The Truth Will Set Them Free
Injustice in Perugia
A site detailing the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox & Raffaele Sollecito
Case Summary
Meredith Kercher was an exchange student that traveled from South London to study in Perugia Italy. Meredith shared a cottage with three other women, Filomena Romanelli, Laura Mezzetti and Amanda Knox. On November 1st. 2007, Meredith Kercher was murdered. This horrible crime shocked Perugia Italy.
Meredith's flatmates Filomena and Laura were away at the time of the murder. Amanda Knox told authorities that she spent the evening at her boyfriend Raffaele's apartment the night of the murder. Amanda Knox immediately became a person of interest by investigators.
Amanda told the authorities that she returned to the cottage the morning after the murder to take a shower, she said she was alarmed because the front door was open. When she used the bathroom to take her shower, she noticed a very small streak of blood in the sink as well as a light stain on the bathmat. She wasn't overly concerned because it was a small amount of blood. Because the door had been left open, it added to Amanda's concern. After her shower, Amanda went to the other bathroom to use a hairdryer. She noticed that the toilet in that bathroom had been left unflushed. She also noticed that her flatmate Meredith's door was locked. Amanda decided to head back to Raffaele's to let him know what she had seen. Amanda and Raffaele returned to the cottage together and decided to call the police.
The Postal Police were the first to arrive. They arrived to investigate two cell phones that were found in a nearby garden. The Postal Police handle this type of incident. The Carabinieri (Italian Police) arrived shortly after the Postal Police. The locked door to Meredith's room was forced open and Meredith Kercher's body was discovered. It was immediately clear that Meredith had been murdered.
There was intense pressure to solve the murder quickly. Amanda immediately became a person of interest by investigators. Amanda was the first flatmate that the police encountered when they arrived on the scene. She became their first suspect. Even though she was not initially called a suspect, I believe she was viewed as a suspect from day one.
The police found text messages on Amanda's phone to her boss, Patrick Lumumba. Patrick ran a bar where Amanda worked part-time. The police took a text message out of context. The text from Amanda to Patrick, "see you later" was taken literally by the investigators. In the US, this phrase, in the context that it was written, simply means goodbye. The police told Amanda the text meant that she planned on meeting Patrick on the night of the murder. The police also left out the second part of the message, "good night." When you put the phrase together, it explains the meaning even more clearly. Amanda had no intention of meeting Patrick that night. She was simply saying goodbye to Patrick in the text.
Amanda Knox was repeatedly questioned by police in the days following the murder. On November 5th and into the early hours of November 6th, 2007, Amanda endured a long aggressive interrogation. Amanda stated she had been hit repeatedly on the back of the head and called a stupid liar. She was told that she was going to prison for 30 years. She was told that they had proof that she was at the crime scene at the time of the murder. She was told that her boss, Patrick Lumumba was the man that attacked Meredith. She didn't give Patrick's name to the police. His name was suggested to her. She was told to imagine that he committed the crime.
Suffering from extreme exhaustion with no food nor water, after a long and grueling interrogation, twenty year old college student Amanda Knox gave in to the interrogators demands by describing an imaginary dream or vision. In this vision, she was in the kitchen covering her ears to block out screams while the man she worked for, Patrick Lumumba, was in Meredith's bedroom.
Later in the morning of November 6th, 2007, Amanda hand wrote a letter explaining the interrogation.
Amanda wrote: "In regards to this "confession" that I made last night, I want to make it clear that I'm very doubtful of the verity of my statements because they were made under the pressures of stress, shock and extreme exhaustion."
It should be noted that the interrogation of Amanda Knox was ruled illegal and inadmissible. The reason cited was that no lawyer was present.
Amanda Knox, Raffaele Sollecito and Patrick Lumumba were arrested in Perugia Italy, on November 6th. 2007.
The police held a press conference stating that they had evidence that all three killed Meredith because she refused to participate in a sex game. They boasted that the case was solid. They were even bold enough to announce, "case closed."
The problem was, Patrick Lumumba had an unshakable alibi. There was no evidence at all linking him to the murder. He was released.
As the investigation progressed, investigators discovered a bloody handprint at the crime scene. The fingerprints taken from the handprint were used to identify another suspect, Rudy Guede. Guede left a handprint in Meredith's blood, on a pillow at the crime scene. His DNA was found on and inside Meredith. He also left his DNA on Meredith's purse. His DNA was also linked to feces left in the toilet.
Rudy Guede had fled to Germany and was extradited back to Italy. The evidence against Rudy Guede was overwhelming.
At this time the authorities, led by prosecutor Mignini, should have realized their mistake. It wasn't a sex game gone wrong. Rudy Guede attacked and murdered Meredith Kercher.
But the authorities refused to admit their mistake. They simply pulled Patrick Lumumba out of their fantasy and plugged in Rudy Guede. The prosecution pushed forward to prove that Meredith was murdered by this "revised" trio in a sex game gone wrong.
The media was in a frenzy. The focus was on Amanda Knox. Amanda Knox was portrayed as a sex crazed murderer. Her nickname found on her myspace page "Foxy Knoxy" was used in reference to her sex life. In reality, it was a nick name that she was given on the soccer field as a child. The prosecution leaked stories to the press to assassinate the character of Amanda. A photograph was shown of Amanda kissing Raffaele outside the crime scene. It was said that Amanda was some how sexually aroused at that moment. In reality, she was terrified. She was being comforted by Raffaele. Amanda and Raffaele were seen buying underwear. It was written that Amanda and Raffaele were buying thong underwear and were talking about having wild sex. In reality, Amanda was locked out of the cottage because it was a crime scene and she needed clothes. The prosecution also released information that Amanda was doing cartwheels at the police station. This somehow meant that she was unstable. The truth is, she was waiting for hours at the police station for Raffaele. She went with Raffaele to the police station when he was being questioned because she was afraid to be alone. After all, Meredith's killer was not in custody. Her fear was very realistic. While she was waiting she was trying to deal with her stress and fear using yoga. The yoga moves were described as "cartwheels" by the police.
The damage was done. The public opinion was successfully molded by the prosecution and the media.
Rudy Guede chose a fast-track trial and was found guilty of murdering Meredith Kercher. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison. His conviction was later confirmed on appeal. His sentence was reduced to 16 years.
Amanda and Raffaele were refused house arrest and were ordered held in prison until trial.
Judge Claudia Matteini responded to Amanda Knox's request for house arrest during the trial, noting that Amanda had shown no remorse.
Judge Claudia Matteini wrote: "In such a situation the danger of repetition of the crime is certainly very high and can't be considered to have diminished due to the mere passage of time, during which -- as a reminder -- you have never shown any sign of remorse or reconsideration of your life."
It amazes me that this judge would expect to see remorse from Amanda Knox. This is just one more example of how guilt was decided from the start. It would be appropriate for the judge to state the evidence against a defendant. That is expected of course, to show that there is enough evidence to hold a suspect. For her to suggest the lack of remorse, this judge had already decided the fate of Amanda before she ever went to trial. Why would Amanda show remorse for a crime she didn't commit? Keep in mind, she hadn't even gone to trial to defend herself at that point. But this judge expected to see remorse.
After spending more than a year in prison, Amanda and Raffaele's trial started on January 16, 2009. The Jury was not sequestered. They had all heard for the past year all about Amanda Knox in the media. The media had convicted her long before the trial started. The jury was still allowed to listen to the media after the trial started. The media never let up on Amanda Knox.
Many people believe that the jury's mind was made up before the trial even started. The prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, controlled this trial from start to finish. He is a very powerful man in Italy. He was allowed to prosecute this case even though he was on trial himself at the same time for abusing the power of his office.
Mignini presented wild fantasies in the courtroom of a sex game gone wrong. He provided no evidence to back up any of his claims. He even showed an animated cartoon repeatedly to the jury, showing Amanda Knox stabbing Meredith as Raffaele and Rudy held her on her knees. Flawed DNA tests were used to try and put Amanda and Raffaele at the crime scene. The defense team asked for an independent review of the DNA but it was denied by the Judge. The judge that presides over trial is also a member of the jury. Was his mind already made up?
The defense did an excellent job refuting the limited amount of evidence that was presented by the prosecution, but it appeared that it was too late. It seemed like the minds of the jury were already made up. The defense, on several occasions, had to ask the judge for a recess because members of the jury had fallen asleep. The judge was also seen taking cell phone calls during the defense team's presentation. Amanda and Raffaele were considered guilty long before the trial started.
On December 4, 2009, in the final act of this horrible injustice, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were convicted of murdering Meredith Kercher.
The judge released the court's explanation of the ruling on March 4, 2010.
Amanda and Raffaele are currently appealing their convictions. The trial is ongoing in Perugia, Italy, and is expected to to conclude in the Fall of 2011.
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