Sunday, January 23, 2011

Andrea Vogt Reports Chris Mellas To His Credit Throwing The Conspiracy Theorists To The Wolves

Posted by Peter Quennell


Click above for another excellent Seattle PI report. It says the prosecution did not want to break open the knife. It also includes this.

Chris Mellas told seattlepi.com in a courtroom break… that three additional experts—two Americans and one woman living in Australia—are also contributing behind the scenes.

“We have had a lot of people want to help just for their own notoriety, but these are people who have a lot of resources and who want to help for the right reasons,” Mellas said.

Sounds like a smart and timely move. They do need a few people from Planet Earth.

 

Posted by Peter Quennell on 01/23/11 at 11:27 AM in The wider contexts

Comments

I’m surprised to read that the Prosecution objected to the knife being opened - I saw that as a positive thing.. are they concerned that if nothing shows up she’ll be exonerated?

Posted by Allison on 01/23/11 at 12:00 PM | #

Hi Allison. Looks like it may flow from the type of knife. It may have a heat-bonded plastic handle (the images suggest that) with almost no possibility of anything between the handle and the top of the blade. Stefanoni said she did not take it apart for that reason.

My guess is that the prosecution might be wanting to head off a fishing expedition where the result of an examination could easily come back negative, and then that is blown into something very big that undermines the legitimacy of a negative outcome of the appeal.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 01/23/11 at 12:07 PM | #

The prosecution were entirely satisfied with the original DNA analysis, so surely they would object, on principle, to any proposal that suggested that some additional analysis was needed to settle the matter. The argument would be that the knife has already yielded results, from the blade, and these have been accepted by a court; so there is no need for further tests to be done on the handle.

Posted by SteveW on 01/23/11 at 01:11 PM | #

As an American reader I follow the SeattlePI, where after Peter’s report, above, I have posted the following statement on Ms. Vogt’s article:

Remarkable precautions all around! Two specialists will review the original testing by Patrizia Stefanoni, namely, (Profs) Carla Vecchioti & Stefano Conti.

They in turn will be observed (a) by two experts representing Sollecito (b)& by three experts representing Knox. (c) The prosecution will be represented by Dr. Stefanoni, again, & another expert. Nine in all.

The surprising objection by prosecutors & those representing Meredith to the dismantling of the handle is that an easy permission by the court might jeopardize the boundaries set for such examination. It shows the extreme care exercised by both sides in this cause celebre.

Quite a weight being placed on the knife’s trace elements three full years after the crime. Even so, Dr. Stefanoni’s conscientious examination will be upheld. She will be present in person to interpret & defend her procedures.

Posted by Ernest Werner on 01/23/11 at 05:33 PM | #

Ernest, thank you for your intelligent comments. Pete, thanks for posting this article. Andrea Vogt and the Seattle PI are the true unsung heroes in this case. Their reporting harks back to the days of the old-style newspaper, where “Just the facts, Ma’am” ruled supreme.

This article was so much more informative than anything I read yesterday about this hearing. For example, nowhere else but in this article did I learn that each of the defenses, the prosecution, and the victim appointed new forensics experts for this phase, to observe the new testing and researches.

Thanks to Andrea Vogt and the Seattle PI!

I wonder who Chris Mellas was referring to. Perhaps one of the Americans was that Idaho professor, I forget his name.

R.I.P. Meredith Kercher.

Posted by Earthling on 01/23/11 at 08:27 PM | #

Peter, I found you and subscribede to your Youtube page. You are a source for invaluable info.  thanks

Posted by DougPDX on 01/24/11 at 02:32 AM | #

Hi DougPDX. Yeah quite a few of the videos here on TJMK are ours. There has been a tendency for videos on mainstream media sites to disappear. Many are gone from those sites we suspect because they realise how foolish they have been.

If you do go again to the YouTube account enjoy what other videos you may see there. They may seem unconnected but in fact really not. First Meredith was a considerable lover of ballet. And second those videos are part of a test for a better growth model for professional ballet worldwide.

The fact that most of the world is growing so slowly means among other things people tend to travel much less. If they instead stay at home and indulge in the kind of highly uninformed xenophobic sliming we see from for example Bruce Fisher and Steve Moore, this is hardly very productive for any of us. Bad growth is the main underlying condition for the through-the-looking-glass phenomenon here. Like insecure Americans reacting against 12 million illegals in the US only writ very much larger.

Everybody in their lifetime should see Italy. For one thing it is stunningly gorgeous. And it has the sweetest people in the world. Great coffee and autostrada. Dont get me started on the architecture or food. Ot the Ferraris..

Meredith sure picked wisely and well. .

Posted by Peter Quennell on 01/24/11 at 01:43 PM | #

I have become interested in teaching english in Europe, but Italy, I read, is almost impossible for an American to get a work permit there, but easy for anyone who resides in the European Union. I just hope that this unfortunate even didnt spoil the Italian view of Americans.

Posted by DougPDX on 01/24/11 at 11:44 PM | #

Hi DougPDX. My gueess is you will have an experience you will value incredibly and again and again want to go back. There is a reason why Italy is one of the half dozen top tourist destinations in the world - and why so many northern Europeans and Americans retire there - and why so many foreign students want to go study there.

In Italy Meredith’s case was really a routine open and closed one as they saw so much of the pre-trial and trial on TV and got to read Micheli and Massei and other court documents long before we did. Despite the shrill cries of the conspiracists, the Italian media whipped up NO hate against Americans or the US and they reported extremely evenly - even though several other Americans committed murder there in the same period..

Eyebrows went up in mid 2009 when the wild claims of New York Times blogger Timothy Egan were reported but the PR scheme and its sock puppets have generally striven to keep their campaign below the radar in Italy. We can if you like put you in touch with some Americans already there and with people in university administration.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 01/25/11 at 12:20 AM | #

Hi Doug. A comment you posted in response was hidden as it had in it personal information.  Look for an email? And really good luck if you pursue this.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 01/25/11 at 01:22 PM | #

From Pepperdine Graphic: “Moore Files lawsuit over termination” by Stan Parker (November 1, 2010) this quote from Steve Moore:

‘Moore, the former FBI special agent and Pepperdine Public Safety official, recently set his Facebook status to “Ideal city: Scenery from San Francisco, courage and character of New Yorkers, attitude and neighborhoods of (and the Cubs from) Chicago, weather and beaches of LA, charm of Atlanta, history of Rome, freeways from Germany, and surrounded by Yosemite and Yellowstone.”

Parker says: Moore said he’s not filing suit to ‘get rich’, but that in this process he’s been hurt financially. Also he wants some people to answer for what he calls ‘arbitrary’ actions.

“I firmly believe my firing was arbitrary…but it didn’t surprise me.”

“What’s happening to me is not Pepperdine, but harm will come unless something is done about it.”

The term “arbitrary” was a favorite of Judge Heavey in his Rotary Club speech, referring to the actions of Mignini and prosecution.

A different article about Pepperdine said no public action with the lawsuit will occur until spring 2011.

Steve Moore seeks monetary damages in excess of $25,000 although an exact amount is not specified in the suit. Pepperdine’s General Counsel is Marc Goodman. Jerry Derloshon, Pepperdine executive director of public relations, said that the University wholeheartedly disagrees with Moore’s characterization of his dismissal (Moore’s idea that his First Amendment right to free speech was trampled when he took pro-Knox stance.)

Moore claims in his suit that Pepperdine violated its own mission statement: “That the Truth, having nothing to fear from investigation, shall be pursued relentlessly in every discipline.” Moore said he has come to love the school and what it stands for.

Posted by Hopeful on 01/26/11 at 07:28 PM | #

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