West Seattle raised Amanda Knox may get a break this week in court in Perugia, Italy, in her appeal. Two court-appointed experts are expected to testify that DNA findings that put her behind bars are questionable. A key piece of evidence, Ms. Kercher's bra clasp, is seen being handled by forensics just following the murder, top left, then accidentally dropped on the floor a moment later. It was then placed in an evidence bag. The forensics team had passed the item around and did not change gloves after handling other things in the apartment.
UPDATE 2: at 3:10 p.m.
Amanda Knox's stepfather, Chris Mellas, who lives in the West Settle neighborhood of Arbor Heights, explained his interpretation of the scene in the courtroom today by phone to the West Seattle Herald. He was seated with his wife, Amanda's mother, Edda, Edda's sister and husband, Christina and Kevin Hagge, who live near the Morgan Junction, and Madison Paxton, Amanda's best friend, from UW, who recently moved to Perugia for support. Also seated with them were the parents and sister of Raffaele Sollecito, Amanda's boyfriend at the time of the murder, also convicted.
"The two forensics experts were just shooting one bullet after another at the prosecution's DNA evidence. The report was already issued to the court in advance. Today was candy, all kinds of stuff that was not in the report. The report was, 'Yeah, this wasn't the evidence you were looking for.' Today was the video of the collection of the bra clasp. (In photos above. The official collection of this piece of evidence occurred 46 days following the murder of Meredith Kercher, Knox's roommate.)
"The first portion of court was the experts 'touring the United States' by reciting American police handbooks, like, the FBI Investigative Handbook on Crime Scene Forensics, and all these different handbooks from New Mexico to New York. Then they went into INTERPOL regulations. (INTERPOL is said to be the world’s largest international police organization, with 188 member countries.) These handbooks said things like, 'Never use a pair of gloves more than one time after you've touch something.' It's the beauty of science. It doesn't change with the time zones. (Referring to the citing of American handbooks.)
"The video showed us a close-up of a hair stuck to the glove over the index finger of a guy handling the bra clasp. Then they go to a quote from (Prosecution DNA Scientist) Patrizia Stefanoni saying, 'We never touched the bra clasp without using a tongs.' They are all passing the bra clasp around and the experts kept on pausing and then giving testimony from the police and Stefanoni. Then another quote. She says, 'OK. We may have touched it, but only with clean gloves' and then close-up of hair on his glove. Then you see the guy get down on the ground with his hands on the floor.
"It's not something we have not heard before, but it was nice to have it put in Technicolor in front of the court. In the end, the forensics experts asked the court to throw out the knife and bra clasp.
"Stefanoni and (Co-Prosecutor Manuela) Comodi at the beginning were giggling, trying to laugh it off. Then about two hours into it they weren't laughing any more. Comodi started asking the forensics experts questions, and tried to start an argument. These experts are the court's experts, so they are arguing with the court. The judge slammed his hand down on the table and yelled, 'You will not speak, you will be quiet. And then she was.
"Amanda was in a good mood. I saw her for a minute before court started but we didn't talk about the case. I thought she looked skinny. During court, she was riveted, this was pure candy, music to her ears, an amazing day."
On Saturday, July 30, the forensics experts will be on the stand again and the prosecution will be allowed to question them. Then there is a traditional summer recess and court is expected to resume Aug. 27.
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UPDATE: 9:15 a.m.
Perugia, Italy is nine hours ahead, and court has concluded today as the two court-appointed forensics experts testified, as expected, that the original collection of a bra clasp and the DNA findings of the alleged murder weapon, the knife, were done in a sloppy manner, and without following official protocol. It has been reported both by news media and Knox's family members in the courtroom that people "were chuckling" as they watched a video of the original forensic team collecting evidence that helped land Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in jail.
As the entire YouTube video from the above stills illustrates, the bra clasp was swiped with Q-tips and placed in a clear plastic bag. DNA evidence is supposed to be placed in paper bags, not plastic, and it should not be wiped, the experts said. And they did not change gloves after handling other items. They cited several cases of forensic police entering the crime scene or coming into contacts with objects without wearing protective equipment such as masks or hair caps.
The forensics experts performed tests on the knife test to check for blood. The test was negative. The test had shown the presence of starch cells of the blade attachment to the handle, which according to experts would be rye starch.
The next hearing is scheduled for Saturday, July 31, when the forensics experts will be questioned and cross-examined by the prosecution. That will be the last hearing before the summer break.
ENTIRE YouTube clip: http://youtu.be/UMaTI0SiuLw
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Original report:
Two court-appointed forensics experts appear in court in Perugia, Italy tomorrow, July 25, to testify from their already-released 145-page DNA review that casts a shadow on evidence collected at the murder scene, the apartment of West Seattle-raised Amanda Knox. She is currently serving 26 years in Capanne Prison outside Perugia for the Nov. 1, 2007, murder of her British college roommate Meredith Kercher. She was found guilty Dec. 4, 2009. Tomorrow's hearing is part of her appeal process. This phase may take a week. This could be great news for Knox and her family, who are keeping their fingers crossed.
The experts, Professors Stefano Conti and Carla Vecchiotti from La Sapienza University in Rome, are expected to tell the court that the DNA evidence used to convict Knox casts doubt on the reliability of the scant DNA findings on the presumed murder weapon, the knife found in the kitchen of Knox's boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, and the bra clasp torn from Miss Kercher's bra that they will say was contaminated by the mishandling of the forensics team from the first trial.
The report states that International procedures and protocols were not followed by the police who collected evidence at the crime scene.
This report will contradict, and put Patrizia Stefanoni on the spot, as the police forensic scientist who came up with the original results.
"Stefanoni will be there, I would imagine," Amanda's stepfather, Chris Mellas told the West Seattle Herald today via email from Perugia. (She did appear in court today.) "She will not be speaking though. The Italian papers are just talking about that it is going to be a battle in the courtroom tomorrow."
