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UPDATE: DNA from both Amanda and Meredith was found on a kitchen knife taken from Rafaelle's home. Amanda's DNA was found on the handle of the knife and Meredith's on the tip.
Scroll to the end for more updates. http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/11/16/student.murder.ap/index.html
Amanda Knox was studying in Italy. It was a dream come true to be independent and live abroad. She shared a small house with three other girls and recently began a romance with a handsome Harry Potter look-a-like Raffaele (one of her favorite books).
She was a barista at a local bar and was just thrilled to be living such an exciting life. An American in Italy with her entire life ahead of her. At 20 years old she was doing pretty well.
Until one of her roommates, British native, Meredith Kercher 21 years of age, was found dead in the tiny house they shared. Her throat was slashed with some kind of sharp instrument and she was partially clothed.
At first Amanda knew nothing. She and her boyfriend showed up and found the door open and then discovered Meredith was locked in her room dead. They had no idea what could have happened to the beautiful girl.
The police found the room was shut from the inside and a window had been broken where they assumed the perp escaped. It seemed a crazed killer was loose in Perugia Italy.
Until Amanda confessed.
The news reports are leading with the headline "American woman confesses to Italian Authorities" - but what did she confess to exactly??
According to Amanda she thinks, her boyfriend, along with the manager of the bar where she worked decided they wanted to have some fun, they were drinking and then went home to hang with Meredith, but she can't be sure if Meredith was there when they arrived or if she showed up later, she also can't recall if her boyfriend was there either, however she is sure Patrick, the manager of the bar where she worked was there.
According to Amanda Meredith and Patrick took a liking to each other and went off together into Meredith's room. Amanda now stood alone in the kitchen and she was drunk and her head hurt, but she could hear screams coming from Meredith's bedroom and then a thump. She couldn't remember if her boyfriend was there or not, but she did remember putting her fingers in her ears so that she wouldn't hear the screams. She then only remembers waking up in her boyfriend's bed. She returns home to find the door open and blood droplets in the bathroom, she calls out for Meredith....silence. Amanda then gets scared and goes back to her boyfriend's house and tells him about the blood. He admits that he just smoked a joint upon her return. They both return to the house and find Meredith dead.
The media however, is reporting that Amanda and her boyfriend (Raffaele) along with Patrick a married father of two, wanted to have a "violent orgy" with Meredith and when Meredith refused, she was killed. I am not sure where this information came from or how the police came up with it, but it seems to be their theory. Could this be true?
Police say they intercepted a call between Amanda and her boyfriend, in which Amanda says, "Raffaele, I can’t do this any more, I can’t keep this up." - Police took this to mean her original story was a lie. At first her boyfriend said that Amanda was with him all night, and that they both discovered the body together, then retracted and said he was being untrue.
Here are a few of Amanda's quotes, I have never heard of so many "i thinks" and "i don't remember".
"Patrick and Meredith went off together into Meredith’s room while I think I stayed in the kitchen. I can’t remember how long they were in the bedroom together, I can only say that at a certain point I heard Meredith screaming and I was so frightened I put my fingers in my ears.” She claimed she had had a lot to drink and had fallen asleep (hmmm in the kitchen!).
She added: “I’m not sure whether Raffaele was there too that evening but I do remember waking up at his house in his bed" (so she is not sure how she got to his house or if he was even there at all, but she remembers screams and putting her fingers in her ears?)
"This affair has profoundly upset me and I'm very frightened of Patrick, the African guy, the owner of the Le Chic pub where I occasionally work," she told investigators. (way to throw the black guy under the bus, why didn't he kill Amanda too, she was the only witness and was apparently drunk and asleep on the kitchen floor?).
"I don't remember if my friend Meredith was already there or whether she came later. What I can say is that the two of them (Meredith and Patrick) went off together." she added.
"Patrick wanted her (Ms Kercher)," she said. "Patrick and Meredith went off together into Meredith's room while I think I stayed in the kitchen. I can't remember how long they were in the bedroom together, I can only say that at a certain point I heard Meredith screaming and I was so frightened I put my fingers in my ears. I don't remember anything after that, my head is really confused.
The Boyfriend Raffaele QUOTES:
"I don't remember what she was wearing or if she was wearing the same clothes she was wearing when we said goodbye before dinner. I don't remember if we had sex that evening. The next morning we woke around ten and she told me she wanted to go home to have a shower and change her clothes.
"She went off about half past ten and I went back to sleep. When she went off Amanda took an empty plastic bag, telling me it was for dirty washing. She came back around half past eleven and I remember she changed her clothes."
"In my former statement I told you a load of rubbish because I believed Amanda's version of what happened and did not think about the inconsistencies." (so he is saying she is a liar).
Interesting info: Amanda wrote a short story on her myspace page regarding date rape in which one brother confronts another about raping a girl. It was very interesting, but then again that doesn't make her a murderer.
I just can't imagine three people who seem fairly normal trying to force someone into a violent orgy and then killing her when she refused. I especially can't understand how a seemingly normal girl like Amanda could be a part of something like that.
*Info taken from the following websites: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
*Update: *Quotes and update taken form courttv.com
The BBC is reporting that a knife "compatible" with the wound to Meredith's throat was found this morning during a search of Rafeale Sollecito's house in Perugia. Forensic experts are testing it for fingerprints and DNA evidence.
Bodily fluid present on Meredith's chest suggested a male attacker; however, a footprint found in a nearby pool of blood appeared to have been made by a small woman's shoe. During a sweep of the property, investigators found Meredith's cellphone discarded in a nearby garden, covered in bloody fingerprints, along with a blood-soaked handkerchief.
Apparently the murder weapon is thought to be a penknife.
Meredith's body indicated the presence of two different men prior to her death.
It is noted that Meredith was sexual active before her death, but that it may not have been rape. The lead pathologist then added that she had bruises and that it was indeed proof that a struggle occurred.
Examination of her body also revealed that she might have been tortured before dying, due to multiple cuts found on her body and the amount of blood lost.
Amanda Knox, Rafaele Sollecito and Patrick Diya Lumumba, 37 are in a Perugian prison on suspicion of conspiracy to commit manslaughter and conspiracy to commit sexual violence.
I real feel terrible for her family:
"Words cannot even begin to describe how we feel right now, other than utterly devastated at the tragic loss of our daughter and sister Meredith. Nothing can prepare you for the news we received on Friday evening, and it has taken this long for us to feel able to express our thoughts.
"Mez, as she was fondly known to us and those who knew her, was someone very special - a 21-year-old student, who was into her studies, worked hard and enjoyed spending time socializing with her friends and family.
"As anyone who had been lucky enough to have known her would testify, she was one of the most beautiful, intelligent, witty and caring people you could wish to meet. Nothing was ever too much effort for her - a loving daughter and sister and a loyal friend. We feel it is no exaggeration to say that Meredith touched the lives of everyone she met with her infectious, upbeat personality, smile and sense of humor.
"... We would like to appeal to anyone who may feel they have any information, no matter how trivial it may seem, to contact their local police and to help us bring to justice the person who has destroyed so many lives."
*Update - Nov. 13 2007 - Amanda Knox changes her story.... again.
Apparently Amanda Knox has now reverted to her original statement that she was at her boyfriend's house all night and only discovered her friend was in trouble the following day upon returning home. Basically, she is saying she made up the part about seeing Patrick and Meredith together and about hearing Meredith dying. The only problem is her boyfriend said he didn't see Amanda from 9PM to 1AM. Another problem - they have some type of surveillance that shows Amanda was at the home. It seems that the killer or killers will be brought to justice anyway since Meredith had hair and skin clenched in her bloody fist. There is loads of physical evidence. It seems the killers or killer was too drunk or stupid to clean up.
Also worth noting: It seems they found fresh fecal matter in the toilette that does NOT belong to any of the three suspects. I think it may belong to another room mate, but looks like they are looking for a fourth suspect that had the nerve to take a shit after murdering a young woman. That makes absolutely no sense.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/12/wkercher112.xml
Updated 11/16/07: DNA found on a knife at Raffeale's home, Amanda's DNA on the handle of the knife and Meredith's on the tip:
"Police say the knife they found had been cleaned using bleach but that would not have removed any traces of DNA. (oops, someone doesn't watch Courttv)
Detectives said that signs of bleach were found all over Sollecito's flat, indicating that someone had recently cleaned it meticulously. (double oops, cleaning with bleach is a clear sign that something nasty was spilt)
A blood soaked sponge was also found there. It is thought that forensic tests have not yet linked Patrick Lumumba to the scene. (How can you forget a bloody sponge? - It is looking really good for Patrick).
His lawyer, Giuseppe Sereni, said: "There will be no traces of Patrick's DNA at the house because he was never there." - (I think I am starting to believe this.)
There were also rags at the crime scene linked to Amanda and Raffaele.
*Update: 11/20/07 - 4th suspect arrested.21-year-old Rudy Hermann Guede was arrested in Germany. His DNA, a bloody finger print and poop found in the toilet matches everything that is him 100%. He is a friend of Amanda and Raffaele as well as a customer at Patrick's bar. He is also a drug dealer. Now this makes a lot of sense. A drug dealer friend who supplies them with drugs. The reports now indicate that Meredith was not killed on her bed, but instead was forced to kneel in front of a wardrobe and was stabbed in the throat, then she was dragged to the bed and left to bleed to death for 2 hours. She was unable to call out for help because of her injuries.
Apparently this piece of trash Rudy posted on his facebook page that he knew he was a suspect and was going to turn himself in because the police will put out a "wrong profile" of him. does he mean that he wants to set the record straight so that people do nit think poorly of him? I have news for you RUDY - YOUR FINGER PRINTS IN HER BLOOD ON HER PILLOW - is a sure sign that you are a piece of shit.
The question remains, how does Amanda, Raffaele and Patrick fit into this?
Info taken from: http://www.newsweek.com/id/71393/page/1
* Update: 11/26/07 - So Rudy's story is that he went over at Meredith's request for a drink. They had consensual sex and he had a tummy ache so he went to poop in her toilette. As he was pooping he heard the doorbell ring and Meredith opened. He said he then heard her screaming and as he ran out of the toilette (forgetting to flush of course) he literally ran into the killer. The killer was an Italian man and as the Italian man left he told Rudy, "You are in trouble black man!". Rudy then says he went over to Meredith and she whispered the INITIALS of her killer to him...AF. He then says he wrote those initials on the wall using Meredith's blood. WTF!!!! - He then ran off out of fear of being framed. Why would she whisper only the initials? Why not the exact name?
This is his story. This ridiculous string of words is his story. He fails to understand that his hair was clenched in her tight fist. His bloody finger prints on her pillow and no AF scrawlled on the wall.
It has also come to light that the Police have found additional DNA for an unknown woman and man. JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE INVOLVED IN THIS?
I seriously think this was a sex and drug party, where several people were having sex with each other and Meredith was in her room NOT wanting to be involved and somehow this disgusting group overflowed into her room and this RUDY guy took it too far. The massive clean up of the house afterward proves this. The entire house was cleaned with bleach...ALL BUT MEREDITH'S room.
* Info taken from various news sources.
*I will post updates as I find them.