A former US Army soldier, Craig Austin Lang, has been extradited from Ukraine to face trial in Florida for murder and robbery charges.
Lang, 34, is accused of killing Serafin and Deana Lorenzo in 2018 and stealing from them to fund his escapades in Venezuela. He will appear in a Florida court on Monday, following a decade-long globe-trotting journey that saw him fight in Ukraine and East Africa.
Lang deserted the US Army in 2013 and joined volunteer paramilitary forces in Ukraine, fighting against Russian separatists. He has lived in Ukraine on and off since 2015 and has been under threat of extradition for at least five years.
According to the US Justice Department, Lang “went on an international crime spree” and evaded authorities by trading guns, a grenade, and cash to apply for a US passport under an assumed name. Nicole Argentieri, head of the criminal division, described Lang’s alleged conduct as “shocking in its scope and its callous disregard for human life”.
Lang’s extradition follows a federal jury’s conviction of his alleged accomplice, Alex Jared Zwiefelhofer, on all charges related to the 2018 double homicide and armed robbery.
Lang faces life in prison over the charges in the Middle District of Florida and also faces charges in North Carolina and Arizona for passport fraud, identity theft, and passport misuse. His court appearance on Monday may be one of many, as he faces a long legal battle ahead.
