In 2009, Meredith Kercher shared a cottage in Perugia, Italy, with her friend, Amanda Knox. Meredith was murdered when she was staying with Amanda during a year of study abroad from Leeds University.
It is said that she was killed during a sex game that went wrong. Her throat was slit and she was sexually assaulted. It was said that Amanda's DNA was on the handle of a kitchen knife. The knife was found in Amanda’s boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito's flat and believed to be the murder weapon. It was also said that Meredith’s DNA was on the blade and Raffaele's DNA was on the clasp of Meredith's bra.
An independent review questioned those findings and raised concerns that proper procedures were not followed in evidence collecting or forensic testing. It was argued that the evidence was possibly contaminated, especially since it was collected from the crime scene 46 days after the murder.
Today an eight-member jury cleared both defendants, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, of Meredith Kercher's murder after these doubts were raised about the procedures used to gather the DNA evidence.
Amanda, originally from Seattle, is expected to fly back to the US tomorrow. Her family said she had "suffered for four years for a crime she did not commit".
- Amelia Hernigle
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15158163
No comments:
Post a Comment