Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Newsweek On What Knox Will Face On The Stand This Friday And Saturday

Posted by Peter Quennell

Click above for the report from Newsweek’s Barbie Nadeau.

On Friday, Knox will finally get her day in court, taking the stand as a “communal” witness for the prosecution, civil plaintiffs and her own defense. Her testimony is expected to last at least one day….

Witness-jury interaction is one of the most critical aspects of a criminal trial, especially for the prime suspects. Not talking often implies the suspect has something to hide. But taking the stand can be far riskier.

“The biggest risk is that she doesn’t follow the advice of her lawyers,” says Alessandra Batassa, a criminal-defense lawyer in Rome who has served on defense teams in similar crimes. “The court will be absolutely influenced by nonjudicial factors like her demeanor. Her image has been painted in a very bad light in the trial so far, so she has to portray that she has normal sexual relationships and that she is just a normal girl. She has to be very convincing.”

In the past, Knox has not always proved herself a competent speaker””especially under pressure. As heard in audiotapes obtained by NEWSWEEK from a January 2008 prosecutorial interrogation, she speaks in a steady, low voice that is calm and confident, but she makes basic mistakes. When asked about specifics of the morning after the murder, she clearly stammers and stutters, undoubtedly damaging her case in the eyes of the prosecutor. At times she is indignant, answering questions with her own questions.

On the tape she is either serious or arrogant, even laughing at the prosecutor’s line of questioning. When she has addressed the court in spontaneous declarations, she has waffled between confidence and calamity. She has spoken about her vibrator and about being interrogated by police and about being disappointed by what Kercher’s friends have said about her. She will almost surely be less cavalier this time, as her lawyers prepare her for what will be a grueling day. The jury will be listening attentively, but more important, they will be watching her every move.

She will be questioned by the prosecutor about specific elements of the case, including why her DNA and Kercher’s blood were found around the house, especially in a back bedroom where police believe she and Sollecito staged a break-in. Other questions will include why her DNA was discovered on the handle of a knife that had Kercher’s DNA on the blade.

She will likely have to provide a believable alibi for the night of the murder, something that she and Sollecito have yet to do. And she has to be careful not to accidentally blame Sollecito, who is waiving his right to testify. “The biggest mistake she can make is to accuse or unload the responsibility on the other suspect,” says Batassa. “And she should not accuse or blame the court or those deciding this case.”...

How Knox physically interacts with the jury could play an even bigger role in how they perceive her. Body-language experts agree that nonverbal communication affects a listener even more than words. Very erect and even stiff posture or the sudden crossing of the arms or legs often indicates that a person is uncomfortable with what he is saying.

When people lie, gesticulation will also slow down””those covering something up tend to overcompensate by trying not to draw attention to themselves. Some go to the extreme, even putting their hands in their pockets, sitting on them or trying to keep them from moving. Experts agree that touching the mouth or face””especially scratching the nose, touching the ear or the chin””is the most obvious body-language lie detector.

Newsweek’s Reporter Cam: Amanda Knox Enters The Courtroom

Posted by Peter Quennell

Also last Friday. The Kercher family arrived later in the day, but did not testify until Saturday.

The start button of this video is on the left, and the sound button is on the right There appears to be no way to full-screen it. 

 

Newsweek’s Reporter Cam: All Stand! Judges And Jury Enter The Court

Posted by Peter Quennell

The two judges and six jurors take their places in court last Friday.

The start button of this video is on the left, and the sound button is on the right There appears to be no way to full-screen it.

Newsweek’s Reporter Cam: Knox And Sollecito Arrive And Depart In The Same Van

Posted by Peter Quennell

The two defendants gere depart from the court in the van to Capanne Prison together last Friday.

No report on whether they are allowed to talk. The start button of this interesting video is on the left, and the sound button is on the right

There appears to be no way to full-screen it. Sky News has Newsweek trumped on that feature.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Trial: Mother Confirms Meredith Had NO Appointment With Guede On The Night

Posted by Peter Quennell

The family testified for just over one hour. There was no cross-examination, and the court was adjourned early, through to next Friday.

Knox seemingly exited the court pensively and with her head down. Sollecito seemingly exited the court rather shrill and defensive.

The convicted killer Rudy Guede has consistently maintained that he was at the house by appointment. He had a legitimate reason to be there - Meredith wanted to be with him.

Judge Micheli never believed him, and sentenced him to 30 years

And today her mother stated that Meredith told her that, though tired after a late night on Halloween, she would be going home early on the night to complete an essay that she had to get done.

Click above for a report from the BBC.

Addressing the court on Saturday, Mrs Kercher described the last telephone conversation she had with her daughter, who was planning a trip back to Britain for her mother’s birthday.

“She rang to let me know when she was coming back,” Mrs Kercher said.

“She said she was really tired because they had been out for Halloween the night before and they had come back very late and she was going to see some friends to see a film.”

She added: “She was coming back early - she had an essay to finish.”

Rudy Guede’s appeal has been set for November. His entire defense narrative has always flowed from the claim that he was at the house because Meredith invited him to be there.

Apparently a lie, and one quite devastating to be revealed. Should he now crack, and turn on the other two? Again (he already did at his trial) but this time much more-so?

That issue might be keeping Rudy Guede and his lawyers up late.

Trial: Friday’s Testimony Bolsters The Prosecution’s Case

Posted by Peter Quennell

[click for larger image, courtesy AP]

Andrea Vogt now reporting for The Independent.

Upon arrival, the Kercher family quietly took seats in the courtroom behind their Florentine lawyers, Francesco Maresca and Serena Perna, who opened their case with two expert witnesses: a coroner, and a leading forensic geneticist from a Florence hospital.

Mr Maresca told the court that the expert witnesses “sustained the prior results and valuations of the coroner who performed the autopsy and the forensic evidence specialists who already testified”. He added: “And for the first time today, we also heard that the bruises on the victim’s hips were consistent with a sexually violent approach.”

Professor Gianaristide Norelli testified that the multiple lesions on Ms Kercher’s body were consistent with being held and attacked by more than one person. He said she died of suffocation and interpreted her stab wounds as having been inflicted as threats during a struggle. The wounds, mostly on the side of her neck, were possibly inflicted by two different knives, he said, but noted that one of the stab wounds was compatible with the alleged murder weapon.

Professor Francesca Torricelli told the court that she believed the samples of Mr Sollecito’s DNA found on Ms Kercher’s bra clasp was a significant enough amount that it was unlikely to have been left by contamination. She also sustained a previous forensic biologist’s findings that Ms Knox’s DNA was found on the handle and the victim’s on the blade.

Alessandra Rizzo reporting for the Associated Press:

Forensic expert Gianaristide Norelli, a witness called by the Kercher family, said the main cause of Kercher’s death was suffocation.

Court documents have said suffocation was caused by the hemorrhage following the neck wounds. But Norelli said suffocation was also aided “manually” by forcing the victim’s mouth and nose shut and by strangling her.

This, Norelli argued, showed a clear intent to kill, while the neck wounds may have been inflicted with the intent to scare or threaten the victim. He said that Kercher’s own movement may have inadvertently contributed to making the stab wounds deeper.

The wounds were compatible with a kitchen knife the prosecution says might have been the murder weapon, Norelli said. The knife, which was found at Sollecito’s house, has a 17-centimeter (6.69-inch) blade….

Prosecutors say Knox’s DNA was found on the handle of the kitchen knife, and Kercher’s DNA was found on the blade. Francesca Torricelli, a DNA expert also called by the Kercher family, confirmed the findings of the prosecutors.

“I have no doubt” the traces are compatible, she told the court Friday. Torricelli also confirmed the prosecutors’ finding that DNA compatible with Sollecito’s had been found on the clasp of Kercher’s bra.

And an unnamed writer reporting for the Daily Sun.

The parents of Meredith Kercher “” Arline and John “” spent their first day in court yesterday under the unwavering stare of her alleged killer Amanda Knox.

One witness said: “It was very unusual. I’m not sure if she was looking for sympathy or trying to offer it, but Meredith’s parents never looked at her.”

[click for larger image, courtesy AP]

Trial: Knox Parents Again Not In Court While The Kerchers Are Present

Posted by Peter Quennell

[click for larger images, courtesy AP]

Amanda Knox’s parents have still never encountered Meredith Kercher’s parents.

At the Rudy Guede trial last October Knox’s parents were in Perugia but they chose to stay away from the courthouse itself.

This week they are not even in Perugia. They are represented by an unnamed Knox relative (above) and a former Knox boyfriend (below).

Friday, June 05, 2009

Trial: Sky News Reports On The Tense Arrivals At The Courtroom

Posted by Peter Quennell

Click above for the story by an unnamed reporter.

The headline is slightly misleading - the Kerchers have not yet testified - but Sky News’s take on the moods is a good one.

With Italian sympathies for Meredith and her family now so strong, Sollecito in particular seems to be feeling the pressure.

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Trial: About The Forthcoming Testimony Of The Kercher Family And Amanda Knox

Posted by Peter Quennell

1. Report by Ann Wise for ABC News

1. On the forthcoming testimony of the Kerchers

There will be a somber day in court when the family members of Meredith Kercher take the stand. Kercher’s mother, sister and one of her brothers will travel to Perugia from England on June 6 to testify in court, according to their lawyer, Francesco Maresca. They are civil plaintiffs in the case against Knox and Sollecito.

It is not clear what their testimony will be, but she may speak about the last time they spoke to Meredith, and her plans and state of mind that day.

2. And on Amanda Knox’s intention to testify

She is expected to take the stand for questioning June 12…

The prosecution did not ask to question Knox. The decision to take the stand was hers and that of her lawyers. Her co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito, will not be questioned.

The first questions will come from her lawyers, but then Knox can be cross-questioned by the prosecution, lawyers for the civil plaintiffs (the Kerchers and Lumumba) and the judge, Giancarlo Massei.

She can choose to interrupt the questioning at any time, or choose to answer certain questions and not others, but if you take the stand it is supposed you plan to answer the questions.

The only other time Knox has agreed to be questioned since her arrest - by prosecutor Giuliano Mignini in December 2007 - she broke down, according to court records, and refused to continue…

And in Italy, defendants are allowed to and even expected to lie. While witnesses have to swear tell the truth, defendants do not. It is assumed that if they are defending themselves they might not tell the whole truth, and will not be charged with perjury if they don’t.

Amanda Knox will testify in Italian, which she has been perfecting while waiting for court appearances.

2. Status Of The Court Reporting In English

This post and the previous one seems to be the only English-language reporting on this final session for the prosecution. Those reporters dont always travel to Perugia when court sessions are to be closed.

An Italian long weekend commences tomorrow (so no trial) and of course the Rome-based foreign reporters also work on many other stories.

They give a lot of caring, careful attention to Meredith’s case, but it is only a fraction of what they are required to cover. Italy generates a lot of news and it is considered interesting reading in many other countries.

A cable channel in New York broadcasts a half-hour of news in Italian from the state-owned channel every evening of the week. Segments on the case are routine.

This sure beats the American TV network coverage. We would presume that Italian-Americans are among the best-informed on the case in the US.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Trial: More On The Violent Crimes Unit’s Reconstruction Of The Violent, Prolonged Attack

Posted by Peter Quennell

Grim-faced expert witnesses from the Violent Crimes Unit in Rome enter court

1. Reconstruction Of The Attack On Meredith

Judge Massei closed the court for much of the time. No English-language reporters were there.

Nevertheless, reports in La Nazione and other Italian media described the reconstruction of the final attack on Meredith in the court with the aid of many photographs and graphics.

Giuseppe Codispoti, Director of the Analysis of Violent Crime Unit, said in his deposition that the evidence pointed to three subjects in addition to the victim being present in the room at the time.

The evidence included the many wounds on Meredith, the state of her clothing, and the locations and shapes of the bloodstains on the walls, the wardrobe, and the floor.

Wounds to Meredith’s right hand pointed to a desperate attempt to ward off one or several attackers with knives while she was being held by her other arm.

The director of the Violent Crime department, Edgardo Giobbi, told the court that when, on the day after the murder, he handed Knox (not yet a suspect) a pair of shoe covers before entering the apartment below hers, she swiveled her hips and said “oopla.” This attitude made him turn his “investigative attention” on her, he said.

This was dramatic and telling testimony, and for some in the courtroom apparently quite hard to take.

Below: One of the images used in their detailed reconstruction of the final frenzied act in Meredith’s bedroom that suggested three people had to be involved.

2. Prior Testimony That Relates

Judge Micheli summarized the same forensic evidence and concluded for purposes of convicting Rudy Guede and of sending Knox and Sollecito to trial that it did point to three people being involved.

Judge Micheli also concluded that, as part of a cover-up, Meredith was later moved from the location below (by the wardrobe and the window) to where she was found, several feet to the left (by the bed).

3. Defensive PR Reaction To This Tough Talk

In their attempt to ridicule and undermine this compelling evidence, CBS News (48 Hours) in their recent very slanted report repeatedly showed bizarre caricatures of this scene by an Italian cartoonist.

None were remotely correct. That was not, we think, CBS News’s finest hour. They have been very silent on it since.

The paid Candace Dempsey defense blog on the Seattle PI website took a shot at ridiculing the reconstruction image above.

Something rather incoherent to do with not being specific enough about the figures. But the image above was one of a number that the witnesses used.

As real crime experts in the field would all know, it was deliberately not more specific because it incorporated only the known hard evidence.

Contacts of ours in NYC associated with law enforcement are giving the reconstruction an A. It was a careful and clever bit of work.