Miss Knox is serving 26 years in an Italian
prison after being found guilty of the murder and sexual assault of Miss
Kercher, 21, from Surrey, in what prosecutors claimed was a violent group
sex game in the house the women shared in Perugia, Umbria, in Nov 2007.
One of the key pieces of evidence leading to the American student's conviction
was the discovery of her DNA on the handle of the kitchen knife which
prosecutors said was used to kill the Miss Kercher.
The knife was found in the kitchen of Raffaele Sollecito, Miss Knox's Italian
boyfriend, a computer studies graduate who she met at a classical music
concert shortly before the murder.
But forensic scientists have reportedly found that the DNA trace on the knife
is so minute that they cannot carry out a fresh test.
The review has also undermined the prosecution's most crucial piece of
evidence against Mr Sollecito – the discovery of his DNA on a metal clasp
which was cut from Miss Kercher's bra.
The scientists, Carla Vecchiotti and Stefano Conti from La Sapienza University
in Rome, found that the clasp, which was recovered by police from the floor
of Miss Kercher's bedroom 46 days after the murder, is now so rusted that
the DNA cannot be re-examined.
Lawyers for Miss Knox and Mr Sollecito, who have been in jail for more than
three years, have maintained that the DNA evidence was insufficient for a
conviction and that the size of the knife blade did not match the stab
wounds on Miss Kercher's neck.
"There are no traces of usable DNA and for us that's a positive thing,"
said Luciano Ghirga, one of Miss Knox's lawyers.
But Manuela Comodi, one of the prosecutors in the trial, said: "There's
nothing new and there are no surprises in this. They are the results we
expected."
Knox's and Sollecito's appeal is expected to conclude by May when the judge,
Claudio Pratillo Hellmann, will decide with a six person jury whether their
convictions should be upheld or overturned.
No comments:
Post a Comment