Sunday, October 09, 2011

“Wrong To Capitalise On Any Murder. Not Just For Us, But For Anyone”

Posted by Peter Quennell





Helen Weathers reports on a face-to-face interview with Meredith’s father John in the Daily Mail.

On John’s memories of Meredith which haunt him daily: 

“˜Meredith was extremely intelligent and humorous as a child. She had an almost adult sense of humour, and was always very thoughtful and considerate “” sensitive to other people,’ says John, who was divorced from Meredith’s mother in 1997 after 20 years of marriage.

“˜Meredith was very witty. She had quite an original line in humour, what you might call a barbed wit, I suppose, but not hurtful; never hurtful.

“˜I remember once coming back from a holiday in Egypt and showing Meredith a photograph of myself wearing a floppy sunhat I’d bought. She took one look and said: “Dad, just tell me you didn’t pay any money for that hat.”’
Amanda Knox cries following the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roomate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court in Italy

Like her father, Meredith loved the relaxed Mediterranean way of life. Indeed, her love of Italy started on family holidays to Rimini and continued on school trips and exchanges. John was not surprised when she chose to study Italian and European studies at Leeds University.

“˜The irony was that after two years at Leeds she found they’d accidentally put her on a three-year course which would have excluded the year in Italy, so she fought to get put back on the four-year course and get out there,’ says John.

“˜She had the choice of going to Rome, Milan or Perugia. While she loved Rome and would have liked Milan, she felt she’d have a better chance of making friends more easily in Perugia than in a large city.

“˜Meredith was very excited about going. For the first three days she stayed in a small family-run hotel until she found the cottage. She told me her room was a bit small, but the views were beautiful.’

John last saw his daughter a month before she was murdered. She’d returned to Britain on a flying visit to buy some clothes for the Italian winter and arranged to meet her father for coffee at an Italian restaurant in Croydon.

“˜Meredith had bought a new pair of boots which she wanted to show me. I think they were leather with a small heel. And that’s the image of Meredith I want to remember: my daughter smiling, laughing and showing me her new boots.’

On the media speculation about the megabucks that Amanda Knox and her clan could make.

“˜I think it would be more sensitive to Meredith’s memory if Amanda Knox maintained a low profile,’ says John, a freelance journalist, in his first in-depth interview.

The Amanda Knox cult insults my Meredith’s memory: Victim’s father says it’s wrong to capitalise on murder in his first interview since the verdict

“˜I don’t want to say anything confrontational, but I believe it is wrong to capitalise on any murder. Not just for us, but for anyone.

“˜This cult of celebrity is demeaning to Meredith’s memory, disrespectful. I don’t think Amanda Knox has actively sought out celebrity status; I think that has been created for her. But then again, she hasn’t actively rejected it.

“˜It is distressing that all this will go on for a long time and that all the focus is going to be on the defendants for some time yet.

And at the shock of the U-turn first appeal verdict

“˜I thought the judge might uphold the conviction but possibly reduce their sentences to be more in line with Guede’s “” but not this,’ he says.

“˜We thought the original evidence would be upheld, so it is a huge shock. You hope the appeal jury is going to recognise what was established in the first trial. In this case, it wasn’t.’

Comments

An Italian resident [British born] living in Sicily wrote to me and part of it [in the current post] is:

However, the appeal court judge said unequivocally that Knox and Sollecito were absolved of the crime not because of contaminated evidence but because they simply did not do it.

I do not think there has been enough emphasis on this in the foreign press.

She’s not saying that they didn’t do it - just that this was Hellman’s Italian summing up.  She also says that around where she lives, people were surprised by the verdict but after Knox went home, most people just got back to other things.

If so, this would be sad because it lets an injustice stand.

Posted by James Higham on 10/09/11 at 11:20 PM | #

@ James Higham.  Hi James.  Hellman did say that. Later, he also said that they may have done it. As Peter Quennell says, he has a lot of explaining to do when he writes his motivations report.

Posted by starsdad on 10/10/11 at 12:11 AM | #

I wonder how much Madison Paxton got paid for selling her fake video diaries to that ridiculous 48 hours program.

Posted by brmull on 10/10/11 at 12:54 AM | #

Hi James. Actually as Starsdad says the foreign press has given plenty of space to Hellman’s equivocations and his muddle over which paragraph of the code his judgment was based on. And your instance of the Sicilian who said their neighbors quickly moved on does not seem to reflect things elsewhere in Italy.

Various Italian talk shows are lining up to pick apart the verdict. They have already started and there is a big one tomorrow night. We asked those who got in touch from those shows what their poll numbers show, and one replied that informal polls suggest around 80% feel the verdict does not seem legitimate or justified.

So it looks like the debate could be growing rather than shrinking. Hellman’s motivation report somehow has to do a u-turn on Massei’s report. But Hellman is a only business judge, who several times lost control of his court, and he seemed to show bias. He and his jurors ran through little of the evidence that was described in great depth in Massei.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 10/10/11 at 12:55 AM | #

Peter,  could you tell us which show is on tomarrow night?  I’ll break my rule and actually watch the darn thing on T.V.

Thanks,  Thanks to all for this site it just gets better, and better.

Posted by Miriam on 10/10/11 at 01:51 AM | #

Hello,

This is my first post at this website. I had not followed the murder case in any detail whatsoever in the past but since the past week, I have tried to read some details put out by various newspapers and websites. So, my understanding of the case is not thorough. 

My heart weeps for the Kercher family. Reading Meredith’s father’s comments formed a lump in my throat. I sincerely hope that he and his family keep up with the courage that they have clung on to these past 4 years.

Please read this with a completely open mind. I would like to offer my help to their family by giving them some perspective about life and ‘death’.

There is no ‘death’. We are always alive. One may wonder how this is possible.

Well, first of all, let me say that what I will be writing here is nothing to do with any religion. It is not a religious discourse. So again, please read with an open mind.

Well over 4,800 years ago, during the epic battle the ‘Mahabharata’, Krishna teaches the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ to Arjuna. One of the most enlightening verses from it is as follows:

“Nainam chindanti sastrani
Nainam dahati pavakah
Na cainam kledayanty apo
Na sosayati marutah”

The above verse, in Sanskrit, translates thus in English “No weapon can harm the soul, fire cannot burn the soul, water cannot wet the soul and the wind cannot make it dry. The soul is indestructible”.

Further, Krishna says this about the soul:  “Vasansi jirnani yatha vihaya navani grihnati naro aparnai, thata sarirani vihaya jirnanyanyani sanyati navani dehi”,

which translates thus to English:

“Like a person discards old clothes and wears new clothes, similarly the soul discards old or worn out bodies and takes new body.”

As a Hindu, I was exposed to these teachings by my Mother and Father from an early age. I took them as granted. However, the “proof” of these truths came to me by studying works of various educated western researchers, who, amazingly (and you can certainly call it ‘independently’) discovered these truths by their own work.

Two of the most prolific and detailed researchers in this area are:

1. Dr. Ian Stevenson
2. Dr. Brian Weiss

More about Dr. Ian Stevenson can be found here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Stevenson.  Dr. Stevenson spent many years in personally interviewing people (especially children) who have recalled their past lives. Some of his works are:

1. Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation
2. Children Who Remember Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation
3. Unlearned Language: New Studies in Xenoglossy

More about Dr. Brian Weiss can be found here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Weiss  Some of his works are:

1. Many Lives, Many Masters
2. Same Soul, Many Bodies
3. Messages From the Masters

A good 12 part interview with Brian Weiss can be found here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etse1QxwumM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BVJfAXp_Hc&feature=related

After I read their works, I could put the teachings in the Bhagavad Gita together and what I learnt has been very humbling and at the same time quite comforting. It has provided me with the ‘proof’ I was looking for.

As I feel for the Kercher family, I also know that nothing anyone can do will bring Meredith back. Not in the same physical shape or form that she was in before her death. But it would offer some degree of comfort in knowing that she is still alive, since there is no ‘death’. There is always a continuity. There always has been and always will be.

I do not know the Kercher family. If anyone here knows them, please pass on this message for them to read the above works. It will surely give them a real perspective about why things happen to us and what we can learn from them.

A long time ago, I read somewhere that in God’s court, there are no lawyers for the prosecution, there are no lawyers for the defense, there is no jury, there is no judge.

Our Karma (which is defined as “action” in Sanskrit) is what defines our future. We are today what we are due to our Karmas (actions) from the past.

Whoever killed Meredith will have to face the result of his/her actions. The result of that action may affect that person(s) now, tomorrow, next month, next year or in the next life. It depends on the person’s “karma balance”. If the balance is big, then that result may not manifest itself until the results of other karmas have been dealt with. One thing is for sure: no karma, whether it be good or bad goes unrealized. Karma is like an arrow that has been shot. It cannot be recalled.

In parting, I again urge you all to not dismiss this post, even if you do not agree with me. My hope is to have someone here communicate this to the Kercher family so their pain can be lessened a bit. They would realize that they have not lost Meredith after all.

Posted by Universal Peace on 10/10/11 at 01:59 AM | #

@John Higham.  I wonder if Hellman was trying to tell us that he had to acquit them because they would not confess? They may have done it, but they would not confess. That makes sense. Bastards, why didn’t they confess!...... Medic please!

Posted by starsdad on 10/10/11 at 02:27 AM | #

Thanks Miriam. The big show tomorrow noight on the verdict is on Italy’s Channel 5 and it’ll be in Italian of course. If you are in Italy please record? I’ll email some of our Italian readers to do the same thing.

Anyone interested in the format of these terrific shows should look at the posts of one of our Italian lawyers, Cesare Beccaria, on the Porta a Porta series starting here:

http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php?/tjmk/comments/how_each_of_the_three_subtly_but_surely_pushed_the_other_two_1/

You can see the Kercher family in one of them and Papa Doc in another and all the lawyers except AK’s in several and a friend of Guede’s in one.

Superficially the shows seem gentle and elegant and everybody is supremely polite but the game-playing that goes on is intense. No wonder the ratings are so high.

Cesare Beccaria and I agreed that Giuseppe Castellini of the Umbria Journal (in Perugia) is the smartest toughest guy on the case. 

We agreed that no-one ever talks on those shows as if AK and RS are entirely innocent - merely that the others did worse.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 10/10/11 at 04:16 AM | #

Hi Universal Peace. I cannot imagine anyone not finding interest in your post. Meredith’s circle do read here. I really like India as much as I like Italy and I’ve driven from one end to the other (Madras and Cochin to Bombay and Delhi and on out via Karachi and up the Khyber Pass.

I knew some Anglo-Indian families in the UN like the Kerchers and they are all very tranquil and bright and actively reach out. Meredith might have ended up working in the UN and I hope one day her parents meet some people there. That might make real what she might have become. It’s tough seeing someone with the qualities we need seemingly struck down by total mediocrities with no achievements and no qualities at all that we need.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 10/10/11 at 04:33 AM | #

That’s a nice perspective Universal Peace. Thank you.

Posted by brmull on 10/10/11 at 05:39 AM | #

Replying to James Raper from the previous closed thread:

I got the info about which tests were done on the knife from the CV report:

“With the agreement of the parties, two further samples were taken from the point of contact between the blade and the handle, on opposite sides of the knife, and these samples were indicated with the letters H-I.”

http://knoxdnareport.wordpress.com/contents/description-of-item-36-knife/laboratory-analysis-of-item-36/

Posted by brmull on 10/10/11 at 06:07 AM | #

Reply to KateC from the previous closed thread:

I think your question #4 was deleted when the comments got full. Please repost if you still wish to discuss.

Posted by brmull on 10/10/11 at 06:15 AM | #

Pete, I also feel that Amanda Knox was rolling into Italy a bizarre and mediocre person, mostly into drugs and sex, writing bizarre stories, throwing-rock parties, thinking about rape and pranks, etc.

In her defense, her family seems extremely dysfunctional. She might have developed out of it, if she had taken someone like Meredith as a role model for instance. At this point, her karmic debt is so great, I’m not sure where productivity could be realized. Her best bet, imho, is to live a quiet life and try to cause no-one else grief. Even that will take lots of help from various sources. Just my humble opinion, I could be wrong.

In the final analysis, her lot in life is her own choice. Admitting the truth and seeking some sort of redemption would be her only saving grace, again, only my humble opinion.

Posted by Earthling on 10/10/11 at 06:44 AM | #

Thought you might want to know that Andrea Vogt’s article on the backlash in Italy against the Knox verdict was on the front page of the Sunday Seattle Times.  When we read articles online we seldom know how prominently they were placed in the print edition of the newspaper. I’m glad the Seattle Times editors did what honest editors anywhere would do: they put an important story on the front page.  I wonder if the Knox - Mellas clan gets home delivery of the paper!

Posted by Sailor on 10/10/11 at 08:28 AM | #

Thanks to brmull for reference to the Conti-Vecchiotti report (discrediting the DNA evidence against Amanda Knox.)

I am grateful to myself for having cautioned earlier against resorting to the argumentum ad hominem.  This CV report lacks nothing in the way of scrupulous scientific detail—even excruciatingly scrupulous detail & care.

Congratulations to these professors & their remarkable work. It was therefore very misleading to discredit their work by appealing to such sources as the Louisana state troopers manual, or whatever it was.

I regret having taken the bait on that & in view of the CV report—seen now for the first time (by me)—I think it a low blow.

Whether the professors are right or wrong, there is surely nothing to be complained of in their work & MUCH TO BE ADMIRED.

Seems that at some point I pressed the wrong button.  I will be 80 next Sunday &—these things happen.

Do I change my view of Amanda’s guilt & pathology in consequence of this?  Not at all, not in the least. That has been well-established on sufficient grounds.

What I do change, however, is my opinion on the rejection of the DNA evidence.  And here too I continue to stand with Dr. Stephanoni—it’s not a question of that.  It’s merely that the CV report done so scrupulously makes plausible the views of those who go along with the dismissal of the evidence.

Posted by Ernest Werner on 10/10/11 at 10:08 AM | #

Thanks brmull (for your reply on the other thread), that’s very helpful.  I think they should take the knife apart, I can’t see what there is to lose by doing that. Maybe it won’t reveal any new DNA, but on the other hand it might.

I think the other things I asked were:

Could someone have broken into the high window via the walkway? I’ve seen it suggested that that would be possible, but it was on a pro-Knox website that was full of distortions, so I’m skeptical.

Had Patrick Lumumba sacked AK? I read an interview where he said he had, but if that’s right, why did he text AK saying she wasn’t needed for work that evening? Is it correct that he talked to Meredith about her working for him?  I ask about this because whilst losing your job to another person is not a motive for murder for a normal person, it certainly could be a significant part of a motive if one were a psychopath.

Another question:  Meredith had apparently had an alcoholic drink. But she didn’t drink it during the meal with her English friends, so when did she drink it? 

And connected to that:  The fragment of glass found in her room, was that tested and found to be window glass? Or not? It must be possible to tell if a glass fragment is from a window pane or from a wine glass, say.

Oh I have remembered my other question. This one to me seems a core bit of evidence, inexplicable unless AK is guilty:  The faucet/tap had very obvious blood on it. AK testified that she saw the blood, thought it couldn’t possibly be from her recently pierced ears, and confirmed that to herself by checking her ear (dry) and the blood stain on the tap (dry). But the Massei report says that blood was AK’s. So how does she explain that? It seems to make perfect sense if she’s guilty, but no sense at all if she’s innocent.

Obviously there are innocent reasons one might get blood on a faucet. But I can’t see an innocent reason for that blood to be dry.

Posted by KateC on 10/10/11 at 11:43 AM | #

I was delighted that the Kercher’s chose to give their first interview to BLN and Andrea Vogt who have been ambassadors for Meredith throughout [although I fell out slightly with BLN during this trial but she’s back on track now]. Lyle says he reads some of the forums, I’m pleased about that - I’m sure it gives him some comfort to see the support that’s out there for Meredith.

I’d love to see an interview with Stefanoni and Massei now. To be honest, I’d a bad feeling this time round when Stefanoni was giving her evidence, Hellman seemed impatient with her - on the second day he said he hoped she’d no more slides [she had]. Was he even paying attention? I feel a lot of sympathy for her, she strikes me as a compassionate woman who feels great sympathy for the Kerchers and her professional pride must have taken a serious knock with this case.

Posted by Melanie on 10/10/11 at 11:44 AM | #

Kate -

There was no way anyone could have climbed through Filomena’s window, either vertically from the ground up, or horizontally from that little ledge.  There is no crevice or protruding brick they could have rested their feet on in order to unlatch the shutters.  Maybe someone with Cirque du Soleil training could have somersaulted to it, or someone with Batman equipment could have used grapples, but they would have still left some marks in the process.  People without extensive training in acrobatics simply can’t do it - one of the defense lawyers tried and failed, and he was a very tall, fit fellow.

Patrick was in process of cutting back Amanda’s hours. I don’t think he had explicitly sacked her at the time, but he had her handing out flyers instead of serving at the bar.  On that particular night, the bar was empty, so he didn’t need her to come to work.  From what I’ve read, his first receipts were from around 10:30 pm.

Patrick saw Meredith mix a mojito and asked her if she’d be interested in hosting a Meredith mojito night.  Apparently, she was happy to do it and said she’d bring all her friends to support Patrick’s bar.  He might have considered giving her a part-time job after that, since she was beautiful, popular, and well-behaved (unlike a certain other girl who spent more time flirting with customers than serving drinks).

No idea about the drink or glass shard, but perhaps someone more knowledgeable could answer.

Regarding the blood, AK dated it to that night/morning.  She actually said that she initially thought it was from her ears, but she scratched at it and it was dry.  The blood had not been there before, according to her, so she couldn’t back pedal and say it could have been from a previous scratch/nosebleed/etc. So you’re right, she still hasn’t offered a satisfactory explanation (probably because there is none).

Posted by Vivianna on 10/10/11 at 12:11 PM | #

As the commenters say’WOW’

http://arbiteronline.com/2011/10/10/acquitted-or-not-evidence-points-to-amanda-knoxs-guilt/

Posted by starsdad on 10/10/11 at 12:30 PM | #

Being aquitted maybe the worst thing that ever happened to her!!

Posted by Melanie on 10/10/11 at 12:38 PM | #

“Rather than celebrate Amanda Knox’s acquittal, people should mourn the condemnation of justice.

Before all the books are written, before the films and made-for-TV specials are produced, and the case is debated for generations from tea houses in Nepal to diners in Iowa, we should all remember that the worldwide justice system is the true victim”.

Another welcome article that unfortunately does not refer to Meredith as a person and a victim or her family.

Posted by starsdad on 10/10/11 at 12:45 PM | #

10/10/11
E. Werner: happy upcoming 80th birthday! That’s a great accomplishment. You’ve contributed good stuff here. You write like a young sprout and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your posts.

Posted by Hopeful on 10/10/11 at 02:46 PM | #

Does this also mean Rudy Geuede’s case is unsafe, after all he was convicted largely on DNA collected by the same analysts?

I understand he may have offered a deal to cut his sentence, but who wouldn’t in his position?  I think all 3 were involved, but surely it blows the whole prosecution case apart.

Posted by anglosaxon on 10/10/11 at 03:11 PM | #

If someone lives in the states would you mind posting this reply to this article.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/oct/10/jim-kershner-knox-book-author-relied-on-rules-of/?prefetch=1

Meredith Kercher was a very strong, tough person. She had boxed. She was on her third belt in karate. She could look after herself. She was used to fighting people, She knew how to struggle with people. She knew how to kick. She knew weak points. The eyes, the mouth, the nose, the throat etc. None of the wounds were defensive wounds, as agreed by the defense expert.

On the fateful night she was fighting for her life, she was raped and suffered over 40 knife wounds by 2 knives (one small knife and one large) before the fatal wound. The autopsy report lists numerous injuries that relate to her being restrained. It was not a case where she ‘froze’ She was forcibly restrained.

Strangely, there is no DNA on her hands or fingernails. Their is no skin, fibre or hair under her fingernails. There is no report of broken fingernails.

Because of this, Judge Massei determined that Merediths two hands and legs had been held while the attack was being carried out. He reckoned that it would not be possible for one person to hold her down and carry on stabbing, changing knives and raping Meredith.

It is not unreasonable to imagine two people either side of Meredith holding her hands and legs, while a third person carried out the rape and stabbings. This is one of the reasons that 4 courts have concluded that 3 people were involved in Merediths murder. You present no case for Guede being the sole participant in the murder of Meredith.

‘Journalists do not have to live by their words, but they may have to eat them’  Adlai Stevenson

Posted by starsdad on 10/10/11 at 03:20 PM | #

This is interesting: 58% of voters think Amanda is guilty!

http://arbiteronline.com/2011/10/10/acquitted-or-not-evidence-points-to-amanda-knoxs-guilt/#idc-cover

What has happened to the Knox PR machine?

Posted by starsdad on 10/10/11 at 05:27 PM | #

@brmull, I’m a bit intrigued by Madison Paxton. I think she’s another oddity and more than a little in love with Foxy. Knox must be the only friend she has in the world - why else would she up sticks just to be with her? Knox is forever in her debt - that’s for sure..

Posted by Melanie on 10/10/11 at 06:42 PM | #

Melanie, don’t forget that Madison has professionally benefited from this situation.  While in Perugia, she worked for a local newspaper, photographing picturesque Umbrian towns for their photo archive.  She was also learning Italian, although I am not sure how well she speaks it.  So, all in all, she walked out with an enviable paid internship and valuable experience living and working in another country.  She must have quite a portfolio compared to other recent Photography graduates.

Posted by Vivianna on 10/10/11 at 06:49 PM | #

@Peter Quennell
@brmull

Thank you for your kind words.
My desire and intention is to help the Kerchner family so that they can heal. The only way they can heal to some degree is by understanding that Meredith is not ‘dead’ but still alive. Wouldn’t it help her Dad to know that Meredith could come back as Stephanie Kercher’s daughter/son or for that matter Lyle or John Jr’s daughter/son?
Or that she would be part of the Kerchner family again in their next lives?
So please reach out to them. If I had their contact info, I will be more than happy to correspond with them.

Having said all this, I am not a defeatist to accept fate and just say “let’s move on, since the law of Karma will take over and see justice is done”. No! We all have to try and see that justice and truth prevails. That is our Karma, for those of us who are striving for the truth.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the early Transendental Mediationists said, “Men are hanged not for stealing horses, but so that horses are not stolen”.

As all of you compassionate folks here keep up the good work to find true justice and the truth, I firmly believe that this effort should go on.
In parallel, I believe the Kerchner family should also be helped to heal. Heal not just by sending cards, flowers, mails of sympathy, empathy, etc. but to let them experience the truth about life.

Again, I hope someone gives them this message, as I don’t know how to contact them. I am in the US. Had I been in the UK, I would have strived to meet up with them personally somehow.

My sincere prayers for you all so that you keep the strength to fight and contribute to truth and justice.

Posted by Universal Peace on 10/10/11 at 06:50 PM | #

Thanks for your reply, Vivianna.

Am I right in understanding that at some point in the original trial AK began refusing to answer questions? Do we know which question prompted the refusal?

And RS, did he exercise his right to not answer questions all the way through the trial, or just for part? If just for part, in response to what questions did he refuse to answer?

Posted by KateC on 10/10/11 at 08:15 PM | #

Thanks Vivianna, I don’t doubt that she did benefit - but it’s still a strange set up. At 17 & 15 my daughters are a few years younger than A&M but I wouldn’t allow them to get involved in that situation, I wouldn’t care how close their friendship I’d want them away from it.

Posted by Melanie on 10/10/11 at 08:39 PM | #

@Kate -

If you check out the “AK+RS Trial” section on the right panel and go back to about mid-June 2009, you’ll find a wealth of links regarding AK’s statements during the original trial. The video of a questioning session is also on YouTube (Part I - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEyYrSZx-3Q ; Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0q9OMaCIMI).  Considering who posted it, there are no guarantees that it’s complete.  Not sure if you’re registered on PMF, but they have a fantastic archive called “In Their Own Words” where you’ll find a lot of her statements.  There’s also an “AK+RS Appeal” section here with more recent material, and lots of recent videos on YouTube.

My impression is that she never straight-out refused to answer questions, but “confusion” and “amnesia” came in handy when she didn’t feel like oversharing.

To my knowledge, RS never took the stand during the two trials, with the exception of the small statement he gave at the end of the appeal.

@Melanie - No doubt, but remember that this is the Twilight Zone.  I don’t know if Paxton was paid by the PR campaign on top of her internship, but I wouldn’t be surprised.  Her parents might have seen it as a lucrative opportunity.  For all we know, Paxton could soon be seeking her own book deal based on her prison conversations with Knox.

Posted by Vivianna on 10/10/11 at 08:57 PM | #

@starsdad: Your facts seem mostly correct except for your comment about the wounds. Poor Meredith had an unbelievable 40 wounds, but most were not knife wounds. I believe most were abrasions, etc. (sorry, I’m not up on my medical terminology).

Posted by Earthling on 10/11/11 at 12:15 AM | #

KateC,

Agree with Vivianna on the climb. All the defence gave us was this skewed still of a guy (who they claim is about 6 feet) standing on the lower window grating. No way to know how he got there or how he plans to reach the various interior levers that are required to open the window, without knocking over any glass or leaving any footprints, in the dark. This some of the most damning non-biological evidence. It was recognized as a staged break-in even by the first police officers on the scene. Yet Hellmann evidently dismissed it completely.

Regarding whether the shard of glass in Meredith’s bedroom is from the window or another glass object, the picture below is equivocal. It’s taken from the police video so maybe there are better angles:

But Meredith had cuts on her hands that Sollecito consultant Professor Introna thought were consistent with crawling on broken glass. So I am convinced there was a broken bottle or cup belonging to the killers that had to be cleaned up carefully to avoid leaving DNA or fingerprint evidence.

Regarding Meredith’s blood alcohol level, at least one of the tests was definitely a lab error. That casts suspicion on the others, although Dr. Lalli’s 0.43 g/L (0.043 in the U.S.) was apparently performed at a different lab. Assume the latter value is correct and the others are wrong and maybe she did have a drink when she got home (no evidence of this) or maybe they made her drink.

Posted by brmull on 10/11/11 at 12:27 AM | #

KateC,

Agree with Vivianna on the climb. All the defence gave us was this skewed still of a guy (who they claim is about 6 feet) standing on the lower window grating. No way to know how he got there or how he plans to reach the various interior levers that are required to open the window, without knocking over any glass or leaving any footprints, in the dark. This some of the most damning non-biological evidence. It was recognized as a staged break-in even by the first police officers on the scene. Yet Hellmann evidently dismissed it completely.

Regarding whether the shard of glass in Meredith’s bedroom is from the window or another glass object, the picture below is equivocal. It’s taken from the police video so maybe there are better angles:

But Meredith had cuts on her hands that Sollecito consultant Professor Introna thought were consistent with crawling on broken glass. So I am convinced there was a broken bottle or cup belonging to the killers that had to be cleaned up carefully to avoid leaving DNA or fingerprint evidence.

Regarding Meredith’s blood alcohol level, at least one of the tests was definitely a lab error. That casts suspicion on the others, although Dr. Lalli’s 0.43 g/L (0.043 in the U.S.) was apparently performed at a different lab. Assume the latter value is correct and the others are wrong and maybe she did have a drink when she got home (no evidence of this) or maybe they made her drink.

Posted by brmull on 10/11/11 at 12:27 AM | #

Oops I really messed up this post:

Try this photo for the guy pretending to climb Filomena’s window:

http://perugiamurderfile.net/gallery/image_page.php?album_id=21&image_id=77

Any possible approach to the window (from below, across, the side, etc.) runs into the problem discussed I discussed of how you open the window while essentially hanging from the windowsill. Kermits got a great Powerpoint of this.

The break-in at the lawyers offices that has been attributed to Guede entailed climbing a grating as if it were a ladder all the way to the second floor window. The level of difficulty of the two climbs is not even comparable:

Posted by brmull on 10/11/11 at 12:41 AM | #

Ernest,

Far be it for me to lecture an 80 year old 😊, but several years ago I was working at a hospital which decided to hire the consulting firm DeLoitte, at great expense, to tell them whether to install 15” or 17” flat screens for their computer workstations. Dozens of analysts in suits and ties descended on the hospital to count how many people used each workstation and what they did with it. Based on this, DeLoitte produced a beautiful report replete with maps, charts and graphs recommending which stations should get a 17” and which could get by with a 15”.

Well, two years later the hospital was ripping out all the 15” screens because the hospital had installed a digital X-ray system and you couldn’t see the pictures on a 15”. Moral of the story is that if you don’t ask your consultants the right questions, and you don’t expect them to look at the wider context, you’re going to get a pretty report that is useless or worse.

Posted by brmull on 10/11/11 at 01:04 AM | #

Thanks brmull. I’d seen that photo of the defence bloke trying the climb, but not the one of the easy climb at the lawyer’s office. So there is no evidence RG was adept at climbing.

Someone in my circle is engaged in correspondence with a person who is so convinced of AK and RS’s innocence that he struck up a long-distance friendship with RS in prison and is now intent on helping RS find work, so I want to be very sure of my facts in case I am drawn into the discussion.

Thanks Vivianna, I will look back at the trial information.

Posted by KateC on 10/11/11 at 02:13 PM | #

Sorry, two more questions that I haven’t found clear answers to:
Was Luminol used in Meredith’s bedroom?

Did RS ever say from whom he bought his drugs?

Posted by KateC on 10/11/11 at 03:28 PM | #

Kate,

1) Luminol wasn’t used in Meredith’s bedroom because the scientific police thought that it would light up everything. Have to trust their judgement on that one. Luminol is *very* sensitive.

2) RS hasn’t said where he bought his drugs, but drugs were certainly very easy to come by in Perugia. As to whether he could have bought them from Guede, RS of course claims never to have met him, despite his apartment being only about 100 yards from Guede’s. What seems most likely is that Knox knew Guede dealt drugs, since she had done drugs with him before, and that may be how they knew he would be out dealing that night near Piazza Grimana.

3) Lucky for your friend I don’t think Sollecito is dangerous provided he stays away from women with psychopathic tendencies.

Posted by brmull on 10/12/11 at 05:46 AM | #

I should add that there is no proof at all that Guede sold drugs.

Posted by brmull on 10/12/11 at 06:18 AM | #

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