Black Chronicle

Alleged Villa Pamphili murderer: investigations into identity and mysteries

Investigations reveal double identities and suspicious movements of the alleged Villa Pamphili killer in Rome.

17 June 2025Aggiornato elle ore 13:10

Per gentile concessione di Chi l'ha visto, Rexal Ford, il 46enne americano fermato ieri in Grecia per l'omicidio della bimba di pochi mesi trovata morta sabato scorso a Villa Pamphili e soppressione del cadavere della madre della piccola, fotografato con la bambina in braccio il 5 giugno due giorni prima del ritrovamento dei corpi.

4' min read

Key points

Also two months for extradition if US involved
The name of the alleged killer
Extradition request to Greece
The Yellow Other Name by Rexal Ford
Rexal Ford in Italy no sooner than 20 days

4' min read

Even two months for extradition if US involved

The investigation by investigators to ascertain the identity of the woman found dead in the park of Villa Pamphili in Rome on 7 June is narrowing down to Ukrainian or Russian nationality.

Investigators, coordinated by the public prosecutor's office, are trying to reconstruct when the woman arrived in Italy, together with Rexal Ford,

the 46-year-old American citizen detained on the Greek island of Skiathos and charged with the death of the six-month-old girl, whose body was found about 200 metres from that of her mother. The girl, about 30 years old, according to witnesses called herself Stella.

The indictment, contained in the European Arrest Warrant, alleges voluntary manslaughter by strangulation with the aggravating circumstance of the victim's minority and concealment of a corpse. The other aggravating factors, such as the family relationship, can only be charged when it is established through DNA testing that Ford is indeed the father of the little girl.

In terms of extradition procedures, investigators estimate at least 20 days, butif the detainee opposes and asks to be extradited to the United States the time could be up to two months.

In a week's time, the Californian, meanwhile, will have to appear before the Greek court.

The man was reportedly transferred to prison in Volos, a city overlooking the Gulf of Pagaseo, after being detained.

The American in Rome presented himself as a film producer and two days before the bodies were found, he had been stopped by the police with the little girl wearing a pink onesie, very similar to the one found by the police in a rubbish bin.

Checks on her bank account and credit card transactions are still ongoing. This activity may provide elements to ascertain whether Ford and the woman actually stayed in Malta before reaching Italy.

The name of the alleged killer

In the US registry of births, Rexal Ford - the man allegedly responsible for the death of the child found at Villa Pamphili in Rome and the concealment of the mother's body - is registered under a name other than the one on his passport, which turned out to be genuine.

This is stated in a Tg1 report in which it is also claimed that the DNA of the man arrested in Greece has already been sent to the forensic police laboratories. The DNA will be used to ascertain whether Ford, as he said, is the father of the little girl.

Extradition request to Greece

The Italian authorities will soon formalise the extradition request to Greece in order to start the process of transferring Rexal Ford, who is currently imprisoned in a Greek prison.

Investigators are still gathering all the elements that may help to give full substance to theserious charges against the 46-year-old Californian arrested in Greece for the murder of the few-month-old girl found dead a week ago at Villa Pamphili and for the suppression of the corpse of the little girl's mother.

Investigators, who are in possession of his smartphone, are sifting through all the movements of the 45-year-old Californian, tracing the route through cell phone records while new elements may come from the analysis of the contents of the mobile phone, the same one that enabled investigators to get to him.

Also under the magnifying glass are the bank movements of Ford, who wandered around canteens and neighbourhood markets like a clochard but also possessed a credit card, with which he bought plane tickets to flee to Greece after the death of the little girl.

The Yellow of the Other Name by Rexal Ford

Another oddity is the one identified by Tg1: in the US registry office, the man is reportedly registered under a name other than Rexal Ford, which is instead the name on his passport, which turned out to be genuine.

A further point to be verified, while a certainty could arrive as early as Monday and Tuesday: Ford's DNA is already in the forensic police laboratories and it will soon be known whether, as he told the patrols that had stopped him before the mother and daughter's bodies were found, the girl is his daughter.

Immediately after his arrest, Ford still made no reference to what had happened to the woman: a trail - still to be verified - would lead to a wedding in Malta, through which the woman's identity could then be traced.

In the meantime, the Rome Police Headquarters has also released footage of last Friday's arrest on the island of Skiathos, which shows the 45-year-old being escorted by Greek and Italian officers out of the police station and into a car.

At the end of the identification procedures, the police executed the notification of the European arrest warrant issued by the Italian judicial authority following the investigation coordinated by the Capitoline Public Prosecutor's Office.

Rexal Ford in Italy not before 20 days

The man could be transferred to Italy in about 20 days at the earliest, but first the charges will have to be reviewed by the Greek courts for verification of the extradition request and compliance with Greek law and international conventions.

And the other variable cannot yet be completely excluded: Ford could also be handed over to the US should the US authorities request it.

Meanwhile, details also emerged with the passing of the hours that could provide a precise reason why the Californian may have been in Italy: the man, who had probably noticed his homonymity with one of his compatriots engaged in international filmmaking, had also introduced himself around as a screenwriter.

That is why he allegedly also provided a Roman production company with a project for a film to be shot in Florence, in the hope that it would be financed. After all, at least since last April, there have been traces of Rexal Ford in our country, together with his alleged wife and child.

Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that during these months the three may also have stopped over in other cities, although they were not registered in any hotel.