Amanda Knox
Amanda Knox, a US citizen, is in an Italian appeals court in Italy for murduring her British roommate in 2007. Knox was convicted of murdering Meredith Kercher in the apartment they shared as exchange students. She is sentenced to 26 years in prison and her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, sentenced to 25 years. It seems that one of the only witnesses in this crime is a heroin addict who is now having trouble remembering specific dates and times that would link Knox and her boyfriend to the crime scene. According to MSNBC.com, "The contradicting testimony and confused dates offered by Antonio Curatolo, a self-described drug addict and homeless man now in prison for an unrelated conviction, cast doubts on his credibility. The defense called him flat-out unreliable, while the prosecution maintained that, despite some lack of precision, the witness was lucid and clear in what he remembered." The website also reports that "the witness has directly contradicted Knox and Sollecito's claim that they were at Sollecito's house the night of the murder."
The appeals trial will include a review of DNA evidence from the crime scene. Some reports are telling us that there may be too little DNA evidence in this case to hold Amanda Knox accountable for the murder. If that is the case, then prosecutors may have to find another way to link her to the murder, other than the DNA on the knife and the heroine-addict eye witness.
Even though the knife was linked to Knox, there is DNA evidence on the victim's bra clasp that ties Sollecito to the crime scene. According to one webiste, "Prosecutors had contended that they'd found Sollecito's DNA on the bra clasp which was cut from Kercher's body, but the scientists now say the clasp is too rusted to get a reading."
If you or someone you know is involved in a case as serious as the Knox case, you will need to hire a federal criminal attorney. Call one of the federal criminal attorneys at The Mace Firm for help.
