Jury hears details of Meredith Kercher case

8:24am UK, Friday February 06, 2009
Greg Milam, Europe correspondent
Details of what happened on the night Meredith Kercher was brutally murdered will finally be revealed to a jury today.


Meredith Kercher was found dead in her apartment in Perugia

A court in Italy will begin to hear the first evidence in the trial of the former lovers accused of killing the British student in November 2007.

American Amanda Knox, who shared a house with Meredith, and Italian Raffaele Sollecito deny killing the Leeds University student and then trying to make it look like a burglary gone wrong.

The first witnesses include officers who were called to the scene and started the investigation.

It follows months of leaks, speculation and accusation that has swirled around a case which is big news in the UK, Italy and the United States.

Meredith, from Coulsdon in Surrey, was found dead in the bedroom of the house in Perugia.



Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox

She had been stabbed in the neck and her body hidden under her duvet.

Police believe she was killed when she refused to take part in a drug-fuelled sex game.

They say DNA evidence shows Knox and Sollecito were in the house at the time of the murder.

Local drifter Rudy Guede was found guilty of Meredith's murder in a fast-track trial last year. He is now serving a 30-year sentence.

Last month, the judge rejected an appeal by Meredith's family to have the case held behind closed doors.

They will be among the 250 witnesses to give evidence.


Rudy Guede has been jailed

Knox and Sollecito both claim the DNA evidence against them is unreliable and deny being in the house at the time of the murder.

Lawyers told the trial's opening that they were simply "lovebirds" and not a couple out looking for sexual kicks.

Knox, speaking through her lawyers when the trial opened, said: "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. I have nothing to fear. I am innocent and the trial will prove it."

A huge support network for University of Washington student Knox, called the Friends of Amanda, has been fund-raising to pay for her defence.

Her family say her reputation has been destroyed by investigators.

7:01pm UK, Friday February 06, 2009

Nick Pisa, in Perugia
Meredith Kercher murder suspect Raffaele Sollecito has stood up in court and declared: "I would never hurt a fly."

A court in Italy has heard the first evidence in the trial of the former lovers accused of killing the British student in November 2007.

American Amanda Knox, who shared a house with Meredith, and Italian Sollecito deny killing the Leeds University student and then trying to make it look like a burglary gone wrong.

In a clear attempt at passing blame onto Amanda Knox, Sollecito said: "I am Raffaele Sollecito and I wanted to only say that the situation I find myself in is very difficult to explain.

"It is completely unreal to me and I have absolutely nothing to do with it. I have been in jail for one year and three months and I don't have anything to do with this.

"As anyone who knows me will tell you, I would never hurt anyone, I would never hurt a fly. I don't know why I am in this situation.

"There has been a lot of confusion in this case and I just want it all to be cleared up.

"I don't know Rudy Guede, I have never met him."

He went on in his spontaneous speech: "I started a romantic relationship with Amanda on October 25, 2007, we did not know each other beforehand, there was nothing else to our relationship.

"I ask you to investigate everything properly and thoroughly and not to have any presumptions because I feel that I am here as a result of a miscarriage of justice. Thank you for your attention."

Meredith, from Coulsdon in Surrey, was found dead in the bedroom of the house in Perugia.

She had been stabbed in the neck and her body hidden under her duvet.

Police believe she was killed when she refused to take part in a drug-fuelled sex game.

They say DNA evidence shows Knox and Sollecito were in the house at the time of the murder.

The Italian claimed he was at home downloading a cartoon at the time of the murder - but this was thrown into doubt by the first witness to take the stand.

Police chief Filippo Batolozzi said an inspection of Sollecito's computer showed there had been no activity on it between 9.10pm on November 1, 2007, and 5.32am on November 2.

He told the court how officers were sent to Meredith's house to investigate after her two mobile phones were found in a neighbour's garden.

One of the policemen, Michele Battistelli, said Knox and Sollecito looked "surprised" when officers arrived on the murder scene.

It looked as if there had been an attempt to fake a break-in, he added.

Local drifter Rudy Guede was found guilty of Meredith's murder in a fast-track trial last year. He is now serving a 30-year sentence.

Last month, the judge rejected an appeal by Meredith's family to have the case held behind closed doors.

They will be among the 250 witnesses to give evidence.

Knox and Sollecito both claim the DNA evidence against them is unreliable and deny being in the house at the time of the murder.

Lawyers told the trial's opening that they were simply "lovebirds" and not a couple out looking for sexual kicks.

Knox, speaking through her lawyers when the trial opened, said: "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. I have nothing to fear. I am innocent and the trial will prove it."

Knox Was 'Scratched On Neck'

2:42pm UK, Saturday February 14, 2009
The woman on trial for murdering British student Meredith Kercher had a scratch on her neck hours after the killing, a court has heard.

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

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

Appearing as a prosecution witness at Knox's trial, Ms Mezzetti said: "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.

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

She said the wound had not been there two days before, and added she had not previously mentioned it to police because she assumed everybody had seen it.

Prosecutors allege that Meredith was the reluctant object of a sex game that ended violently on November 1 and 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. Both deny the charges.

Appearing in court today on Valentine's Day, Knox sported a T-shirt with "All You Need Is Love" scrawled across the front in large pink letters.

Journalist Nick Pisa says Knox is a Beatles fan and in jail regularly sings the John Lennon and Paul McCartney song Let It Be.

On Friday, Knox told the court she was innocent, saying she was sure "the truth would come out."

She addressed the court after an acquaintance gave evidence that she had been indifferent in the hours immediately after Meredith was found dead.

Witnesses said Knox did not appear distressed and was cuddling Sollecito at the police station while waiting to be questioned.

"I found Amanda's behaviour very strange and I found it quite difficult to be around her," said Robyn Carmel Butterworth, a prosecution witness who was a friend of the victim.

"Everybody was upset and she didn't seem to show any emotions. We were all crying. I didn't see her crying."

The witness said Knox and Sollecito were fooling around as they waited to see police.

"I remember Amanda sticking her tongue out at Raffaele," the British witness said. "They were talking and joking, kissing and cuddling."

Amy Frost, another witness who was also at the police station, said Knox "made faces," such as crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out. She was "giggling" and kissing Sollecito, said Frost.

A third resident in Perugia, Ivory Coast national Rudy Guede, was convicted last year of the same charges that Knox and Sollecito face and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Guede, who had also denied wrongdoing, had requested and received a fast-track trial.

I must say that this is very odd indeed

MsTaken wrote:I must say that this is very odd indeed

Her behaviour is not the norm for sure.

Dogwood wrote:

MsTaken wrote:I must say that this is very odd indeed

Her behaviour is not the norm for sure.

I think she is a little unhinged (going by this story) and I have a feeling she is guilty.

eddie wrote:

Dogwood wrote:

MsTaken wrote:I must say that this is very odd indeed

Her behaviour is not the norm for sure.

I think she is a little unhinged (going by this story) and I have a feeling she is guilty.

I honestly didnt think so but this is very weird behaviour...if your friend has just died you do not act this way!

Ambersuz wrote:

eddie wrote:

Dogwood wrote:

MsTaken wrote:I must say that this is very odd indeed

Her behaviour is not the norm for sure.

I think she is a little unhinged (going by this story) and I have a feeling she is guilty.

I honestly didnt think so but this is very weird behaviour...if your friend has just died you do not act this way!

It may be that she is one of those people that have no conscience...

7:23pm UK, Wednesday February 18, 2009
Unidentified intruders have broken into the sealed flat where British student Meredith Kercher was killed in Perugia, central Italy.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Intruders-Ransack-Meredith-Kercher-Murder-Flat-In-Perugia-Central-Italy/Article/200902315225455?lpos=World_News_Top_Stories_Header_0&lid=ARTICLE_15225455_Intruders_Ransack_Meredith_Kercher_Murder_Flat_In_Perugia%2C_Central_Italy

Police believe Meredith was killed when she refused to take part in a drug-fuelled sex game.

They say DNA evidence shows Knox and Sollecito were in the house at the time of the murder.

fruitcake wrote:7:23pm UK, Wednesday February 18, 2009
Unidentified intruders have broken into the sealed flat where British student Meredith Kercher was killed in Perugia, central Italy.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Intruders-Ransack-Meredith-Kercher-Murder-Flat-In-Perugia-Central-Italy/Article/200902315225455?lpos=World_News_Top_Stories_Header_0&lid=ARTICLE_15225455_Intruders_Ransack_Meredith_Kercher_Murder_Flat_In_Perugia%2C_Central_Italy

Police believe Meredith was killed when she refused to take part in a drug-fuelled sex game.

They say DNA evidence shows Knox and Sollecito were in the house at the time of the murder.

Hmmmm....interesting...