Amanda Knox

[Miss Conspiracy]

So I saw a special on this tonight on ABC. Turns out the DNA has been re-tested by court appointed experts and deemed "unreliable."

Trying to find some articles on it now. But this can very well mean her verdict can be overturned.

From the West Seattle Herald

This may be hard to understand in some parts, it's translated from Italian.

UPDATE: BREAKING NEWS: DNA on knife that jailed Amanda Knox retested, found unreliable
English translation of report:
By Steve Shay
2011-06-29

According to the Internet publication la Repubblica, and to the step father of West Seattle raised Amanda Knox, Chris Mellas, now inside the courtroom, and to Janet Huff, Amanda's Aunt, a Morgan Junction resident, the DNA on the knife that the prosecution claimed was the murder weapon Knox, her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, and drifter Rudy Guede used to murder Meredith Kercher Nov. 1, 2009 is unreliable.

Knox's defense team has always claimed that the knife did not have proper DNA testing, that the stab wounds on Ms. Kercher were inconsistent with the size of the knife, and that, during the current appeal process, it would be these findings that would most likely set Knox free. Information is still coming in.

Huff emailed the West Seattle Herald, "Great news this morning!! Just spoke with Edda and Chris. "DNA report shows NO evidence of Amanda or Raffaele on any of the items (knife, bra). Strong probability of "contamination" which is Italian speak for police planted it. No proper collection procedures were followed(...) Italian press is going berserk over there. Stay tuned."

To clarify, Amanda's mother Edda, and stepfather Chris Mellas, Arbor Heights residents, are currently in the courtroom texting Huff and others. Like the knife, Knox's lawyers have claimed the bra clasp worn by Ms. Kercher, found on the floor of her room after the murder, had been contaminated by improper handling of the item. On YouTube we see the forensics team examining the clasp just following the murder and also handing faucets and door knobs without changing gloves. The new forensic team, Stefano Conti and Carla Vecchiotti from Rome's Sapienza University, say in the report filed to the Perugia court on Tuesday and that the genetic profile attributed to Miss Kercher is "unreliable" and cannot be attributed with certainty. They said results may have been contaminated on both the blade and bra clasp.

We will update This is a related Herald article:

Here is the report translated into English from Italian:

(KNIFE)

With regard to genetic tests carried out on the track A (handle of the
knife) it agrees with the conclusion reached by the CT for attributing the
genetic profile obtained from this sampling Amanda Marie Knox.
With regard to the track B (knife blade) we believe that the findings
are not reliable expenditure made for the following reasons:

1. There is no evidence of a scientifically conclusive nature of any blood on the knife blade;

2. The test performed by the electrophoretic pattern shows that the sample indicated by the B (knife blade) was a case of Low Copy Number (LCN), and as such, all the precautions indicated by International Scientific Community should have been applied;
3. Taking into account that any of the recommendations of the International scientific community were not followed, concerning the processing of samples Low Copy
Number (LCN), the experts do not you share some conclusions about the attribution of profile detected on the track B (knife blade) to the victim Meredith Kercher, since the genetic profile, as obtained, is unreliable in that is not supported by scientifically validated analytical procedures;

4. international procedures of inspection and international protocols for collecting and sampling the exhibit were not followed ;

5. It can not be excluded that the results obtained from sampling B (blade knife) may result from contamination phenomena occurring in a any stage of the repertoire and / or manipulation and / or analytical processes
performed.

Knife, more:

1. There was no blood on the knife.

2 and 4 Accepted scientific procedures for collecting and analyzing the knife specimen were not followed.

3 The experts do not agree with the prosecution witnesses’ interpretations of the results since the profile was unreliable.

5 Contamination cannot be ruled out

Bra clasp:

Partially unrecognizable because of corrosion

1. There is no evidence of flaking cells, no cytology
2. The interpretation of the DNA profile was erroneous
3. The Y (sex) chromosome was misinterpreted
4. Methods did not follow international procedures of inspection and international protocols for collecting and sampling of the exhibit.
5. Contamination cannot be excluded

FIND 165B (HOOKS FOR BRA)
With regard to the 65B Rep. (bra hooks) believe that
are not reliable technical assessments carried out for the following reasons:

I. there is no evidence scientifically conclusive Presumed
flaking cells on the specimen;
2. There was an erroneous interpretation of the electrophoretic pattern of Autosomal STRs;
3. there was a misinterpretation of its electrophoretic pattern
the Y chromosome;
4. were not followed international procedures of inspection and
international protocols for collecting and sampling of the exhibit;
5. can not be excluded that the results obtained may result from phenomena contammazione of environmental and / or contammazione occurred in any phase of the repertoire and / or manipulation of that finding.

[Miss Conspiracy]

I have felt, in my opinion, that she is not guilty. i really look forward to the proceedings after this. either way, I hope the truth comes out no matter the outcome.

[Miss Conspiracy]

I believe this will be overturned soon, and rightfully so.

Forensic experts attack Amanda Knox trial evidence

PERUGIA, Italy — Independent forensic experts took the stand on Monday to attack key pieces of evidence used to convict U.S. student Amanda Knox of the murder of her British roommate in the Italian city of Perugia in 2007.

The two court-appointed experts, Carla Vecchiotti and Stefano Conti, told an appeal hearing that the knife thought to have been used to kill 21 year-old Meredith Kercher carried no trace of blood but may have been contaminated with other DNA traces.

Presenting the findings from a report released last month, they said police had used the same gloves to take different pieces of evidence during their initial examination of the house the two women shared in the university town of Perugia.

Kercher was found half naked in Nov. 2007 lying in a pool of blood with her throat cut.

Knox, 24, her former Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito and Ivoirian Rudy Guede were convicted and jailed in 2009 for the murder after what judges concluded was a frenzied sex game that spiraled out of control.

Both Knox and Sollecito, who have appealed against the original ruling were in court on Monday as was Knox's mother, Edda Mellas.

"You know, it was an excellent day, to be able to see everything, step by step exactly what our experts said, you know, and now confirmed by independent experts is very powerful," Mellas told Reuters Television after the hearing.

The report by Vecchiotti and Conti confirmed police conclusions that Knox's DNA was found on the handle of a knife they identified as the murder weapon but said that the material found on the blade was starch, rather than blood.

"There are no scientific elements which would confirm the presence of blood traces on the knife. The protocols for minimizing the risk of contamination were not respected," their testimony said.

They also said there was no DNA evidence on a clip from Kercher's bra which police said was traceable to Sollecito.

The two independent experts had been commissioned by the appeal court to go over the forensic evidence in the case which has attracted huge media interest and severe criticism of police methods from the defense team.

They made a scathing attack on the original investigation, saying that proper decontamination procedures had not been followed, there was insufficient documentation of the amount of DNA evidence collected and inadequate "real time" analysis.

The next hearing is scheduled for July 30 when the experts face cross-examination by prosecutor and the defense team.

Francesco Maresca, a lawyer for the Kercher family, said the evidence provided by Vecchiotti and Conti was not conclusive.

"I hope, I am certain and trust that on Saturday we will be able to clarify in court the fact that they did not follow the original investigation and therefore did not follow the profound exchange of dialogue between various consultants and once again we will remind of the principal factors in this case," he said.

[Lady Cop]

it's the old o.j. defense strategy. attack the police. attack the science. attack the DNA. perhaps it will work again.

[Lady Cop]

9/3/11



Stephanie Kercher, with her mother Arline Kercher and father John Kercher in Perugia.



Meredith Kercher. the victim.




Murdered Meredith Kercher's sister today urged that she should 'not be forgotten' nor have 'died in vain' just hours before the appeal by her convicted killer Amanda Knox resumes.

Speaking for the first time in more than 18 months since Knox, 24, was given a 26-year jail term for the brutal murder, Stephanie Kercher also revealed how the family had been living 'weeks of anguish.'

In a letter to the family's Italian lawyer the Kerchers expressed their 'anxiety and trouble' at how the appeal had heard how the original DNA investigation had been condemned by two court appointed experts.

Stephanie wrote: 'In these last few week we have been left seriously anxious and greatly troubled by the news regarding the original DNA findings.

'It is extremely difficult to understand how the results which were obtained with great care and presented in the first trial as valid could now be regraded as irrelevant.'

The original trial heard DNA from Meredith was found on the blade of a 30cm kitchen knife and Knox's on the handle - police had recovered it from the apartment of Knox's former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito.

However earlier this summer, the appeal heard from two experts who said forensic scientists had made errors when handling the evidence and that DNA from Meredith on the blade was minimal and not enugh to be reexamined.

Stephanie added: 'How can the DNA of the knife be considered a small amount when the same experts themselves cannot give an exact response to how much should be taken into consideration?

'It should also be remembered that both the prosecution and the defence had experts present when the original tests were carried out for the first trial at the forensic science lab in Rome.

'The defense seem to be focusing on these DNA aspects but we want, for a moment to remember who this case is about: My sister, a daughter brutally taken away four years ago, and a day does not pass when we do not think about her and can bring this to an end.

'All those who are reading and writing about this case, please remember our beautiful Meredith. Her blood was mixed with other traces found in the bathroom, corridor and in Filomena's (housemate) bedroom and there were also other bloody imprints.'

Meredith, 21, was found semi naked and with her throat slit in the bedroom of the house she shared with Knox and two Italian women in the hill top town of Perugia in November 2007.

Knox and Sollecito, 27, were convicted of murder and sexually assault in December 2009 and given 26 years and 25 years respectively and the appeal began late last year.

In recent weeks there has been a growing unease that the convictions are unsafe because of the bungled DNA evidence which has also seen police accused of contaminating findings by not wearing gloves or hats.

A video shown in court by the experts was greeted with shock as it showed scientists using dirty gloves to pick up evidence and then place it in plastic bags.

However Stephanie said: 'We still have faith in the Italian police and we also have faith in all the prosecutors and the investigators.

'Remember there is other proof in the 10,000 pages that were gathered and presented in court.

'We ask that the Court of Appeal considers every single element, scientific and circumstantial as well as every witness questioned and that they do it independently.

'In the midst of all this interest Meredith has been forgotten, she is now longer with us and so everything should be for her and to try and understand what really happened that tragic night.

'We have never forgotten her and we will continue our fight with the support of our lawyer Francesco Maresca so that justice is done and we continue to back the prosecution and all those in Italy and across the world who continue to think of Mez.'


Stephanie added: 'Please don't let Meredith's death be in vain, her courage and strength is still fighting and we will continue to search for justice until she can rest in peace.

'She did not stop fighting on November 1 - the day she was killed - and we are not going to stop now.'

Today Mr Maresca said: 'It is important that the court remembers the victim here and that is why the family have written this letter to ensure that.

'They want justice and they have given their full support to the prosecution and the police despite the criticism that has been levelled at them in recent weeks.

'The family are looking for the Court of Appeal to confirm the original sentences and verdict and they will be in court when the judge gives his verdict later this month.

'They just want to ensure that people do not forget Meredith is the victim here in spite of all that has been said of the DNA investigation and which we will argue was carried out correctly.'

The appeal is due to resume on Monday and continue through until Saturday and will include final questioning of the court appointed experts and summing up from the prosecution and defence.

The court will then break for ten days and resume at the end of the month for final summing up with a verdict expected around September 26 - Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellman could confirm the sentences, reduce them or clear Knox and Sollecito.

The experts finding has given fresh hope to both families that Knox and Sollecito, will be cleared and released from prison.

University of Leeds student Meredith from Coulsdon, Surrey, was murdered just two months after she arrived in Italy during her year abroad.
A third defendant, small-time drug dealer Rudy Guede, an immigrant from the Ivory Coast, was also jailed in connection with the brutal killing.
He was handed a 30-year sentence for murder and sexual violence following a fast-track trial in October 2008 which was later cut to 16 years.

[Itchy Brother]

So I saw a special on this tonight on ABC. Turns out the DNA has been re-tested by court appointed experts and deemed "unreliable."

Trying to find some articles on it now. But this can very well mean her verdict can be overturned.

From the West Seattle Herald

This may be hard to understand in some parts, it's translated from Italian.

UPDATE: BREAKING NEWS: DNA on knife that jailed Amanda Knox retested, found unreliable
English translation of report:
By Steve Shay
2011-06-29

Hi All,

I've been studying and discussing this case for over two years. I would be considered a novice by the hardcore types who have been immersed since the beginning. I am convinced that Knox, Sollecito, and Guede were all involved in the murder of Meredith Kercher.

I've underlined certain items above because I want to point out perhaps the most important part of this case: the reporting has been terrible, particularly in the US. Do not, I repeat, do not rely on the US media for facts in this case. The coverage is almost always superficial, often inaccurate, and sometimes deliberately misleading. I'll explain more of this later.

You should know that people have been arguing about this case since November of 2007 and there are two firmly entrenched camps: those who believe Knox and (by extension) Sollecito are innocent, and those who believe they are guilty. Experts on both sides can argue minutia that would make your eyeballs itch. I can explain why I have been convinced they are guilty if anyone is interested.

As for the reporting, there are firmly entrenched camps there as well. Steve Shay (mentioned above) is a Knox advocate -- not a reporter. He is personal friends with many in the Friends of Amanda organization and is incapable of writing an article on the case which isn't misleading in one way or another.

More importantly, the Knox family engaged the services of the Gogerty-Marriott Public Relations firm in the early days of the case and that company has exerted a tremendous amount of spin in the US. Marriott has close personal relationships with people in all the major media outlets (broadcast and print) and has made arrangements for favorable coverage in exchange for access to the family.

The other main sources of information are as follows:

Candace Dempsey is a blogger for the Seattle PI who has written a book on the case. She in firmly in the innocent camp but has supplied some accurate information.

Bruce Fisher runs a blog called IIP (InjusticeInPerugia) which advocates the innocent position. This is the goto site for arguments from that position.

The two main pro-guilt sites are PMF (PerugiaMurderFile) and TJMK (TrueJusticeForMeredithKercher). PMF has many members from all over the world including several from Italy. Several members are highly skilled translators and have provided a wealth of information that would otherwise be unavailable to us English speakers. This includes a complete translation of the 460+ page judges motivations report which explains how they arrived at a unanimous guilty verdict against Knox and Sollecito.

Finally, this case hinges on hundreds or even thousands of details. If you have formed an opinion based on US TV coverage, it is almost certainly based on incomplete and inaccurate information.

[Itchy Brother]

I believe this will be overturned soon, and rightfully so.

Forensic experts attack Amanda Knox trial evidence

PERUGIA, Italy — Independent forensic experts took the stand on Monday to attack key pieces of evidence used to convict U.S. student Amanda Knox of the murder of her British roommate in the Italian city of Perugia in 2007.

The two court-appointed experts, Carla Vecchiotti and Stefano Conti, told an appeal hearing that the knife thought to have been used to kill 21 year-old Meredith Kercher carried no trace of blood but may have been contaminated with other DNA traces.

Presenting the findings from a report released last month, they said police had used the same gloves to take different pieces of evidence during their initial examination of the house the two women shared in the university town of Perugia.

Hi Miss Conspiracy,

I've selected this part of your post for a reply not as a criticism of your beliefs (although I am convinced they are guilty), but as a perfect example of how shoddy the reporting is on this case.

The second paragraph says the knife had "no trace of blood" and "may have been contaminated with other DNA". The following paragraph says "police had used the same gloves to take different pieces of evidence".

From those two paragraphs a novice might conclude that the forensics team could have contaminated the knife by neglecting to change gloves. But this is impossible. Why? Because the knife was collected from her boyfriend's apartment on a completely different day than the collection of evidence from the cottage (the scene of the murder).

Furthermore, blood or not, the prosecution, defense, and the independent experts are all in agreement that Meredith's DNA was found on the blade of the knife and Knox's DNA was found on the handle. It is crucial to note two things about this: Meredith's DNA was on the knife and Meredith had never been to Sollecito's apartment.

What the independent experts (aka C&V) were alleging, in fact, was that Meredith's DNA was erroneously found on the blade of the knife by way of contamination within the testing equipment in the forensics lab. They assumed that several pieces of evidence were tested using the same equipment (which is true to some extent) and that Meredith's DNA was present from an earlier analysis when the knife sample was tested.

Unfortunately for them, they neglected to check the records of when those various samples were tested. It turns out that their proposed contamination path can be ruled out conclusively because several days had passed between the time the knife sample was tested and any previous tests from this case were run in that lab. Furthermore, dozens tests on samples from other cases had been run on that same piece of equipment in the interim.

Finally, I fully respect your ability to reach a conclusion on your own. I just caution you to be careful in evaluating the data. Getting accurate information is like pulling teeth.

[Alanescu81]

guilty

[Kip]

...[snipped]
Finally, this case hinges on hundreds or even thousands of details. If you have formed an opinion based on US TV coverage, it is almost certainly based on incomplete and inaccurate information.

That's certainly what I found. I had read a little about the case when the murder occurred but hadn't formed an opinion. At the time of the guilty verdict, I watched a US TV special on the case and was convinced of Amanda and Raffaele's innocence. It made me want to learn more about the case, and the more I read, the more I became convinced they had killed Meredith. For me, even without any DNA evidence, there were enough "consciousness of guilt" actions to convince me of their guilt.

[Lady Cop]

i tend to agree with this assessment of knox.
i have looked into the eyes of some truly evil people, and i feel the same about her.
i hope she isn't freed, but who knows anymore. the guilty walk.


(Reuters) - Amanda Knox is at heart a "she-devil" who loved to play dangerous games, the lawyer for a man falsely accused by the American student of killing her roommate told an Italian court on Monday.

"Amanda is one thing and another -- that is, both Saint Maria Goretti and a satanic, diabolic she-devil given to borderline behavior," Carlo Pacelli said, referring to a Catholic saint linked to purity, young women and rape victims.

Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are appealing their 2009 convictions for the murder of 21-year-old Briton Meredith Kercher during a drug-fueled sexual assault in Perugia in 2007.

The student from Seattle initially accused Congolese bar owner Patrick Lumumba of killing Kercher, whose half-naked body was found with a deep stab wound in the throat.

Knox looked gaunt and tense as Lumumba's lawyer Pacelli branded her a "witch of deception" whose lying ways belied her fresh-faced "soap-and-water" looks.

Knox, 24, later retracted the accusation against Lumumba, saying she incriminated him under pressure from police who threatened her with 30 years in jail. Briefly arrested, Lumumba was cleared and successfully sued the American for slander.

Pacelli told the appeals court that Knox's lies destroyed his client's image in an instant, making him a "second victim" in the case. He argued the American was a liar who led a life that revolved around easy sex, drugs and booze.

"Amanda should be judged based on her personality when the crime occurred in November 2007 and at that time she was a concentrated mix of sex, drugs and alcohol," Pacelli said.

"We're not talking about the girl you're seeing today, who has been through four years of prison."

Knox stared straight ahead as Pacelli urged the jury panel of lay and professional judges to look past the American's "mask of an impostor."

"Amanda Knox loved strong emotions and dangerous games," Pacelli said. "If she had no reason to lie, why did she lie?"

Knox's father told Reuters accusations leveled by Pacelli at his daughter had been tough for her to hear.

"Whenever your daughter gets called a she-devil or Lucifer, that's over the top," Curt Knox said. "He has no idea who she is -- he's never met her, he's never talked to her and to be pulling those kinds of names out is just inappropriate."

Outside the courthouse, Lumumba told Reuters he was still haunted by the false accusation of murder.

"I hope things change with time, but for now, I still keep checking my door at night to see if it is locked. It's when you get the sensation that someone wants to hurt you," he said.

[Duchess]

Wow. An attorney says she should be judged on her personality.

[Lady Cop]

Wow. An attorney says she should be judged on her personality.

there's a lot of leeway and appeal to emotions allowed in opening and closing arguments. they are not evidence. but it's where a lawyer's passion can come to the fore.

[Duchess]

Gotcha.

Anything like when Casey's lawyer called her a slut. Hahahaha. I'll never forget that. Jesus Christ.

[aussiefriend]

I heard this last night on the National News here. Saying that she had a Boderline Personality Disorder and a split personality. The thing is, you have to have a psychiatric evaluation to come up with that diagnosis. It has nothing to do with mental health it all comes down to decisions and choices, she is that person that made bad choices through her own evil desires. That is why she sits where she is today. Justice was served. I feel sorry for the family if they let her off. They get information and insight that we are not privvy to. They know she was part of it. Own it.

[Kip]

Keeping memories of Meredith alive

Defense making final statement today. Everything I'm reading says verdict expected Monday.

[Lady Cop]

verdict later today.


Tearful Amanda Knox today made a dramatic plea for her freedom as she addressed the judge and jury in her appeal trial and told them: 'I did not kill, I did not rape, I did not steal.'

Knox, 24, spoke for just over ten minutes and needed to pause frequently for breath, at one point appeal judge Claudio Pratillo Hellman asked her if she wanted to speak sitting down.

[Lady Cop]

[Updated at 2:04 p.m. ET] A van has left the prison where Amanda Knox an Raffaele Sollecito were being held while the jury deliberated.

It is believed Knox and Sollecito are in the convoy of vehicles that left the prison and en route back to the courthouse to hear the ruling.

[Posted at 1:59 p.m. ET] An Italian jury has reached a decision on whether it will uphold or overturn the convictions of Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaelle Sollecito in the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.

The ruling will be read at 3:30 p.m. ET (9:30 pm local time), the court said Monday.

The jury deliberated for nearly 10 hours before reaching their decision.

[Kip]

Verdict announcement changed to 9:45.

I'm on pins and needles. I can't imagine what the Kerchers must be feeling waiting for a verdict for the second time.

[Duchess]

She's free

[Lady Cop]

Kip, that meant Italian time.


SHE IS BEING FREED. DETAILS AS I GET THEM. COURT IS GOING CRAZY. CONVICTIONS OVERTURNED.