Police have identified a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old as the prime suspects in the fiery killing of a homeless Moroccan man near the northern city of Verona.

L'Arena di Verona daily reported Friday that the younger boy told police that they didn't intend to kill the man, saying "it was a joke."

Ahmed Fdil, 64, was burned alive in a car Dec. 13 in the town of Zevio, south of Verona. Gino Capo, a witness, told RAI state television that he saw the car on fire but was unable to pull the man free. Capo said "to see him die like that was atrocious. To see him burning, he was alive...."

The boys had been seen harassing Fdil in the days before the fire, including throwing firecrackers at him.