Latest news with #AnastasiaTrofimova
CNN
15-07-2025
- CNN
American accused in murders of mother and baby appears before Italian judge after extradition
A 46-year-old American man accused of the murders of a 29-year-old woman and her baby has faced a preliminary legal hearing in Rome after being extradited to Italy. The California native, named in an international arrest warrant and by Italian police as Francis Kaufmann, was extradited from Greece over the weekend. Italian police say he previously used an authentic US passport in the name of Rexal Ford and an Italian identity card in the name of Matteo Capozzi. The preliminary hearing took place in Rome's Rebibbia prison on Tuesday. According to the Rome prosecutor's office, Kaufmann exercised his right not to answer any questions and did not respond to the charges against him. He was questioned by investigating judge Flavia Costantini and Rome prosecutor Giuseppe Cascini, and was represented by lawyer Carlo Ludovico Favino, the prosecutor's office said. The bodies of Anastasia Trofimova and her 11-month-old baby were found separately in overgrown areas of Rome's Villa Pamphili park on June 7. The baby had been starved and strangled, but the cause of her mother's death has still not been determined, police said in early July. The victims' identities were unknown for more than a week before an Italian TV show that highlights missing persons ran photos released by police of Trofimova's extensive tattoos, which her mother in Moscow recognized after a friend sent them to her. Subsequently interviewed for the missing persons show, Trofimova's mother said her daughter had met a man she knew by the name Rexal Ford in Malta, where she was studying English. She had never met her granddaughter, but was in sporadic touch with the couple and child, she told Italian investigators and Italian media. Kaufmann, who has denied involvement in the murders, was arrested on the Greek island of Skiathos on June 13. He fought extradition through a local lawyer who no longer represents him. Italian police say his DNA was found on the black garbage bag in which Trofimova's body was found. DNA testing to determine if Kaufmann is the baby's father will be carried out now that he is in Italy. Kaufmann, who promoted himself as a film producer and screenwriter, used his Rexal Ford alias to scout movie locations, including several rooftop terraces in Rome, Cascini said in a press conference last week announcing Kaufmann's impending extradition to Rome. Italian police said in a press conference on June 11 that Kaufmann, Trofimova and the baby lived rough in various parks in Rome and ate at the city's soup kitchens, despite him having multiple credit cards and often taking potential film investors to expensive restaurants. CNN's Antonia Mortensen contributed to this report.
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'.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Belgian film festival cancels screening of 'Russians at War' documentary after Ukraine's appeal
The Docville Film Festival in Leuven canceled the screening of the controversial "Russians at War" documentary after an intervention of the Ukrainian Embassy, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry announced on March 31. Canadian-Russian director Anastasia Trofimova's documentary has faced criticism for what many perceive as an attempt to whitewash Russian soldiers involved in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The embassy appealed to the Belgian federal government, the Flemish government, the local authorities of Leuven, the management of the Docville festival, and the Catholic University of Leuven to cancel the screening of the film. The movie portrays Russian soldiers in Ukraine as ordinary people, never shows or mentions the war crimes committed by them in Ukraine, and subtly questions the truthfulness of Ukrainian testimonies of them. Earlier in her career, Trofimova worked for Russia Today (RT), a Kremlin-backed propaganda outlet. The movie's past screenings have sparked protests in Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands. Read also: 'Outright propaganda' — Dutch university to screen 'Russians at War' and host panel with controversial director We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Outright propaganda' — Dutch university to screen 'Russians at War' and host panel with controversial director
A Dutch university is to screen the controversial documentary "Russians at War" and a panel discussion with its director, despite Ukrainian calls for it be be canceled because it "whitewashes… murder, rape, and torture." Canadian-Russian director Anastasia Trofimova's documentary has been criticized for what many perceive as an attempt to whitewash Russian soldiers involved in Russia's war against Ukraine, sparking protests against its past screenings in Canada and Australia. Leiden University in the Hague will screen the film on March 26 as part of its Fireside Peace Chats, an initiative of a Leiden University College staff member in collaboration with "several external partners." It will be followed by a panel discussion with Trofimova and academic staff members. Ukraine's Embassy in the Netherlands on March 25 published a statement calling for the screening to be canceled. It said the film is "whitewashing Russian soldiers and absolving them of responsibility for murder, rape, torture, looting, forced deportation of children, and destruction of Ukrainian cities." "'Russians at War' documentary is a piece of Russian outright propaganda that intentionally distorts the reality of the ongoing genocidal Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, thereby misleading viewers and promoting (the) toxic narratives of (the) Kremlin," it added. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in October 2024 began investigating Trofimova, the film's director, on charges of justifying and recognizing the legitimacy of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and illegally crossing Ukraine's internationally recognized borders when filming in the Russian-occupied territories. Student groups who spoke to the Kyiv Independent also expressed outrage at the screening, saying the film "misrepresents the reality of Russia's war against Ukraine, downplays Russian war crimes, and silences Ukrainian voices," and that the event should be canceled. "We are deeply outraged that Leiden University, a leading academic institution in the Netherlands, is providing a platform (for the film)," Anna Mamedova, a Leiden University alumna, and co-founder of the ABBA Student Association, a group that represents students from Ukraine as well as several Baltic and Eastern European countries. Leiden University has so far refused to cancel the event, arguing it is a "a bastion of freedom" and "a fervent advocate of open, critical debate where different opinions and convictions are engaged with." "It has chosen to overlook the fact that this film was produced in illegally occupied Ukrainian territories without authorization, violating international law." "We choose to engage with extremely difficult topics rather than closing our eyes, in order to better understand humanity and the world. We will provide a critical context to this film, where there is room for debate, discussion, and criticism," the university said on March 25. Mamedova said the ABBA Organisation had contacted the university expressing its concerns. "It has chosen to overlook the fact that this film was produced in illegally occupied Ukrainian territories without authorization, violating international law. It is particularly shameful that this occurs in The Hague — the City of Peace and Justice," Mamedova said. In response, the university acknowledged "the immense suffering" caused by Russian aggression and assured that it takes academic integrity seriously, Mamedova said. ABBA is organizing a protest in response to the film screening in front of the university building 30 minutes before it starts and a combat casualty care workshop featuring Ukrainian combat medic Anastasia Mutsey, which will also take place at Leiden University at the time the screening begins. Protests against the film's screening were held in several countries, including Canada and Australia. Earlier in her career, Trofimova worked for Russia Today (RT), a Kremlin-backed propaganda outlet. Read also: Is 'Russians at War' propaganda? We asked 7 people in film who saw it We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Protest planned against 'Russians at War' documentary screenings in Australia
Members of the Ukrainian diaspora in Australia are set to protest the screening of the controversial "Russians at War" documentary at the Antenna Documentary Film Festival in Sydney, Australia on Feb. 6. Canadian-Russian director Anastasia Trofimova's documentary Russians at War has faced criticism for what many perceive as an attempt to whitewash Russian soldiers involved in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The documentary has been criticized for lacking a concrete counter-narrative to Russian propaganda, failing to address documented Russian war crimes, and does not offer a definitive critique of Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime. Earlier in her career, Trofimova worked for Russia Today (RT), a Kremlin-backed propaganda outlet. The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organizations' (AFUO) planned rally comes as controversy continues to follow the film, after initially appearing on the official list of screenings at the prestigious Venice and Toronto film festivals. Following protest across different cities since the film first raised controversy in September 2024, organizers at various international film festivals have pulled the film from various festivals' schedule. Despite the anticipated protest, the Antenna Film Festival, which is scheduled to begin screening the film on Feb. 10, has not removed its scheduled screening from the festival's . "The Ukrainian community has come together with strength and focus to stop this russian propaganda being screened in Australia," the AFUO said in a statement. "This film is not an independent exposé — it is a carefully controlled narrative that serves the interests of the Russian state." In the most prominent case, the Toronto International Film Festival decided to from the schedule, citing security concerns, but later decided to for the film after the end of the festival in September, drawing widespread criticism. Controversy further spread as it was revealed the Russians at War film received 340,000 Canadian dollars from the Canada Media Fund. On Oct. 7, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) began investigating Trofimova on the charges of justifying and recognizing the legitimacy of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and illegally crossing Ukraine's internationally recognized borders when filming in the Russian-occupied territories. Read also: Is 'Russians at War' propaganda? We asked 7 people in film who saw it We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
