concordia captain couldn't use that excuse!!!
:)
Yeah really, or the geologists they put in jail for 6 years for failing to predict an earthquake. They should have said they were drunk. Then everyone in Italy would be nodding their heads instead of shaking it.
wonder if they will treat the italian the way they treated the american Knox???
Most probably he'll meet soon our local version of Bubba. And sure he will not be sent back to USA, to write a book.
There is no cure for stupid and combining alcohol and drugs is just plain STUPID. Nothing like ruining your life for a little high.
Well, with no guns invovled, at least the victim is in the hospital and not the morgue.
I wonder if this guy can get Amanda Knox's lawyer to get him off the hook for this crime . . .
...As if we can have confidence is anything the Italian police believe (or courts rule).
Now you know why..the Don Vito Corleone didn't want to get involved with selling drugs!
It should be a federal law that all gas stations along the east coast have backup generators. This is something that was done in Palm Beach County after the 2004 Hurricane season. I'm not sure if this is a law for the whole state of Florida.... Supermarkets should be required to do the same. This way the stations that have gas a no power would be able to function.
RTY..You posted in wrong article!
Just proof how many read others comments.
"Drugged-up" ? really ?
Wonder where that goofy expression comes from.
I would just like to say I know the victim personally, he's my best friend and honestly I'm shocked and devastated that this happened to him. I'm praying for him and it made me realize life is so precious and we should cherish it everyday