Daily Archives: November 6, 2013

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Wednesday November 6, 2013

Knox's knife DNA casts doubt on murder weapon

That testimony bolsters the defense, which claims the kitchen knife was not the weapon used in the bloody 2007 slaying of Knox's British roommate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher.

FLORENCE, Italy -- A court-appointed expert testifying in U.S. student Amanda Knox's third murder trial in Italy said Wednesday that a new trace of DNA found on the handle of the knife alleged to have been the murder weapon belongs to Knox and not the victim.

That testimony bolsters the defense, which claims the kitchen knife was not the weapon used in the bloody 2007 slaying of Knox's British roommate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher.

As things stand, there's no confirmed DNA belonging to Kercher on the knife; one piece of DNA on its blade that was first attributed to Kercher has been disputed on appeal.

Expert Andrea Berti testified Wednesday that the minute new DNA trace from the knife's handle showed "considerable affinity" with Knox's DNA, while not matching that of Kercher. It also did not match the DNA of Knox's co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito or Rudy Guede, an Ivorian man who has been convicted separately in the brutal slaying.

Knox defense lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova told The Associated Press that the testimony confirms their contention that the knife was used solely for preparing food. "The report confirms that this is a kitchen knife. It is not a murder weapon," Dalla Vedova said.

Luca Maori, Sollecito's defense lawyer, said the trace's very existence also indicated the knife had not been washed. "It is something very important," he said. "It is absurd to use it for a murder and put it back in the drawer."

The DNA evidence on the knife found in a drawer at Sollecito's place has been among the most hotly contested pieces of evidence in the original trial and now in two appeals.

Continued here:
Knoxs knife DNA casts doubt on murder weapon

FLORENCE, Italy, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The retrial of Amanda Knox and former lover Raffaele Sollecito adjourned Wednesday after DNA evidence casting doubt on the prosecution case was presented.

The trial will resume Nov. 25, with a verdict expected in January.

Sollecito asked the court in Florence to find him innocent and restore normality to his life, the British newspaper The Guardian reported. Knox remained at home in the United States and did not attend the trial.

"I was already imprisoned as an innocent person in Italy, and I can't reconcile the choice to go back with that experience," she told NBC's "Today" show.

Police experts testified a knife thought to be the murder weapon had DNA from Knox but not from the victim, Meredith Kercher, a British exchange student and Knox' roommate, Gazetta del Sud reported. The knife was from Sollecito's kitchen.

Attorneys for Sollecito and Knox say the lack of DNA guts the prosecution case.

A third suspect, Rudy Guede of Ivory Coast, is serving a 16-year sentence. The Court of Cassation ruled it was unlikely he acted alone.

In a 15-minute address to the court, Sollecito, 29, said he had been described as "a ruthless killer" in the 2007 death of Kercher, "but I am nothing of the sort."

"I would like to make you understand that these charges against me are absurd," he said. "There was not a basis to charge me, to put me in jail. I don't wish anybody on Earth to go through what I went through. This was something that was so bad," CNN reported.

He and Knox, a U.S. student studying in Italy, were convicted in 2009 of killing Kercher in a group orgy gone bad. They served four years in prison before their convictions were overturned in 2011. Italy's Supreme Court decided to retry the case in 2012.

Originally posted here:
No victim DNA on knife believed to have killed Meredith Kercher

Florence, Italy In the third Italian murder trial of U.S. student Amanda Knox, a court-appointed expert testified Wednesday that the alleged murder weapon shows a new DNA trace that belongs to Knox and not the victim.

That testimony bolsters the defense, which claims the kitchen knife was not the weapon used in the bloody 2007 slaying of Knoxs British roommate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher.

Another piece of DNA on the knife blade initially attributed to Kercher was disputed on appeal.

Expert Andrea Berti testified Wednesday that the minute new DNA trace from the knifes handle showed considerable affinity with Knoxs DNA, while not matching those of Kercher, Knoxs co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito or Rudy Guede, an Ivorian man who has been convicted separately in the brutal slaying.

Knox defense lawyer Luca Maori told the Associated Press after the hearing that expert testimony backs their argument that Knox had used the knife found in Sollecitos kitchen solely for preparing food. He also noted that the new DNA trace was from the knife handle where another DNA piece linked to Knox had been located.

It means that Amanda took the knife exclusively for cooking matters, to keep in the kitchen and to use it, Maori said.

Maori said the traces very existence also indicated the knife had not been washed.

It is something very important, he said. It is absurd to use it for a murder and put it back in the drawer.

The DNA evidence on the knife found in a drawer at Sollecitos place has been among the most hotly contested evidence in the original trial and now in two appeals.

Knox and Sollecito were convicted in 2009 of murdering Kercher, and sentenced to 26 and 25 years in jail, respectively. The conviction was overturned on appeal in 2011, freeing Knox to return to the United States where she remains for the latest appeal.

See original here:
Amanda Knox's knife DNA casts doubt on murder weapon in Italy case

Amanda Knox case: A DNA expert testified Wednesday in Italy that the so-called murder weapon, a knife, had no DNA on it from the victim. His testimony supports the defense of Amanda Knox and her boyfriend.

U.S. student Amanda Knox's defense got a boost on Wednesday when a new DNA test on a kitchen knife failed to conclusively prove that it was the murder weapon used to kill her British roommate.

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Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

An expert witness testified that the minuscule DNA trace on the knife handle near the blade showed "considerable affinity" with Knox's own DNA.

That confirmed what was already known from two previous trials: that Knox's DNA was on the knife handle, identified through another trace.

No DNA belonging to the slain British student, Meredith Kercher, was identified. Previous genetic evidence on the blade linked to Kercher had been contested at earlier stages.

Outside the court, Knox defense lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova told The Associated Press that the testimony confirms his contention that the knife was used by Knox solely for preparing food. "The report confirms that this is a kitchen knife. It is not a murder weapon," Dalla Vedova said.

Luca Maori, a defense lawyer for Knox's co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, said the trace's very existence also indicated the knife had not been washed. "It is something very important," he said. "It is absurd to use it for a murder and put it back in the drawer."

Prosecutors deferred comment for their summations, due later this month.

Read more:
Amanda Knox case: Knife had no DNA from victim

Amanda Knox case: A DNA expert testified Wednesday in Italy that the so-called murder weapon, a knife, had no DNA on it from the victim. His testimony supports the defense of Amanda Knox and her boyfriend.

U.S. student Amanda Knox's defense got a boost on Wednesday when a new DNA test on a kitchen knife failed to conclusively prove that it was the murder weapon used to kill her British roommate.

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

An expert witness testified that the minuscule DNA trace on the knife handle near the blade showed "considerable affinity" with Knox's own DNA.

That confirmed what was already known from two previous trials: that Knox's DNA was on the knife handle, identified through another trace.

No DNA belonging to the slain British student, Meredith Kercher, was identified. Previous genetic evidence on the blade linked to Kercher had been contested at earlier stages.

Outside the court, Knox defense lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova told The Associated Press that the testimony confirms his contention that the knife was used by Knox solely for preparing food. "The report confirms that this is a kitchen knife. It is not a murder weapon," Dalla Vedova said.

Luca Maori, a defense lawyer for Knox's co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, said the trace's very existence also indicated the knife had not been washed. "It is something very important," he said. "It is absurd to use it for a murder and put it back in the drawer."

Prosecutors deferred comment for their summations, due later this month.

Read more:
Amanda Knox case: Knife had no DNA from victim (+video)