By Fatma Younis
An American citizen has been sentenced to life in prison by a Rome court for the murders of his partner and their infant daughter, Italian news agency LaPresse reported Thursday.
Details of the crime
Francis Kaufmann, 47, was convicted of killing 28-year-old Anastasia Trofimova and their nearly one-year-old daughter, Andromeda, in June 2025. The victims' unclothed bodies were discovered hours apart in Rome's Villa Pamphili park. Trofimova's body was found under a black bag; the child was located in nearby undergrowth. Prosecutors said CCTV footage showed Kaufmann carrying the child toward the park and returning about an hour later without her.
Flight and extradition
After the killings, Kaufmann fled to the Greek island of Skiathos before being extradited back to Italy to face trial.
Trial and defense
Kaufmann denied the accusations. His defense lawyer, Paolo Foti, argued the case relied on circumstantial evidence, which he said does not constitute proof. Kaufmann, a self-described filmmaker who used the pseudonym Rexal Ford, had previously received 1 million euros in Italian tax credits for an unproduced movie.
Background and investigation
Trofimova, originally from Siberia, met Kaufmann during a vacation in Malta in 2023. Their daughter was born in June 2024, and the family later moved to Rome. Police initially struggled to identify the victims after their bodies were found on June 7, 2025. A breakthrough came when a television program on missing persons aired the case, prompting a viewer to report seeing officers with a bleeding man, a young woman, and a child in Rome weeks before the murders. Police logs confirmed the encounter and showed officers had stopped Kaufmann again on June 5, when he was visibly intoxicated and alone with Andromeda. Prosecutors stated Trofimova was already dead by that time but suggested the child might have been saved had police taken more decisive action.
