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FDInLaw

01-07-2009, 10:19 AM

Investigators: Amanda Knox's Family says Confession Coerced:

But Amanda’s parents, Curt Knox and Edda Mellas of Seattle, say there's been an international media frenzy against their daughter fed by leaks from prosecutors.

"She's 100 percent innocent in this whole thing, and she had nothing to do with this," Amanda’s father Curt said. "They have horribly trashed her entire character and it's not who she is - completely not who she is."

"I still wake up, is this a nightmare. It's been more than a year and the nightmare continues," Edda said.

Curt and Edda say much of what's been reported simply isn't true.

KING 5 Investigator Linda Byron asked them: "Did she change her story?"

Edda Mellas responded: "No, no. For this whole year they have maintained the story - what they did that night. They stayed at Raffaele's, they made dinner, they watched a movie. That’s it, that's the story."

Then what of Amanda’s so-called confessions? Her parents say she didn't even know she was a suspect until Raffaele was called in for questioning five days after Meredith Kercher was found murdered.

"She was just flat scared to be alone," Curt said. "So she went down to the police station with him and they were split into two rooms and then they started going at them. With physical and mental abuse for 14 hours. No food, water, no official interpreter."

Prosecutors say Amanda’s accounts swung wildly: She wasn't at the cottage the night of the murder. She was there, but drunk in another room.

But her parents say she was coerced by police.

"(They said) you know, you're never going to see your family again," Curt said. "You're going to jail for 30 years. You need to come up with something for us, you're a liar. Come up with something for us. Envision something; throw something out there."

One story Amanda threw out was that the Patrick Lumumba, owner of the club where she and Meredith worked, was responsible. He was later cleared and many of Amanda’s statements were thrown out by a judge.

"She had nothing to hide," Curt said. "She was trying to help police and they literally turned it on her."

Then there's the kiss. Amanda and Raffaele were caught on tape kissing while police were still inside processing the grisly murder scene. People have said they were having a sexual moment after the murder.

"They were comforting each other," Curt said. "He was rubbing her back. She was, no smile, no look of sexualness there. We know her, we could tell, she was in shock, she was in shock. She was literally in shock."

Amanda hoped she would be freed when drifter Rudy Guede's bloody fingerprints were found in Meredith’s room, and he was convicted of her murder in October. But prosecutors are sticking to their theory of a sex game, alleging Raffaele held down Meredith while Rudy raped her and Amanda slit her throat.

"We have to keep hoping," Edda said.

"When they look at the evidence, true evidence, she's free," Curt said. "We're done with this."

KING 5 Investigator Linda Byron asked Curt and Edda: "What's your greatest fear?"

Curt said: "She had nothing to do with this and I guess my greatest fear is we'll run out of options."

Then there's the physical evidence. The alleged murder weapon – a knife - was found in Raffaele's apartment. Prosecutors say Meredith’s DNA is on the blade and Amanda’s is on the handle.

But the defense is challenging that evidence, saying it's a cooking knife so it's logical Amanda’s DNA would be on the handle.

More importantly, the defense says the DNA on the blade isn't blood and isn't a definite match for Meredith, plus the knife itself doesn't match the stab wounds.

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_010609INV_amanda_knox_KS.44a32973.html

See article for complete story.

FDInLaw

01-09-2009, 10:51 AM

Perugia, January 9 - The defence team of an
Italian suspect in the murder of British university student
Meredith Kercher on Friday carried out further tests in the
house in Perugia where Kercher was killed in November 2007.
The lawyers of Raffaele Sollecito, 24, sent a ballistics
expert and a specialist in crime scene reconstruction to the
house to calculate the trajectory of a rock which broke a
window on the night of the murder.
Sollecito`s defence team argue that an intruder broke
into the house through the window in the room of one of
Kercher`s flatmates and then murdered the student.
Prosecutors say Sollecito, his 21-year-old American
girlfriend Amanda Knox and 21-year-old Ivory Coast national
Rudy Guede, who has already been convicted for the murder,
broke the window in an attempt to simulate a break-in.
The trial of Sollecito and Knox will begin on January 16.

http://www.lifeinitaly.com/node/3068

See link for complete article.

FDInLaw

01-12-2009, 01:23 PM

By Associated Press ROME (AP) - University of Washington student Amanda Knox is schedule to go on trial Friday in Italy with her former boyfriend in the death of her housemate in a sexual assault.

Knox, 21, has been jailed more than a year in the town of Perugia, where she went to study.

>snip<

Prosecutors say Knox and Raffaele Sollecito took part in the November 2007 killing of British student Meredith Kercher.

Another man, Rudy Hermann Guede of Ivory Coast, was convicted in October in a fast-track trial and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Guede, Knox and Sollecito have denied wrongdoing.

Prosecutors allege that Kercher was killed during what began as a sex game, with Sollecito holding her by the shoulders from behind while Knox touched her with the point of a knife. They say Guede tried to sexually assault Kercher, and then Knox fatally stabbed her in the throat.

Prosecutors say Knox's DNA was found on the handle of a knife that might have been used in the slaying, while Kercher's DNA was found on the blade.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/37443074.html

FDInLaw

01-12-2009, 07:29 PM

Knox and Sollecito will be present at this first hearing. A third suspect, Rudy Guede, chose an abbreviated trial and has already been sentenced to 30 years in jail for murder and sexual assault.

The Kercher family won't attend the hearing, but some family members are expected to give testimony later on. More than 250 witnesses will be heard during the lengthy trial.

The first day is expected to produce only one bombshell. Will Judge Giancarlo Massei rule to have the trial open or closed? So far it's been conducted behind closed doors, paralleling, in some ways, grand jury proceedings in the U.S.

The defendants want to keep the trial open to counter what Knox's father calls "the vilification of her character." Kercher's family would prefer to have it closed to press and public during what their lawyer calls "the more harrowing aspects." They have already endured the leakage of crime scene photos and a graphic video.

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/dempsey/archives/159280.asp

FDInLaw

01-14-2009, 11:37 AM

Amanda Knox is claiming €500,000 (£455,000) in compensation for damage allegedly caused by the "prurient" book, Amanda and the Others: Lives Lost around the Perugia Murder, published last month by a Corriere della Sera crime journalist. She also wants it withdrawn from bookshops.

Her lawyers said that the book, extracts from which were published in the newspaper, contained details about Ms Knox's sex life that was ''not in any way useful or considered relevant to the investigation".

These had been "reported in a prurient manner, aimed solely at arousing the morbid imagination of readers. This crosses the limits of legitimate exercise of the rights of the press,'' the lawyers said.

Ms Knox had suffered from a ''smear campaign'' during ''incredible and misleading'' media coverage that was ''in violation of the general principles safeguarding personal information and dignity", they claimed.

The media had done "everything in its power" to create "an absolutely negative portrayal" of their client. The lawyers have filed complaints with a Milan court and with Italy's privacy watchdog.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5509951.ece

FDInLaw

01-14-2009, 11:42 AM

Murder suspect Amanda Knox has launched a dramatic bid to have her case thrown out - claiming a book about the killing damaged her chance of a fair trial.

Knox, 21, also wants £500,000 damages.

>snip<

The book Amanda and the Others was written by leading crime journalist Fiorenza Sarzanini and serialised in Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera last month. It is a bestseller in Italy and was a popular Christmas gift.

The author relied on extracts of Knox's diary, seized by police following her arrest in November 2007.

It tells of Knox 'feeling so hungry I could murder a pizza' and describes how she wanted to 'write a song' about Miss Kercher's death. She details nights of 'alcohol, drugs and sex'.

Knox has filed a request at the Milan Civil Court that the book be seized and that she be awarded £500,000 damages.

Her lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova said: 'There is no doubt that this book will have an impact on my client's trial. That is why we have made this request and also claimed damages.'

Sarzanini said the contents of Knox's diary were part of the evidence against her, and said earlier proceedings had established the case's sexual element.
'In my book I used the diary written by Amanda Knox herself and which is now part of the evidence in the trial against her,' he said.

'I don't understand how the fact that I have retold her own words in a book can have a negative influence on her trial.'
In her diary Knox writes: 'So I am at the police station after a long day in which I describe how I was the first person to arrive home and find my flatmate dead.

'The strange thing is after all that has happened I want to write a song about all this. It would be the first song I have written and would speak about how someone died in a horrible way and for no reason.

'How morbid is all that ? I'm dying of hunger. I really want to say that I could murder a pizza but that doesn't seem right. Laura and Filomena (Knox and Meredith's flatmates) are really upset.

'I'm angry. At the beginning I was shocked, then sad, then confused now I'm really angry. I don't know. I never saw her body and I never saw her blood so it's as if it hasn't happened.
'But it did happen, right in the room next to mine. There was blood in the bathroom where this morning I took a shower.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1114322/Amanda-Knox-launches-500-000-bid-murder-trial-thrown-court-damaging-book-published.html

FDInLaw

01-15-2009, 12:40 PM

"I'm not afraid of the truth and I hope finally it comes out. I was Meredith's friend and I didn't kill her," Miss Knox, from Seattle, said through her lawyers.

The American, who is jointly charged with murder with her former boyfriend, Italian IT graduate Raffaele Sollecito, 24, added: ''I have nothing to fear. I am innocent and the trial will prove it. I did not do the things I'm accused of."

Miss Kercher, of Coulsden, Surrey, was two months into a course at the University for Foreigners in Perugia when she was murdered on the night of All Saints Day, just after Halloween. She was found semi-naked with her throat cut.

Prosecutors will claim in court that her death was the result of a sex game which spiralled out of control, with Miss Knox stabbing her in the neck with a large kitchen knife, Mr Sollecito holding her down and the third person accused of the murder, unemployed drifter Rudy Guede, 21, trying to rape her.

Guede elected for a separate trial late last year and was sentenced to 30 years in jail after being found guilty of murder and sexual assault.

The trial has captured the attention of Italy, as well as Britain and the US, with photographs of Miss Knox appearing on magazine covers and in countless newspaper stories. The Italian press have dubbed her 'Angel Face' for her good looks and fresh complexion.

On her MySpace page the University of Washington student styled herself "Foxy Knoxy" – a reference, her family say, to her skill as a teenage soccer player. Her MySpace profile also displayed a picture of her laughing while handling a machine-gun.

She and Mr Sollecito, who have been behind bars for more than a year, both deny any involvement.

The mayor of Perugia, which each year attracts thousands of foreign students, said the murder remained "an open wound" for the medieval walled town of battlements, piazzas and Renaissance palaces.

"The murder of Meredith is an open wound, and I doubt whether it will ever be completely healed in the collective consciousness of Perugia," said mayor Renato Locchi. "More than a year on, the sadness does not change and the trial that is about to start will, if anything, deepen the wound."

Perugia had been portrayed as a drug-fuelled party town akin to Ibiza and as Gomorra – a reference to the Biblical city of sin but also to an award-winning Italian film about the Camorra mafia of Naples. It was neither, Mr Locchi said.

"Perugia has always welcomed thousands of young people from around the world to come here to study and to live and never has there been such a serious crime."

The people of Perugia hoped that the trial would establish the truth and deliver justice so that they could return to normal, Mr Locchi said.

See link for complete article.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/4246477/Amanda-Knox-proclaims-innocence-before-trial-for-Meredith-Kercher-murder-in-Italy.html

FDInLaw

01-16-2009, 10:17 AM

A smiling Amanda Knox walked into a frescoed underground Italian courtroom this morning at the start of her trial for the murder of her British fellow-student Meredith Kercher.

Dressed in jeans, a grey, black and white striped top and grey hooded tracksuit jacket, she chatted in a seemingly relaxed way with her lawyers. After hearing an application from the Kercher family's lawyer for a closed-doors hearing, and counter-arguments from defence counsel, the presiding judge, Giancarlo Massei, ruled that the trial should be held with the media present.

But, delivering his ruling from beneath a huge crucifix on the wall behind, the judge ruled out live television coverage and said some parts of the trial might be closed. . .

Knox, a Seattle student who, like Kercher, was in Italy to study at Perugia university, entered the courtroom between two blue-bereted officers of the Italian penitentiary police. During the adjournment that preceded the judge's ruling, she turned to wave to her uncle and aunt, Kevin and Christina Hagge, sitting at the back of the courtroom.

They told the Guardian she seemed to be in good spirits but thinner after 14 months in an Italian jail. At no point did Knox appear to make eye contact with her former boyfriend and co-defendant Sollecito, who sat between his own lawyers a few feet away.

The long hair with which he had appeared at the pre-trial hearing last year gone, the bespectacled Sollecito, a computer sciences graduate, sat facing the two judges and six jurors wearing beige trousers and a lime green and cream polo-neck pullover.

A grey steel cage used for dangerous defendants was occupied before the start of the hearing by print journalists in protest at the lack of seating for them in the area reserved for the public.

Among those in court on the opening day was Patrick Diya Lumumba, a Congolese musician and bar owner who was jailed at the start of the investigation after being identified by Knox as the murderer. He was freed when a witness came forward to testify that he was elsewhere at the time of the crime.

After the jurors – three men and three women – had been sworn in, Francesco Maresca, acting for the Kerchers, appealed to the judge for a closed-door hearing as "safeguard of the memory and dignity of the deceased". His plea was supported by the prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, who added there was a risk that media pressure could influence the "authenticity of some of the testimony".

His argument were challenged by Sollecito's lawyer, an Italian courtroom star, Giulia Bongiorno, who said her client "had nothing to fear from the news coming out". Knox's counsel agreed, appealing for "coverage of the trial without pre-conditions".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/16/meredith-kercher-murder-trial-knox-sollecito

FDInLaw

01-16-2009, 02:31 PM

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/photogalleries/localnews2008636417/1.html

FDInLaw

01-17-2009, 08:42 PM

Nearly 200 reporters, photographers and cameramen had waited patiently in the cold sunshine outside the Renaissance court in the Piazza Matteotti, at the heart of the Umbrian hillside town.

At 8.30am, the large doors opened, allowing those queuing to trudge through in an orderly fashion.

The court itself lies in the basement of the 14th century building, based in a vault of the historic property which has views stretching as far as Assisi.

The thick walls of brick and stone block all noise from the bustling town, and impressive frescoes of the Virgin Mary and Jesus adorn the doorway.

The main court is laid out in conventional style but to one side lie two imposing 15ft metal cages in which dangerous defendants are placed.

They were not deemed necessary for Miss Knox or her co-accused Raffaele Sollecito.

But yet, as Judge Giancarlo Massei opened one of the biggest trials in recent Umbrian history, he was greeted with the spectacle of 15 journalists crammed behind the bars.

A stand-off between those reporters who had settled in the well of the court, and the police who did not want them there, led to the move to the cages.

Judge Massei was not impressed.

"It is absolutely improper for the press to sit in the cage," he said.

He ordered them to move, which they did, joining the rest of the media lined three deep in the public gallery, most standing precariously on white plastic chairs.

Surveying the chaos, Judge Massei banished all cameramen before allowing Miss Knox or Mr Sollecito into the court.

Shortly after 9.30am, Mr Sollecito walked in, flanked by two Italian prison guards wearing pale blue berets and guns strapped in white leather holsters.

Dressed in a white poloneck, green jumper, hooded jacket and brown trousers, wearing glasses with his hair cut short, he grimaced at the number of people in court.

His demeanour was in stark contrast to Miss Knox, dressed casually in jeans, a striped t-shirt and grey hooded top with her brown hair hanging loose.

She too, was accompanied by prison guards, but appeared oblivious to the media scrum to her right.

The 21-year-old smiled broadly at her counsel Luciano Ghirga before turning delightedly to fellow lawyer Carlo della Vedova, as though greeting a lost relative.

She sat between the pair, whispering, smiling and nodding as the trial into the murder of Meredith Kercher was formally opened.

The case has stirred great interest on both sides of the Atlantic as well as in Italy – and not just because of its defendants.

Mr Sollecito, who is the son of a wealthy doctor, has hired Giulia Bongiorno to lead his legal team.

The 42-year-old is a star in Italy, best known for previously defending Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti against Mafia charges.

With the trial set to last several months, the circus surrounding it shows little sign of slowing down.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/4270275/Amanda-Knox-on-trial-for-Meredith-Kercher-killing-The-scene-inside-the-courtroom.html

FDInLaw

01-17-2009, 08:45 PM

Appearing live on TODAY Friday, her parents Chuck Knox and Edda Mellas and sister Deanna told Matt Lauer of Amanda’s resolve heading into the trial. They believe their daughter and sister has been railroaded into a charge based on flimsy evidence and unfair depictions of Amanda as a promiscuous party gal whom the Italian press has dubbed “Angel Face.”
“She’s nervous, but she’s really glad that it’s finally getting going so she can get out of there,” mom Edda Mellas told Lauer as her daughter begins her trial. “She wants it to be done so she can be home. She knows she’s innocent, and she really feels like that will come out and she will be released. But she’s nervous.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28690658/

FDInLaw

01-19-2009, 09:21 AM

Amanda Knox sought to patch up relations with her estranged former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, behind the scenes, at the opening of their trial for the murder of Meredith Kercher, Ms Knox’s British flatmate, it emerged yesterday.

During the seven-hour opening hearing on Friday, Ms Knox, 21 smiled and laughed repeatedly, joking with her lawyers and interpreter. Although sitting only a few feet from the bespectacled Mr Sollecito, 24, she barely acknowledged his glances along the row.

As far as is known the two, who have been held in separate prisons, have not spoken since they were arrested after the murder of Ms Kercher in November 2007. But during a recess on Friday, Ms Knox approached Mr Sollecito and broke the ice by asking: “Ciao, come stai?” (“Hi, how are you?”). She smiled at him and said: “You look good with your hair cut short.”

Mr Sollecito, who had grown his hair long in prison, blushed at the compliment, according to Italian reports from legal sources who witnessed the exchange.

Ms Knox told him that she had not slept well because one of her cellmates snored loudly, but added that she felt optimistic and was “not afraid” because the trial would “end well” for them both.

Mr Sollecito, who appeared “much more tense and uncertain”, told his former girlfriend that the trial would take “a long time”, but he too “hoped for the best”. He told Ms Knox he was being transferred from prison at Terni to the Perugia prison where she is being held, in order to be closer to the courtroom, but said he was "not happy about it.” He said that at Terni he had been allowed to mix with other prisoners, whereas at Perugia he would be held in isolation.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5540939.ece

FDInLaw

01-19-2009, 09:28 AM

PERUGIA, Italy, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- British student Meredith Kercher was slain after attempts to "soften her up" for a sex game failed, an Italian prosecutor says.

New details alleged by Italian authorities about Kercher's final moments indicate her exchange student roommate, American Amanda Knox, 21, sent Rudy Geude, also 21, to initiate her into planned "erotic game," but Kercher energetically refused him, leading to her slaying, The Sunday Times of London reported.

Quoting Italian prosecutor Giuliano Mignini in a soon-to-be-published book, the newspaper said police accuse Knox; her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 24; and Geude of stabbing Kercher in the neck with a kitchen knife after becoming enraged by her refusal to let Geude "soften her up" for the sex game.

Knox, of Seattle, and Sollecito went on trial Friday, accused of sexually abusing and murdering Kercher, 21, in Perugia, Italy. They both say they are innocent, while Guede has already been jailed for 30 years for his part in the killing.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/18/Official_Coed_slain_after_softening_up/UPI-46541232295875/

FDInLaw

01-19-2009, 10:22 AM

Prosecutors allege that Kercher was killed during what began as
a sex game, with Sollecito holding her by the shoulders from behind
while Knox touched her with the point of a knife. They say Guede
tried to sexually assault Kercher, and then Knox fatally stabbed
her in the throat.

"Justice has already been done with the conviction of the one
person responsible, to 30 years in jail," Sollecito attorney Luca
Maori told the court, referring to Guede.

Sollecito has maintained he was in his own apartment in Perugia
and that he doesn't remember if Knox spent part or all the night of
the murder with him. Knox initially told investigators she was in
the house when Kercher was killed and covered her ears against the
victim's screams. Later, Knox said she wasn't in the house.

Knox's attorney, lawyer Luciano Ghirga, said he wanted to prove
that Knox was with Sollecito somewhere else at the time of
Kercher's death.

"Amanda is determined and serene but she is facing a very
delicate trial," Ghirga said. "It is a mixture of feelings but
she is a very good girl, and we hope we can help her."

The court ruled that both Knox and Guede could testify; some 150
witnesses are expected and lawyers say the trial could last at
least a year.

Another one of Sollecito's lawyers, Giulia Bongiorno, said her
client and Knox were not longtime lovers looking for new sexual
experiences, as suggested by prosecutors. She said the two were
"little lovebirds" who were only "in the first week of their
love story."

Both Knox and Sollecito were denied bail and have been detained
for more than a year in Italy. Italy does not have the death
penalty and a conviction could bring a maximum sentence of life in
prison.

http://www.q13fox.com/pages/news_story_landing_page/?Amanda-Knox-Trial-Will-Remain-Open-To-Me=1&blockID=187642&feedID=144

FDInLaw

01-21-2009, 10:49 AM

PERUGIA, Italy -- The trial of Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend has begun with a media frenzy erupting amid the studied indifference -- revulsion might be a better word -- of the city of Perugia. After a wait of 15 months, during which she flashed before the cameras for only a few seconds between police van and courtroom, finally the world was able to gaze its fill on "Foxy Knoxy."

What did we see? A fairly nice-looking, preppy American student, transparently delighted that the long wait is over and that at last she is facing the judge and six jurors who will determine her fate.

>snip<

But although the murder and the subsequent investigation have been headline news in Italy for more than a year, the public seating remained all but empty on Friday. The appetite for titillating gossip about the vivacious young American is clearly huge, but the city where the terrible events of the night of Nov. 1, 2007 unfolded does not want to know.

Perugia's mayor, Renato Locchi, claimed that the lack of interest was a measure of his citizens' maturity. "After hearing about the murder of Meredith Kercher for more than a year, they can't take any more," he said.

"They can't wait for justice to be done and the whole thing to be over. And in this respect I feel fully in harmony with them."

The deeper reason is that this is not an Italian crime but a foreign one.

The victim and two of the three alleged killers are foreign, and the context is Perugia's University for Foreigners, which has little connection with the city. By staying away, citizens were saying: "This has nothing to do with us."

The only spectator on the first day of the trial was a retired schoolteacher called Teresa Marcucci, 63. "This crime has upset me so much," she told La Stampa, the Italian daily newspaper. "I feel a sense of pain for the poor victim, and an enormous pity for the young people in the dock." And what of them? "It seems to me that Raffaele was chased into trouble by Amanda," she said. And Amanda? "To see her laughing that way -- even if she didn't commit the murder, she's not behaving well. It's a very sad thing."

In Italy's eyes, Amanda Knox cannot do anything right. She is so open and spontaneous that Italians are convinced she must have something to hide. On Friday she sauntered into court as if it was her first day back in class after Christmas, wreathed in happy smiles. The obvious explanation -- that she was at last out of her cell and on her way -- was too simple for Italy.

Either she was concealing her diabolical guilt beneath that happy face, or (or in addition) she was exposing herself as the reckless voluptuary described by the prosecution. And in any case, as the sole spectator said, a person accused of murder should not put on such a happy face at her trial. It's unseemly.

It's an indication of how much work the defense will have to do to convince the poker-faced jury that Knox and Sollecito are innocent. The judge in the fast-track trial of the third accused, Rudy Guede, who last year sentenced him to 30 years' jail for his role, rejected out of hand the prosecution's garish description of how Amanda had presided at a satanic Halloween orgy in which she wielded the knife. But he was sufficiently convinced by the evidence investigators amassed to send the pair for trial.

Where did they actually pass the night, and doing what? Why did they make a start on cleaning up the murder scene next morning, and why didn't they call the police? Amanda Knox will have to do a lot more than smile if she wants to go home.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/396670_amandaonline20.html

FDInLaw

01-22-2009, 11:36 AM

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_012109WAB-amanda-knox-ks.17747e95.html

FDInLaw

01-30-2009, 11:38 AM

Paul CiolinoProsecutor Giuliano Migninii created a sensation in Italy today. He filed a defamation complaint against the tiny West Seattle Herald for a story about the Friends of Amanda Knox fundraiser held in that neighborhood last week.

Also in the hot seat is the keynote speaker Paul Ciolino, a private investigator who has been a vocal critic on CBS' 48 Hours Mystery and other places.

According to Il Messaggero, the prosecutor is objecting to being called inadequate" and "mentally unstable" and he is calling for the "seizure" of the Web pages on which the article appeared. He is prosecuting the wildly controversial Meredith Kercher murder case. Sources here say Ciolino is also named in the complaint, but the Italian press notes only the newspaper. . .

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/dempsey/archives/160759.asp?source=mypi

FDInLaw

01-30-2009, 11:40 AM

BRITISH student Meredith Kercher was the victim of a plan by her killers to "satisfy their sexual instincts" which then got out of control, a judge has ruled.
Paolo Micheli made the ruling in a written explanation of his decision in October to convict one of the three suspects over Miss Kercher's killing.

In Italy, judges often issue explanations of their decisions months after they are handed down.

Mr Micheli sentenced an Ivory Coast national, Rudy Hermann Guede, to 30 years after he underwent a fast-track trial at his own request. Amanda Knox, an American, and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, are on trial facing the same charges of murder and sexual violence over the death of Miss Kercher in the town of Perugia. All three deny any wrongdoing. . .

http://news.scotsman.com/world/Meredith-Kercher-was-killed-in.4919217.jp

FDInLaw

02-02-2009, 09:38 AM

Here's the transcript:

NANCY GRACE: Straight out to Alessio Vinci joining us from Rome, Italy. He's the CNN Rome bureau chief.

Alessio, thank you for being with us. What is the evidence alleged against the American girl?

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Well, the evidence is that prosecutors believe they have enough evidence that she was actually at the crime scene the night the murder took place and they believe that they have.

GRACE: Hold on, everybody, our satellite has frozen. While we wait for Alessio to come back us to, I want to go to the aunt of Amanda Knox. This is the 21-year-old American girl on trial for murder, the murder of her British roommate. Janet Huff is with us.

Miss huff, thank you for being with us. Tell me about Amanda.

JANET HUFF, AUNT OF AMANDA KNOX, NIECE ACCUSED OF MURDERING MEREDITH KERCHER: Oh, Amanda is -- she's a wonderful girl. She's someone who has never even been accused of hurting somebody's feelings let alone causing any one any physical harm. She's an honest, caring, and wonderful person.

GRACE: Miss Huff, what do you make of police stating that she told them, first of all, and correct me if my facts are not -- are not what yours are, I'm getting this from the Italian authorities, that she told them she was there in the apartment, in the cottage when her roommate began screaming and she put her hands over her ears, then later said that was actually a vision or a dream that she had had.

HUFF: Yes, this is again a case of someone not interpreting correctly. She made the statement -- she was asked to imagine what she would do if she was there during the time and she would have heard Meredith in the room with someone else, what would she have done if she would have heard them in there and at that point it was just, was a consensual sex or not and she said wow, if I would have heard my roommate in there with someone else, as I was there, I might have covered my ears.

It was something she was asked to imagine. It was not her statement saying that that's what happened.

GRACE: And Miss Huff, explain something to me. I know that she told police she was with her boyfriend.

HUFF: Right.

GRACE: At the time of the murder at his place.

HUFF: Right.

GRACE: He is also charged in the murder. Now there's surveillance video, apparently, of her near her place, near the murder scene that night.

HUFF: No, actually there isn't. There's video that shows somebody, but it's not been confirmed that that's Amanda.

GRACE: Do police say it's Amanda?

HUFF: They're guessing.

GRACE: They're guessing. OK. Then in your understanding, Miss Huff -- everyone, with me, the aunt of Amanda Knox -- what is their evidence against Amanda?

HUFF: They simply don't have any evidence against Amanda. There is nothing, there's lots of guesses. There's theories, there's stories.

GRACE: OK.

HUFF: Nothing physical.

GRACE: Back to Alessio Vinci, the CNN Rome bureau chief. Alessio, it is my understanding that police state, Italian police state they have the murder weapon with the defendant, the American girl, DNA on the handle end and the victim's blood and DNA on the blade end.

VINCI: They claim they have that evidence, but again, if you read carefully the paperwork that the prosecutors have put together it actually doesn't state a -- with 100 percent certainty that that is, in fact, the murder weapon. They said they have this knife. The forensic evidence suggests that the -- the cut that was -- that killed Meredith Kercher is not incompatible with the actual blade.

Meaning that they don't have 100 percent match between the blade and the actual wound to her throat. As far as the other evidence, the investigators say that they have found blood stains in the bathroom in which they could see the DNA belonging to Amanda and DNA belonging to Meredith mixed together.

Now, of course, what the, what the defense lawyers are arguing is that this is an apartment that was shared by Kercher and Amanda Knox and they're saying that technically there is nothing wrong in seeing that kind of DNA evidence mixed together because that's the bathroom that both women were using.

GRACE: Is it true, Alessio, that police are stating they have a bloody fingerprint of Amanda Knox there in the bathroom?

VINCI: Not that I know of. Not a fingerprint. The only fingerprint that was found was of a third suspect, Rudy Guede. He has already been tried and convicted to 30 years in jail and it was actually a bloody palm print that was found on the pillow in the victim's room.

GRACE: And a last question regarding the DNA evidence in the forensic evidence. The Italian police claim boyfriend Sollecito's DNA was found on the victim, Meredith's bra. What do you know about that?

VINCI: Correct. As a matter of fact, that evidence was introduced later in the game. Originally, the prosecutors placed Raffaele Sollecito at the crime scene because they said they had found.

GRACE: OK, I think Alessio has frozen again.

To Miss Huff, this is Amanda's aunt, joining us, if your niece was with the boyfriend at the time of the murder, what is his DNA doing on the murder victim's bra?

HUFF: Well, from what I can understand, as far as how the evidence was collected and this bra strap was moved around quite a bit, that it's most likely a case of contamination of evidence.

If you watch the crime scene video of how they're collecting the evidence, it's been moved, put here, put there, handed off to several people, it's been contaminated.

GRACE: To trial lawyer, high-profile attorney out of Seattle, Anne Bremner, spokesperson for friends of Amanda Knox, weigh in, Anne.

ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, SPOKESPERSON, FRIENDS OF AMANDA KNOX: Well -- this is just horrific that the charge against Amanda. There is no physical evidence, Nancy. There's no bloody fingerprint of hers in the bathroom. There's nothing, absolutely nothing to tie her to this case and she's turned 21 in jail in Italy.

GRACE: So you're saying police, Italian police have made all this up?

BREMNER: No, no, you know what, Nancy, the prosecutor's been indicted for abuse of office. This is his case and it's a railroad job from hell.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VINCI (voice over): Investigators insisted Knox left a fresh bloodstain in the bathroom and that they found a bloody footprint matching Sollecito's shoes next to the victim's body. Knox and Sollecito both deny it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Out to Paul Ciolino, private investigator, consultant to CBS News, who traveled to Italy to investigate the Knox case. What did you learn, Paul?

PAUL CIOLINO, P.I. CONSULTANT, CBS NEWS, TRAVELED TO ITALY TO INVESTIGATE AMANDA KNOX CASE: Well, Nancy, what I learned is there is no evidence. There's no physical evidence, there's no eyewitness, there's no confession, there's no case.

We have a prosecutor who's been indicted and is currently on trial for official misconduct, illegal wiretaps, harassing media personnel, et cetera. His own prosecutors in that country have called him a man with a case of delirium. That's a quote from the prosecutor in his case.

This case would not be prosecuted anywhere else in the world. This is a tragedy. This kid has been in prison for 15 months now. It's -- it would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/dempsey/archives/160929.asp

FDInLaw

02-02-2009, 09:39 AM

GRACE: Paul, why did you go to Italy? Who employed you to do that?

CIOLINO: I was -- I was consulting CBS News to do it. And when we went over there, we had no notions of any kind of what had happened or occurred. But when I go to a crime scene, Nancy, and there's a 20-unit apartment building overlooking the crime scene with a perfect view of it and I'm there three months later and nobody's been interviewed by the police or the prosecutor's office, I started getting a little worried about the quality of the police work.

When I interviewed the chief investigator and he tells me he -- he knew she was guilty because she was eating a pizza, that's another problem I have.

GRACE: What about it, Mike Brooks?

CIOLINO: I've never heard there's a probably cause. Pardon me?

BROOKS: If what Paul is saying is true, and what Anne, who I have great respect for, if she thinks this case is screwed up, then it sounds like it is screwed up. I mean, if they have not done a canvass of the apartments there for statements, that's -- unconscionable.

GRACE: We'll find out what happens at trial. The trial is ongoing right now.

Note from CD: Forensics scientists do not have a reliable test to date blood, thus blood cannot be said to be "fresh." It was found in the bathroom that Amanda and Meredith shared. Also no blood was found on the alleged murder weapon, a kitchen knife found in the apartment of Raffaele Sollecito. The knife may/may not contain Meredith Kercher's DNA. That DNA sample is said to be inconclusive and too small to allow a second test. Journalists are waiting for the actual results to be revealed in court. See link for complete transcript.

FDInLaw

02-06-2009, 10:02 AM

D.J. has kept in close contact with Amanda. Here he talks about everything from how he met her to why she is upset about the publication of the tell-all Amanda e gli altri and how she managed to stir up controversy by smiling during her first day in court.

1. How would you describe Amanda? Would you say she's different or unusual?

Amanda is one of the most warm-hearted individuals I've ever known. I place her on the same level as my parents in that regard. But she's also often misunderstood. She has a real passion for living life to the fullest. Many people just cannot understand how a person could be so excited just to wake up every day.

2. Reporters often characterize Amanda as impulsive and naive. You disagree. Why?

Amanda is, in my opinion, yes, a bit naive when it comes to certain things. She doesn't assess dangerous situations in the same way most people do (i.e. walking home alone at night). But you would be making a huge mistake if you thought she was naive in most other areas of her life. I have always thought that she understands other people better than they understand themselves. People have relied on Amanda during their times of need for as long as I've known her.

3. How did you meet Amanda?

I met her in the month leading up to our freshman year. We immediately became friends because both she and I were into rock climbing, soccer, and other outdoor sports--mainly rock climbing though.

4. What was it that drew you toward her?

Her positive, friendly attitude. Most everyone likes Amanda when they first meet her, although some people don't like her for having so much energy. I think they're just bitter though.

5. When did you start dating?

End of our second year in university. We've been friends far longer than we've dated though. She's someone I really rely on.

6. When she left for Italy, you broke up, right? Were you on a break or what? What was the agreement? Everybody wonders about that.

Yeah, we decided that a long distance thing just wasn't a good idea. So we broke up right before she left. ha ha, we still ended up talking at least twice a week for the entire time she was in Italy. Like I said, we've been friends for a long time.

7. How closely did you keep in touch while she was in Perugia? Didn't you buy her a Skype headset?

Well, like I said, twice a week we talked over Skype. I can't even imagine how much money she must have spent at internet cafes.

8. How did you find out about Meredith Kercher's murder?
She sent me a short message online and I checked the news.

9. How/when did you find out about Amanda's arrest?

Well, actually I didn't find out till a friend mentioned it to me.

10. How did you handle that?

Not so good. I went into hysterics for about 20 minutes. It was absolutely inconceivable that Amanda would do something like this. My mind just couldn't process it at all. I still can't believe what has happened.

11. What was your reaction when you saw the famous kissing photos between Amanda and Raffaele? Were you jealous? Everyone wonders how you could cope.

No, Amanda is her own person. She is free to do as she wants. Besides, I like Raffaele. From what Amanda told me, he was very kind and respectful towards her.

12. What is your relationship now?

We're just really good friends. We still rely on each other immensely, and she certainly needs every bit of support she can get right now. This is far and away the hardest thing she's ever had to deal with.

13. I understand that Amanda often writes to you, but that you saw some of her first letters for the first time when they were leaked to British tabloids? Do you still have trouble getting the letters? How often does she write?

Yeah, I've got a stack of letters a foot or so high. For a while, we were writing to each other every single day. And yeah, many of the letters that people read about in the papers are ones that were stolen from me. There were quite a few of those, especially early on.

14. What is Amanda's attitude toward her imprisonment?

She is baffled by what has happened to her. She placed a lot of faith in the investigators hands and they abused it. When this thing first happened, everyone she knew was calling her up and telling her to come home (some people even warned her that she was probably considered a suspect because she was so close to Meredith). But she kept telling people, no, I want to stay and help the police find out what happened. I have to think she regrets that decision now.

15. Why was she so upset about her diaries surfacing in the book, Amanda e gli Altri? Her prison diary had already been thoroughly exposed. Her Facebook entries posted. What was different this time?

Well, first and foremost, it's not a very accurate portrayal at all. From what I understand, the whole book was based off of only 10 pages from her school notebook. This writer didn't care for the truth of who Amanda really was (which takes much more than 10 pages). She simply wanted to capitalize on Amanda's fame. It's amazing what people will accept as fact when they see it written down--sad really.

16. Much was made of her smiling in court recently. What do you make of that?

Amanda wrote to me about that. She thought it so ridiculous that so many people were there just to take pictures of her that she couldn't help but laugh. She thinks that people are making way too big a deal out of her. She really doesn't like the attention. Besides, from what I hear she only smiled as she was greeting her lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, and when she waved to her aunt and uncle. Hardly inappropriate at all.

17. Anything else you want to tell us about Amanda?

Yeah, she's an amazing person, one of the greatest human beings I've met so far. She wouldn't have such strong support if she wasn't. Some of her university friends (not sure if I'll be there or not) will be testifying at her trial. They are going to be spending thousands of dollars of their own money, taking time off from school and work, and flying all the way across the ocean to Italy just to spend a day or two talking about who the real Amanda is. If that doesn't say something about the kind of person she is, I don't know what else to say.

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/dempsey/archives/161303.asp

FDInLaw

02-06-2009, 10:06 AM

As stories go, this one ought to be irresistible.

I’ve got two theories for why it’s gotten no traction in the US.

No. 1: This is a demonstrable effect of every US news organization pinching pennies and closing their bureaus around the world. Even Europe gets scant personal attention now—and Italy, forget it. As it happens, this story, like most other stories in their local markets, is getting lots of coverage—just not by US news operations. The US media could pinch pennies and still report this story—and so many others—if it relied on foreign news organizations. But we don’t do that. We continue to believe in some strange, parochial and prideful way, that if it isn’t reported by Americans it hasn’t really happened. US news organizations have closed their bureaus and rather assumed the news has closed with them.

No. 2: On cable TV, politics is now more important than murder. Some people might say this is good news, our civic self has transcended our prurient self. But I’d argue that interest in a good old-fashioned murder might well be healthier than the virulent animosities and pointless nattering at the heart of our political lives. Murder is truer and cleaner.

And this just in: It’s beginning to look a lot like Amanda Knox didn’t do it. That the girl next door, instead of being a crazed and deviant sex killer, might actually just be the pot-head girl next door.

As I say, I can’t get enough of the trial of Foxy Knoxy, and you shouldn’t be able to get enough either.

http://blog.newser.com/post/2009/2/5/Why-Foxy-Knoxy-Gets-No-Respect.aspx

samanthajane13

02-14-2009, 02:59 PM

Murder trial in Italy: US student had a scratch
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO, Associated Press Writer Alessandra Rizzo, Associated Press Writer – 2 mins ago

PERUGIA, Italy – An American student accused in the stabbing death of her British roommate had a scratch on her neck hours after the killing, a witness testified Saturday at the murder trial in Italy.

Laura Mezzetti, an Italian woman who shared an apartment with victim Meredith Kercher and defendant Amanda Knox, told the court she saw the scratch on Nov. 2, 2007, at the police station where they were waiting to be questioned.

Kercher's body had been found earlier that day in their apartment in Perugia.

"Amanda had a wound to her neck and I noticed it because it was known that Meredith had been killed by a wound to her neck," Mezzetti told the court. "She had a scratch to her neck."

Mezzetti said she observed Knox's scratch from a few yards (meters) away. She described the wound as "vertical, less than 1-centimeter (0.4 inches) thick," red in color and gestured that it was under her chin.

"I was afraid that Amanda, too, might have been wounded, I was worried and I looked at it really intensely," Mezzetti said.

The prosecution didn't say what it believed the new testimony showed in its case against Knox. In comments made after the hearing, Knox's lawyer and her father downplayed it.

Prosecutors allege Kercher was the reluctant object of a sex game that ended violently on Nov. 1 when she was stabbed in the neck.

Knox, a 21-year old from Seattle, and Raffaele Sollecito, a 24-year-old Italian who was her boyfriend at the time, are being tried on charges of murder and sexual violence. They deny wrongdoing.

Another man, Ivory Coast national Rudy Hermann Guede, was convicted last year on the same charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Guede, who had also denied wrongdoing, had requested and received a fast-track trial.

Mezzetti said she did not see any scratch when she saw Knox on Oct. 31, 2007, during breakfast at the apartment, and that she did not see Knox again until two days later at the police station. She said the scratch was different from a love bite, which would be "purple and more round."

Mezzetti told police in November that she had seen the scratch, but she had failed to mention it in several previous interrogations by police. Asked why she had not mentioned it before then, Mezzetti said she thought everybody else would have noticed it.

Knox's lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, said his client had nothing more that a little mark on her neck. "This is a witness giving a medical assessment," he said.

The defendant's father, Curt Knox, told reporters after the hearing that the doctor who gave his daughter a full-body medical examination after her Nov. 6, 2007 arrest "did not make a single note related to a scratch in the neck."

"When we go to the next phase that's what you will hear," he said.

"There is no scratch," he said, adding it was "probably a hickey."

Appearing in court Saturday on Valentine's Day, Amanda sported a bright T-shirt with "All You Need Is Love" scrawled across the front in large pink letters. Her father said she is a fan of the Beatles.

Speaking for the second straight day to the court, Knox said she was hurt by recent testimony from witnesses, including by her Italian roommates. Witnesses said Knox did not always leave the toilet clean, prompting Kercher and other roommates to complain.

"I'm sincerely disappointed," she said, speaking Italian. "This cleaning issue was vastly exaggerated. I have talked about it with the other girls, but there was never conflict."

Knox insisted that relations in the house were good.

Also heard Saturday were Giacomo Silenzi and Stefano Bonassi, two Italian students who lived in the apartment below the one where Knox and Kercher lived. Silenzi had started dating Kercher a few weeks before the murder.

The two said they knew Guede, and both testified that the Ivorian had taken an interest in Knox, asking if she was seeing anybody.

Bonassi said that one night in October 2007 he was woken up by his roommates and saw that Guede, Knox and Kercher were all together in the apartment, along with Silenzi and other people. Guede had met the rest of the group at a bar in the center of town and then had gone back to the men's apartment, Silenzi said. Guede then spent the night at the house, apparently too drunk to move, the witnesses said.

"She knew of him, she had been introduced. But it's not like they were pals or anything," Curt Knox said of his daughter and Guede while speaking to reporters. "It sounded like Rudy kind of followed them home. He wasn't part of the group or anything like that," he added.

The trial continues Feb. 27.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090214/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_student_slain

dan_uk

03-17-2009, 10:07 AM

Coed Murder Suspect Amanda Knox Faces New Charge

Amanda Knox, the American student charged with the murder and sexual assault of Meredith Kercher, faces an additional charge of slander for claiming that police struck her while she was being questioned.

At the latest hearings in her trial in Perugia, Knox claimed that police had put her under psychological and physical pressure to admit that she was present at the murder.

Knox, who has the right to address the court at any time during her trial, was reacting to evidence from Anna Donnino, a police interpreter who claimed that Knox had behaved "as if a weight had been lifted from her" when she admitted that she had been at the scene of the crime and accused Patrick Diya Lumumba, a Congolese bar owner for whom she worked part-time, of the killing.

Knox told police that she had covered her ears in the kitchen to block out Ms Kercher's screams.

Donnino said that when questioned after Kercher's body was found, Knox walked up and down nervously at the police station, "hitting her head with her hands."

She had denied responding to an SMS message from Lumumba telling her there was no need to come to work because there were few customers, leaving her free for the evening. But she broke down when police said phone records showed that she had done so, Donnino said.

She showed extreme emotional involvement – she was crying and visibly shocked, saying 'It was him, it was him. He's bad'," Donnino added.

Knox, speaking in fluent Italian, said police had called her a "stupid liar" during "hours and hours" of questioning during which she had stuck to her story that she spent the night of the murder at the flat of Raffaele Sollecito, her former boyfriend and co-accused.

She said that Donnino had suggested to her "that probably I didn't remember well because I was traumatised, so I should try to remember something else." There had been an "aggressive insistence" on the text message she had received from Lumumba, Knox said. She insisted she had been slapped on the head by police, adding "I'm sorry, but it's true."

Donnino said that Knox had been "comforted" by police, given food and drink, and had at no stage been hit or threatened.

The newspaper Corriere dell' Umbria said that Giuliano Mignini, the prosecutor, would bring an additional charge of slander against Knox, since all police officers and interpreters who have given evidence at the trial have testified under oath that she was at no stage put under pressure or physically mistreated.

Kercher's semi-naked body was found under a duvet on the floor of her bedroom in November 2007, at the hillside cottage in Perugia she shared with Knox and two Italian women. She had been stabbed in the throat.

samanthajane13

04-19-2009, 05:08 PM

Meredith Kercher Murder House Looted by Devil Worshippers

On Wednesday, February 18, 2009, police in Perugia, Italy discovered that the house where Meredith Kercher, 21, was sexually assaulted and murdered in November 2007 had been broken into and ransacked, presumably by devil worshippers, despite the best efforts by police to keep the house sealed as a crime scene.

Although the house has been sealed off and its perimeter marked with police tape since the crime occurred, sentries guarding it have since been discontinued—at least since January 2009. As a result, the police are uncertain as to when the break-in actually occurred, but they said they discovered the illegal intrusion when they returned some items to the house that had been seized earlier as part of the investigation into Meredith's murder.

Apparently, according to European sources, Satanic worship has become somewhat widespread in Italy over the past several years, and murder scenes are frequently used to carry out their ceremonies. Some people believe that the fact that Meredith's throat had been slashed, resulting in much blood at the murder scene, and the fact that her body was partially nude when she was killed may have contributed to the house having been selected by Satanists for their unholy rituals—if indeed it turns out that Satanists were behind the break-in.

Among the oddities discovered by investigators following up on the break-in were four knives on the kitchen floor, as well as a burned candle in another room and candle wax drippings in the room where Meredith was slain. Nothing appeared to be missing from the house, which sits among other homes on a hillside overlooking a valley. The intruders' point of entry, police said, was through a kitchen window on the back side of the home.

"Four knives were found at the scene, and they were all determined to be from inside the house," a police spokesperson said. "They were not brought here. A candle was also found, but this also appears to have (already) been in the house. Traces of wax were found in Meredith's bedroom and at this stage we are keeping an open mind on the motive. We cannot exclude anything, and it is possible it was for some unnatural reason such as Satanism."

"I have no words to describe how much distress this will cause the family," said Francesco Maresca, attorney for the Kercher family. "I hope that full details about what happened will come out quickly."

Marco Brusco, the attorney for defendant Raffaele Sollecito, 24, 21-year-old Amanda Knox's former boyfriend—to recap, Sollecito, Knox, and another man, Rudy Guede, 21, have all been accused of taking part in Kercher's slaying (Guede has since been sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the crime)—apparently viewed the break-in as possibly being beneficial to his client's case.

"This break-in just shows what we have always said—anyone could get into the house," Brusco said. "It proves how easy it is to get into the house and tamper with the crime scene…we are very concerned about what happened, but at the same time it proves what we have always said—that a thief broke into the house and murdered poor Meredith Kercher."

The fact that Meredith was murdered near Halloween has caused a number of people in Italy and elsewhere to suspect that Satanism had played a part in the crime. The latest suspicions about the house possibly having been broken into by Satanists have only served to fuel those earlier suspicions.

http://blogs.discovery.com/bizarre/2009/02/meredith-kercher-murder-house-looted-by-devil-worshippers.html

samanthajane13

06-12-2009, 02:20 PM

American takes stand in Italy murder trial
By MARTA FALCONI, Associated Press Writer Marta Falconi, Associated Press Writer – 12 mins ago

PERUGIA, Italy – An American student accused of murdering her British roommate took the witness stand for the first time Friday and said the last time she saw the victim was hours before the killing.

Amanda Knox also said that on the night of the murder, in November 2007, she smoked a marijuana joint, had sex with her boyfriend — now her co-defendant — at his house and then fell asleep.

Prosecutors contend that Knox, an exchange student from Seattle, and Raffaele Sollecito killed 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in the apartment she shared with Knox in Perugia, central Italy. Kercher's body was found there on Nov. 2, 2007, and legal experts said she was killed the night before.

"On Nov. 1, I told Raffaele that I wanted to watch a movie so we went to his place," Knox said. After dinner, they went upstairs to his room, she said.

"I sat on the bed, he sat at his desk, he prepared the joint and then we smoked it together," the 21-year-old woman said. "First we made love, then we fell asleep."

During her testimony, Knox alternated between English and Italian, occasionally pausing to take a breath, her voice shaky at times.

Knox said she last saw Kercher on the afternoon of Nov. 1. They talked about what they had done the night before — a Halloween night out — and Knox said Kercher still had a bit of her vampire makeup on.

Sollecito then arrived at the house; he and Knox had something to eat while Kercher was in her room, Knox told the court.

"She left her room, said 'bye,' walked out the door," Knox said, at this point speaking Italian. "That was the last time I saw her."

Sollecito, 25, has said he was at his own apartment the night of Nov. 1, working at his computer. He said he does not remember if Knox spent the whole night with him or just part of it. The two have said they could not remember events clearly because they had taken drugs.

Knox also repeated her accusations that she was beaten by police and confused when she was questioned in the days after the killing. Police have denied any misconduct.

After the killing, Knox accused Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, a Congolese man who owns a pub in Perugia, of being the culprit. Lumumba was jailed briefly in the case, but he is no longer a suspect and is seeking defamation damages from Knox.

Knox was called to testify both in her own defense and in a civil case brought by Lumumba.

"The declarations were taken against my will, so everything that I said was said in confusion and under pressure," Knox said under questioning by Lumumba's lawyer.

"They called me a stupid liar; said I was trying to protect someone. I was not trying to protect anyone," she said. "I didn't know what to respond. They said I left Raffaele's home, which I denied, but they continued to call me `stupid liar.'"

Knox smiled as she walked into the court before her testimony. She was dressed in a white shirt and white trousers and had her hair pulled into a ponytail.

Knox's father, Curt Knox, said his daughter looked "confident in what she wants to say."

"She has nothing to hide," he told The Associated Press during a break. He said he hoped people could now see a "different Amanda," — different from the way she has been portrayed by the media so far.

Knox and Sollecito have been jailed since shortly after the slaying. They are both charged with murder and sexual violence.

They could face Italy's stiffest punishment, life imprisonment, if convicted of murder. The trial began in January and a verdict is expected after a summer break.

A third suspect in the case, Ivory Coast national Rudy Hermann Guede, was found guilty of murder and sexual violence and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was given a fast-track trial at his request, and his appeal is set to start in November. He, too, denies wrongdoing.

The trial has been closed to cameras but the presiding judge, exceptionally, allowed them in to film for Knox's testimony — only to ask them to leave in a few minutes for causing too much disruption. The cameras were then crammed in the press room, where proceedings were being shown on a screen.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090612/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_student_slain

Marian Paroo

06-12-2009, 03:46 PM

Even NYTimes is covering this! And they hardly ever cover crime.

samanthajane13

06-13-2009, 03:22 PM

US suspect says she saw slain woman as a friend
By MARTA FALCONI, Associated Press Writer Marta Falconi, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 19 mins ago

PERUGIA, Italy — An American student who denies murdering her British roommate testified Saturday that she was shocked by the death of a woman she considered her friend, and said a "crescendo" of police pressure led her to accuse an innocent man.

Amanda Knox of Seattle had already told the court on Friday that she was not in the apartment she shared with Meredith Kercher on the night in 2007 when the British woman was slain.

Knox, 21, and Italian co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, her ex-boyfriend, are accused of murder and sexual violence in the slaying of Kercher, who was found in a pool of blood Nov. 2, 2007 in the shared apartment in this central Italian town.

Knox took the stand for the first time Friday and said she spent the night of the killing at Sollecito's apartment. Prosecutors believe Knox, Sollecito and a third suspect convicted in a separate trial went to Kercher's home the night of the murder and killed the British woman in what began as a sex game.

Knox on Friday repeated accusations that she was beaten by police and confused when she was questioned in the days after the killing. Police have denied any misconduct.

She said it was the pressure that led her to accuse Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, a Congolese man who owns a pub in Perugia, of the killing. Lumumba was jailed briefly but was later cleared and is seeking defamation damages from Knox.

Police have denied any improper behavior, but Knox repeated her claim Saturday when questioned by lead prosecutor Giuliano Mignini.

"It was always a crescendo," she said recalling her early questioning sessions. "When I said I was with Raffaele all the time they told me I was a liar. I was scared, I thought: maybe they are right."

Knox said that interrogators "wanted a name" and that a policewoman hit her twice on the head.

"Do you remember? Do you remember? And then boom! On the head," Knox said, mimicking the slap in court. "I went: mamma mia! And then again, another boom!"

She said it was that pressure that made her come up with Lumumba's name and her initial story that she was at home during the murder and covered her ears against the victim's screams.

"It didn't hurt, but it frightened me," she said of the slaps.

When asked if she had suffered after Kercher's death, Knox said: "Yes. I was very shocked, I couldn't imagine something like that."

She said she considered Kercher "a friend." This contrasted with previous testimony by other witnesses that Kercher had complained about Knox's bathroom habits and had expressed surprise at her apparent promiscuity.

Knox said she felt sorrow over her roommate's death.

"I am very sorry for what happened, sometimes it seems to me it cannot be real," she said.

Knox answered questions confidently and in a steady voice for about five hours, sitting at the witness stand with a prison guard behind her. Though she had an interpreter next to her, the American spoke in fluent Italian, which she mostly learned in the year and a half she has spent in jail.

Prosecutor Mignini said he was satisfied with how Knox's testimony went, adding that he did not consider her credible.

Kercher family lawyer Francesco Maresca said the American was well prepared. "She answered quite satisfactorily, but didn't bring anything new," he said.

Later Saturday, Andrew Seliber, a friend of Knox and a fellow student at the University of Washington, also took the stand, called by the American's lawyers.

In Perugia, "she was having the happiest time of her life," Seliber said. "She worked three jobs responsibly so she had the money to come here."

Knox appeared moved when Seliber walked into the small, frescoed courtroom and she listened carefully to his testimony.

More of Knox's family members and friends are scheduled to take the stand in upcoming sessions. Her mother, Edda Mellas, will testify at the next hearing, Friday.

Knox and Sollecito have been jailed since shortly after the slaying. Sollecito, 25, has said he was at his own apartment the entire night of Nov. 1. He said he does not remember if Knox spent the whole night with him or just part of it. The two have said they could not remember events clearly because they had taken drugs.

Prosecutors allege Kercher came home after an evening with friends on Nov. 1, and soon after opened the door to Knox, Sollecito and Rudy Hermann Guede, who was convicted of murder last year and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Guede, who denies wrongdoing, was given a fast-track trial at his request.

According to the prosecutors, Sollecito held Kercher by the shoulders from behind while Knox touched her with the point of a knife. They say Guede, an Ivory Coast national, tried to sexually assault Kercher and then Knox fatally stabbed her in the throat.

Prosecutors maintain a kitchen knife found at Sollecito's apartment is compatible with Kercher's wounds, and has the Briton's DNA on the blade and Knox's on the handle.

The trial began in January and a verdict is expected after a summer break. Knox and Sollecito could face Italy's stiffest punishment, life imprisonment, if convicted of murder.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090613/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_student_slain

FDInLaw

06-15-2009, 08:57 AM

>SNIP<

"I can't tell you how proud I was of her, how she handled herself in what might be considered a life-and-death situation," Knox, who lives in West Seattle, said in a telephone interview. "When we got a chance to go back and hug her [after her testimony] and tell her she did a great job and we loved her, she was obviously relieved. She took full advantage of her opportunity."

Prosecutors accuse Knox, 21, and her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, with killing Kercher, a British student, in a sex-game gone awry. A third defendant, Rudy Guede, a drifter from Ivory Coast, has already been convicted.

The case has become a phenomenon, spawning at least four blogs devoted solely to the case and several books in progress. Knox's supporters — including prominent Seattle attorneys — have raised at least $70,000 to help fund her defense.

Curt Knox said his daughter's testimony helped rebut a tabloid portrayal of a lying, erratic "dark angel." Speaking fluent Italian, Knox accused Italian police of hitting her and coercing her into a statement that falsely implicated a black bar owner. Much of that statement previously had been thrown out by an Italian court because it was given without an attorney being present.

"Hopefully, people realize she's just a normal college student and not this 'dark angel' character portrayed in the media," said Knox. "This was the first time she could explain how it was for a 20-year-old, without a good understanding of Italian, who had no other interaction with police" except for a noise-ordinance citation in Seattle in 2007.

In the English-language news accounts of the testimony, Knox was portrayed as poised, calm and somewhat unpredictable.

But Peggy Ganong, a professional translator in West Seattle who moderates a blog devoted to the case, said the testimony conflicted with some evidence. Phone records, for example, don't back up Knox's recollection about when she called police, she said.

"I think the forensic evidence is not nonexistent, as her friends and family have said from the start," Ganong said.

As evidence of the intense emotions the case has triggered, Ganong in March filed a Seattle police report accusing Knox supporters of online harassment, including threats and the posting of Ganong's personal information.

"There's lunatic fringe on each side of this case," she said. The police investigation has not been resolved, she said.

Knox's defense attorneys soon will challenge the forensic evidence, Curt Knox said.

That evidence, as presented by the prosecution, includes specks of Knox's and Kercher's blood found in a bathroom they shared and a knife, allegedly with both of their DNA.

But Knox noted that prosecutors presented no evidence that Knox was in Kercher's bedroom during a struggle that left blood smeared on the walls and floor.

"It is an absolutely complete impossibility that Amanda could leave no hair follicle, no skin sample, no DNA, no blood inside that room," said Knox. "It falls apart on a common-sense point of view."

Amanda Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, a math teacher for Highline School District, is likely to testify next week, and Amanda's school friends would take the stand later.

The Italian court will take about a two-month vacation, and Curt Knox believes a verdict may not be rendered until early 2010.

Until then, legal bills, which now are "nearing seven digits," he said, continue to accrue.

Knox said he recently quit a long career with Macy's after his job was moved to the Bay Area and is looking for work.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009338955_knox15.html

FDInLaw

06-16-2009, 09:46 AM

Amanda Knox has been exchanging letters with her co-defendant and ex-boyfriend where they talk about the messages they try to communicate to each other in the Perugia, Italy, courtroom during their murder trial.

The American student tells a jury she was shocked at her roommate's death.While Knox's letters to Raffaele Sollecito are friendly and affectionate, and she offers to show him around Seattle when their ordeal is over, she tells Sollecito that she cannot love him.

"We could have really had something special, it's true," she wrote on Feb. 18, one of several letters obtained by ABC News.

She tells Sollecito that she reads his letters over several times and says she was "inspired" by things he wrote. She goes on to write, however, "I can't give you what you want. I can't give you my heart completely."

In the letter Knox suggests she has another love interest. "I'm sorry for you that in this time I've steered myself back to the love that I knew and that reborn in myself for DJ." It's unclear who DJ is. Knox has been in jail since her arrest last year.

"I hope this letter doesn't hurt you because all of your letters give me a sense of peace. Thank you. I'm here to hold your hand."

Knox, 21, tries to let Sollecito, 25, down easy. She writes, "You know what would be wonderful? Do you think they would let us hug each other when the judge absolves us? I'm tired of not being allowed to look at you."

At another point in that letter, Knox tells Sollecito, "Don't feel stupid for your feelings. They come and go, just as the moments of weakness are necessary in establishing strength. For instance I only manage to cry when I'm with my family, otherwise I keep it as much as I can inside."

The letter is signed with hearts and a peace sign.

Knox and Sollecito are charged with killing British student Meredith Kercher, 21, during a sex game gone bad. The trial has been made headlines in Italy and Britain since Knox was arrested in November 2007 and dubbed "Angel Face" and other nods to her good looks and grim accusations.

A third man, Rudy Guede, has already been convicted of the murder.

Knox completed two days of grueling testimony on Friday and Saturday, days that could turn out to be essential to whether she is convicted or acquitted of the charges.

During her days on the stand, Knox testified that on the night that Kercher was killed, she was with Sollecito at his house where they smoked pot and had sex. . .

http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=7844536&page=1

See link for complete article

samanthajane13

11-20-2009, 02:31 PM

Italian prosecutors: Knox hated murder victim
By MARTA FALCONI, Associated Press Writer Marta Falconi, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 50 mins ago

PERUGIA, Italy – An American student accused of murdering her British roommate in Italy had a growing hatred for the victim and killed her in retaliation during a drug-fueled sex game, a prosecutor said Friday in closing arguments at her murder trial.

Lead prosecutor Giuliano Mignini argued that Amanda Knox, together with her ex-boyfriend and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito and a third man convicted in a separate trial last year, killed Meredith Kercher under "the fumes of drugs and possibly alcohol" and then tried to cover up their crime by staging a burglary.

Knox, of Seattle, wanted to get back at Kercher for saying she was not clean and for calling her promiscuous, Mignini said.

"Amanda had the chance to retaliate against a girl who was serious and quiet," Mignini said. "She had harbored hatred for Meredith, and that was the time when it could explode. The time had come to take revenge on that smirky girl."

He said Knox, Sollecito and Ivory Coast citizen Rudy Hermann Guede met at the apartment where Kercher was killed on Nov. 1, 2007, shortly before the slaying, likely to settle some drug issues with Guede, who was known in Perugia for dealing drugs. He said Kercher and Knox started arguing and then the three brutally attacked the Briton.

Kercher's body was found in a pool of blood the next day, her throat slit.

Knox and Sollecito are charged with murder and sexual violence in the 2007 killing in the central Italian town of Perugia. They deny wrongdoing.

Guede was sentenced to 30 years in prison last year on the same charges in a fast-track trial he was granted at his request. He also denies wrongdoing and is appealing his conviction.

Mignini recalled previous testimony by Kercher's friends, in which the Briton expressed surprise and irritation at Knox's behavior. Knox has denied having major problems with Kercher and has said in the past she was shocked at the death of a woman she considered a friend.

Mignini also said that Knox and Sollecito staged a burglary in the apartment by breaking a window in a bedroom in an attempt to sidetrack the investigation.

A rock was found in one of the bedrooms, and witnesses testified that shattered glass was found all over clothes on the floor, suggesting the window was broken after the room was put into disarray.

"The key to the mystery is in that room," Mignini said. It would be nearly impossible to climb through the window without getting cut and leaving blood on the shattered glass.

Also, he argued, that window was the most exposed of the apartment, making it an unlikely choice for a burglar. Nothing in the room with the broken glass, which belonged to one of Knox's and Kercher's roommates, was reported missing, Mignini noted.

"All of this was done to channel suspicions on a stranger, and divert them from those who had the apartment keys," he said.

Knox and Sollecito have been jailed for more than two years and appeared tense as they sat in court Friday.

Prosecutors were expected to formally make their sentencing requests to the eight-member jury Saturday, while a verdict is expected in early December. Knox and Sollecito could face Italy's stiffest punishment, life imprisonment, if convicted of murder.

Among the evidence brought by the prosecutors is a knife with a 6 1/2-inch (16.5-centimeter) blade found at Sollecito's house that they say could be the murder weapon.

According to prosecutors, the knife had Kercher's DNA on the blade and Knox's on the handle — a claim defense lawyers reject, saying the knife is too big to match Kercher's wounds and the amount of what prosecutors say is Kercher's DNA is too low to be attributed with certainty.

The 22-year-old Knox maintains she spent the night of the murder at Sollecito's house in Perugia. The 25-year-old Sollecito has said he was home working at his computer that night. He said he does not remember if Knox spent the whole night with him or just part of it.

Defense lawyers for Knox and Sollecito are working on the theory that Guede was the sole attacker.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091120/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_student_slain

DrewBerry

11-20-2009, 08:54 PM