Amanda Knox case experts are given more time to review DNA evidence

Five inmates will also be allowed to give evidence at appeal against conviction for murder of Meredith Kercher Experts who are reviewing disputed DNA evidence in the appeal of Amanda Knox have been given more time to deliver their verdict. Knox, who was convicted in December 2009 of murdering her British housemate Meredith Kercher in Italy in 2007, broke down at the end of her latest appeal hearing. The decision of the court in Perugia, which gave DNA experts a further six weeks to file their report, means that a verdict is unlikely before the autumn, almost four years after Kercher, 21, was found with her throat cut. The American student, 23, told the court that being in prison was “very frustrating and mentally exhausting”. Two DNA experts from Rome’s Sapienza University are considering disputed DNA traces found on a kitchen knife – the alleged murder weapon – and on the clasp of Kercher’s bra. In the murder trial, prosecutors said Knox’s DNA had been found on the knife’s handle and Kercher’s DNA had been found on the blade. But the defence says those DNA traces were inconclusive and could be the result of contamination. The experts could not re-test the tiny traces and are now assessing the reliability of the original tests. The court also ruled that five serving inmates who have written letters claiming to have information on the Knox case will be able to give evidence. At least one is expected to say that Rudy Guede, who has also been jailed over the murder, has claimed in prison that Knox did not take part in the killing. The court said it would allow new witnesses sought by the defence to testify at the appeal. Kercher, a 21-year-old Leeds University student from Coulsdon, Surrey, was found with her throat slit on 2 November 2007, in her bedroom at the house she shared with Knox and others during her year abroad. Knox, from Seattle, and her former lover Raffaele Sollecito, 26, were later charged with sexual assault and murder and received prison sentences of 26 years and 25 years respectively in December 2009. Guede, a small-time drug dealer, was handed a 30-year sentence for murder and sexual violence following a fast-track trial in October 2008, which was later reduced to 16 years. Amanda Knox Meredith Kercher Italy Europe guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 21, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.