Murder of Meredith Kercher
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The body of Meredith Kercher was discovered by Italian police at the cottage that she shared with other students in Perugia on 2 November 2007. The 21-year-old British student, who was part of a university exchange programme, was found lying partially clothed under a duvet in her bedroom. Her windpipe had been crushed and throat partially slashed.
On 6 November 2007, police arrested three suspects: Patrick Diya Lumumba, owner of a local bar;[1] Amanda Knox, an exchange student from Seattle, WA, USA; and Raffaele Sollecito, an Italian student. Lumumba was later released and exonerated.
On 20 November, Rudy Guede was arrested in Germany. A warrant had been issued for his arrest on the basis of DNA and fingerprint evidence found on the victim's body. Guede had fled to Germany following the murder. On 6 December, he was extradited to Italy.[2] [3] The three suspects were held in custody in Perugia and were charged with murder, sexual assault and theft.[4]
On 28 October 2008, Guede was convicted of conspiracy to murder Kercher in a "fast-track" trial. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.[5] The trial of the two remaining suspects, Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, began on January 16, 2009. On 4 December 2009 both were found guilty of murder. Amanda Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison, while Raffaele Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years.
The case has received heavy media interest in Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.[6]
Meredith Kercher
Meredith Susanna Cara Kercher, known to her friends as "Mez", was born in February 1986[7] in Southwark, London, England, and lived in Coulsdon, South London. She attended the University of Leeds.[8] She had been part of the ERASMUS student exchange programme, and had gone to Italy to complete her degree course.[9][10]
In Perugia, she had lived in a suite on the top floor of a house at Via della Pergola 7, sharing it with two Italian women, and Knox. The bottom floor of the house contained a suite which had been occupied by four young Italian men at the time of the crime.
Her funeral service was held on 14 December 2007 at the Parish Church in Croydon, with over 300 people in attendance.[11][12] She has since been awarded a posthumous degree by the University of Leeds.
John Kercher, the victim's father, is a freelance journalist.[13] In June 2009, he wrote a piece for the Daily Mirror in which he described his last interactions with his daughter. He also describes how the Kercher family learned of their daughter's murder.[14][15]
She appeared in a music video for singer Kristian Leontiou's song, "Some Say", in 2007, just weeks before moving to Italy to study.[16]
Murder and investigation
Kercher was murdered on the evening of 1 November 2007,[17] with pathologists putting her time of death between 8:30 and 11:00.[9][18]
The following morning, the Postal and Communication Police came to investigate the discovery of two mobile phones in a nearby garden, one of which was registered to Ms. Kercher.[10] When they breached the door to Kercher's room, which had been locked from the inside, they reportedly found Kercher lying beneath a duvet in her room "soaked in blood."[19] Police have said Kercher's throat was slit with a shard of glass or a pen-knife, but never located the murder weapon.[20] Police initially believed that the killer or killers escaped through a broken window in Kercher's room, since the door was locked when they arrived,[9][20][21] but now suspect the break-in was staged.[22]
A judge assigned to the case read the pathology report at a bail hearing for the suspects and ruled that Kercher's carotid artery had not been ruptured in the attack, and that she likely died a "relatively slow and agonizing death."[23] Italian prosecutors allege that the lethal wound was inflicted by Knox while Kercher was held down by Guede and Sollecito. The prosecution points to violent literature, such as comic books, that they found in Sollecito’s apartment.[24][25] Prosecutors allege that manga comics found in Sollecito's apartment recounted tales of killing female vampires on Halloween night and that many of the details in the comics were similar to the scene police discovered. Kercher had attended a number of Halloween parties dressed as a vampire the night of 31 October. Defence lawyers for Knox have dismissed the allegations of the prosecution, claiming that they are a "huge fantasy".[26]
Patrick Diya Lumumba was the owner of a bar named Le Chic at which Knox occasionally worked.[1] He was arrested on 6 November 2007 after Knox reportedly implicated him in Kercher's murder. He was detained for two weeks until the arrest of Guede. Sixteen months later a court awarded Lumumba €8,000 in damages for unjust imprisonment.[27]
Defendants
The three convicted killers in the case are currently being held in separate Italian jails. Amanda Knox, an American student, is being held in Capanne prison near Perugia; Raffaele Sollecito, an Italian student and Knox's former boyfriend, is being held in Terni; and Rudy Guede, an Ivory Coast native found guilty of the murder in October 2008, is being held in Viterbo.[28]
Amanda Knox
Amanda Knox | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 9, 1987 |
| Nationality | U.S. |
Amanda Knox, aged 20 at the time of Kercher's murder, is a University of Washington student from Seattle, Washington, USA.[29] She was studying in Perugia at the University for Foreigners.
Knox was arrested on the morning of 6 November 2007 after she allegedly implicated herself in the crime during a police interrogation that took place on 5-6 November. Knox allegedly told the police that she had been in the house when the murder took place and had "heard the screams."[17][30] After the interrogation, which reportedly lasted for 30 hours, she reportedly gave several different versions of the events of the night of the murder, saying her memory was clouded because she had smoked hashish. [10]
In one of her earlier statements to the police, Knox reportedly implicated Patrick Diya Lumumba in the murder, saying:[17]
I don't remember if my friend Meredith was already there or whether she came later. What I can say is that the two of them (Meredith and Patrick) went off together... Patrick and Meredith went off together into Meredith's room while I think I stayed in the kitchen. I can't remember how long they were in the bedroom together, I can only say that at a certain point I heard Meredith screaming and I was so frightened I put my fingers in my ears. I don't remember anything after that, my head is really confused. I don’t remember if Meredith called out or if I heard thuds because I was upset, but I can imagine what was happening...I'm not sure whether Raffaele was there too that evening but I do remember waking up at his house in his bed and that in the morning I went back to where I lived, where I found the door open.
Knox appeared before a magistrate on the morning of 9 November and was ordered to be held, along with Sollecito and Lumumba, for up to one year while the police continued their investigation.[31] In a leaked report published by The Times, Judge Claudia Matteini suggested that Knox and Sollecito had been seeking to "experience extreme sensations, intense sexual relations which break up the monotony of everyday life," and had attempted to persuade Kercher to participate in a sexual encounter.[23][32] The report continued:[32]
They went together to the apartment on Via della Pergola 7, to which only Amanda had the key. It was roughly at this time that both Sollecito and Knox switched off their mobile phones until the following morning.
After Knox's arrest, certain aspects of her behaviour caused international media attention. Knox's demeanor during police questioning, the grand jury investigation, and the trial had been questioned as being odd by some and lacking in decorum fit for a murder case. In many of the court shots she appears cheerful and is smiling broadly.[33][34]
According to a report of January 2008, at least one of Knox's parents had visited her twice a week for the previous three months.[35] In an interview with The Sunday Times, seven months after her arrest, they affirmed their belief in her innocence.[36] Knox is being represented in Italy by attorneys Luciano Ghirga and Carlo Dalla Vedova.[37]
On December 4, 2009, Amanda Knox was found guilty of murdering Kercher, as well as 5 other counts (including theft and sexual assault) against Kercher and was sentenced to 26 years in prison.[38]
Raffaele Sollecito
Raffaele Sollecito | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 26, 1984[39] |
| Status | Incarcerated |
| Nationality | Italian |
Raffaele Sollecito, from Giovinazzo, Bari, was 23 years old and nearing the completion of a degree at the University of Perugia at the time of the murder. He had known Knox for only a few days when Kercher was murdered.[40] He is from an affluent family, and is the son of a urologist from Bari.[40]
Sollecito says that he returned to his flat and spent the evening surfing the internet on the night of the murder.[41] Detectives have said that his alibi is not substantiated by records of his internet service provider, though a private detective working for Sollecito questioned its accuracy.[42] Like Knox, he admits to having smoked marijuana on the day of the murder.[42]
Forensic investigators say that a footprint found in blood in Kercher's room is compatible with the footwear worn by Sollecito, but his legal team asserts that it is not his.[43] On 10 January Italian police released a statement which says that Sollecito's DNA was found on a piece of Kercher's bra.[41] Several newspapers, including La Repubblica in June 2008 and Tiscali Web News in March 2009,[44] report that Sollecito's influential family tried to upset the investigations.[45] Phone taps reveal that Sollecito's sister, a policewoman[45] in the Carabinieri, told her father that she intended to contact high profile politicians to ask them to get rid of the "troublesome" investigators and contaminate the police samples. Several members of Sollecito's family are now under investigation for a variety of infractions connected to the case.
On 4 December, 2009, Raffaele Sollecito was found guilty on all counts of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Rudy Guede
Rudy Hermann Guede | |
|---|---|
| Status | Incarcerated |
| Conviction(s) | Conspiracy to murder |
| Criminal penalty | 30 years imprisonment |
Rudy Hermann Guede, 20, originally from the Ivory Coast, was arrested on November 20 for suspected involvement in the Kercher killing. He was subsequently convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years.
Guede came to Perugia at the age of five with his father[47] Pacome Roger Guede.[48] His father left Italy when Guede was 16, and he was informally adopted by the family of a wealthy local businessman, Paolo Caporali.[47] Caporali stated that he had been disappointed by Guede's behaviour, describing him as a "tremendous liar", skipping school and being reluctant to do any work.[47] Guede played basketball for the local team which Caporali sponsored.[47]
DNA tests indicate that Guede had sex with Kercher before her murder [49] and that feces found in the toilet were his.[50]
Guede was reportedly a hanger-on with the residents of the downstairs apartment, where Kercher's boyfriend of a few months lived.[citation needed] It has been said that he would "couch surf" at this and other apartments, where he tended to arrive unannounced. Knox has confirmed meeting Guede a few times. Guede was a drug dealer and thief.[51]
Guede's account of the evening was that he and the victim had consensual sex, after which he became sick from a bad kebab and left the room to use the toilet. He claimed to be listening to music on his iPod while using the facilities and thus did not hear the killer enter the house.[52] He did, however, hear Kercher scream,[52] and emerged to see the murderer, an Italian man whom he did not know, stabbing Kercher. As the man escaped, he said "You're in trouble, you black bastard"[52] after which Guede claims to have been so frightened that he fled the scene and made his way to Germany. [53] The investigators stated that Guede's version of events was "a highly improbable fantasy."[52]
Guede was observed dancing in a nightclub later on the night of the murder. He fled to Germany shortly thereafter, but was tracked by computer and apprehended by authorities after emailing a contact suggesting that he was in need of financial assistance. The German transport police arrested Guede on a train near Wiesbaden, Germany, where he was caught riding without a ticket.[47]
Trials and conviction
Guede elected for a "fast track" trial on 16 October 2008. On 28 October 2008 he was found guilty of murdering and sexually assaulting Meredith Kercher and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Guede is appealing the conviction.[54] The appeal started in November 2009; a verdict is not expected to be reached until 2010.[55]
The trial of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito began on 16 January 2009 with much attention from the media; both Knox's and Sollecito's lawyers used the occasion to proclaim their clients' innocence. Guede has declined to testify in the trial.[56] During the first session, judge Giancarlo Massei rejected a request by the Kercher family to hold the trial behind closed doors. He ruled that the trial will be public, but closed sessions will be decided on a case-by-case basis.[57]
Running concurrent with the criminal trial are two civil trials. The family of Kercher has filed a civil suit for $33 million against anyone found guilty of the murder.[58] Patrick Lumumba, the man Knox originally accused of murdering Kercher, is suing Knox for more than half a million dollars in damages.[58]
Knox testified for the first time on 12 June 2009, pleading her innocence. She told the court that she had been with Sollecito in his apartment on the night of the murder. She also made claims, that have not been substantiated, that the police had intimidated and beaten her, causing her to give false testimony and to falsely accuse Patrick Lumumba.[59][60]
The lead prosecutor in the case, Giuliano Mignini, has previously been the subject of abuse-of-office charges, though those charges did not result in conviction. These charges stemmed from "unauthorized wiretapping of journalists and others" conducted by Mignini and his law enforcement colleagues during the investigation of the Monster of Florence serial killings in the 1970s and 1980s.[61]
Nearing the close of the proceedings, a local paper in the Italian region of Umbria (Corriere dell'Umbria) reported that a consultant to the defense, using an instrument called a "crimescope", discovered forensic evidence that had not previously been known. This evidence consisted of stains on a pillow found underneath the body of Kercher, and is considered to be potentially volatile evidence that could be highly damaging to either side in the case. However, as of October 19, 2009, this discovery has yet to be deemed credible enough to interrupt the court's proceedings, as the period for introducing evidence has passed. Knox was found guilty of all 6 charges and will spend 25 years in jail. [62]
Media portrayal
The case, and especially the role of Amanda Knox has received extensive media coverage in Italy, Britain and the United States. Sollecito was somewhat less in the spotlight[63]. Amanda Knox has been portrayed either as a femme fatale who helped to kill her friend in a sex game[63] or a girl caught up in the court proceedings of a foreign country[13][64].
Immediately after the crime, Knox's MySpace site was subject to character analysis.[65][66] Knox had posted a picture of herself posing with a Gatling gun, [13] and there was some speculation about whether the "Foxy Knoxy" moniker she used on the page referred to a sexual persona. [13] Knox had also posted a short fictional story about a rape, which some of the press[who?] saw as Knox's blueprint for the crime. Vanity Fair described the story as "utterly unrealistic".[13]
Other journalists were more doubtful about Knox's guilt and critized the way the case was handled in the Italian judiciary system. As an example, journalist Peter Popham wrote an opinion piece for The Independent in which he raised doubts about the evidence against Knox and Sollecito and claimed that the publication of details about the case by the prosecution "makes miscarriages of justice horribly likely"[67].
Vanity Fair magazine featured an article American reporter Judy Bachrach, which explored the contradictions in the case but also put the Italian justice system close to the Inquisition[13]. On October 18, 2009, Bachrach appeared on a broadcast of CNN's Larry King Live which featured Knox's parents, where she claimed that in Italy “the ordinary person is considered guilty until proven innocent. Italy's laws are direct descendants of the Inquisition”[68], without offering further proof.
On December 4, 2009, both Knox and Sollecito were found guilty of all charges. The decision was delivered by the jury at around 6 pm EST.
References
- ^ a b "Lumumba: The popular and gentle bar owner willing to help anyone". Daily Mail. 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ Owen, Richard (Nov. 21, 2007). "Fourth Meredith Kercher suspect Rudy Hermann Guede in court in Germany". Times Online. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Meredith suspect to be extradited". cnn.com. Dec 03, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ John Hooper (2008-07-06). "Three charged with Kercher killing'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
- ^ "Man convicted of Kercher murder". BBC news. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ Frances D'Emilio (2008-10-18). "Knox proclaims innocence in Italian court". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
- ^ Births England and Wales 1984-2006
- ^ "Students hold vigil for Meredith". BBC news. 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
- ^ a b c Richard Owen (2007-11-06). "Meredith Kercher 'killed after refusing orgy'". The Times. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Richard Owen (2007-11-06). "Woman 'confesses role' in British student's murder in Perugia". The Times. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
- ^ Gemma Wheatley (2007-12-14). "Meredith laid to rest". Croydon Guardian. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
- ^ Patrick Foster (2007-12-14). "Meredith Kercher's family joined by 300 for funeral". The Times. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
- ^ a b c d e f Bachrach, Judy (May 12, 2008). "Perugia's Prime Suspect". www.vanityfair.com. pp. 1, 3, 5, 6. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
- ^ Kercher, John (June 06, 2008). "Murdered Meredith Kercher's dad talks of his anguish before trial". www.mirror.co.uk. pp. 1, 5. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/06/06/murdered-meredith-kercher-s-dad-talks-of-his-anguish-before-trial-115875-21418399/
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5471972/Meredith-Kercher-in-music-video.html
- ^ a b c "Excerpts from the witness statements". The Times. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
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{{cite web}}: Text "publisher-MSNBC" ignored (help) - ^ a b Richard Owen (2007-11-09). "Judge says Meredith Kercher was murdered for resisting brutal sex game". The Times. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ "Amanda Knox 'led ritual killing'". Daily Star. Retrieved 2008-10-19.
- ^ "Kercher slaying was part of 'satanic ritual', say prosecutors". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ "Knox case takes new twist -- $33 million sought". seattlepi. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ^ "Former Kercher Suspect gets Damages". Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata. 2009-03-16.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Text "http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2009-03-16_116355624.html" ignored (help) - ^ Pisa, Nick (2008-12-25). "Murder suspect 'Foxy Knoxy' spends Christmas in an Italian jail 'singing carols and watching Kung Fu Panda film'". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ^ Nadeau, Barbie (2008-07-14), The Many Faces of Amanda, Newsweek, retrieved 2008-07-15
{{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Vanessa Ho (2007-11-07). "Seattle woman heard fatal attack unfold in Italy". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
- ^ "Student from Seattle to remain in jail in Italian death probe". The Seattle Times. 2007-11-09. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ a b "Meredith Kercher: Judge's report". The Times. 2007-11-09. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
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- ^ "Exclusive: Amanda Knox's Parents End Their Silence".
- ^ "Amanda Knox: the first in-depth interview with her parents"
- ^ http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Two-deny--murder-.4886659.jp
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/04/italy.knox.trial/index.html
- ^ "Amanda Knox Sends Co-Accused Raffaele Sollecito A Birthday Card". Sky News. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ a b "Grisly Murder Case Intrigues Italian University City". The New York Times. 2007-11-13. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
- ^ a b "Kercher police find 'DNA match'". BBC News. 2008-01-10. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- ^ a b "Knox 'has no contact with reality'". The Guardian. 2007-11-25. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ Malcolm Moore (2007-11-25). "Knox 'has no contact with reality'". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
- ^ "'Meredith, ispettore: "Famiglia Sollecito voleva insabbiare"'".
- ^ a b Kington, Tom (June 22, 2008). "Phone-tap drama in Meredith murder". guardian.co.uk The Observer. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
- ^ "Rudy, il barone con la passione del basket" (in Italian). Quotidiano.net. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
- ^ a b c d e "Fourth Meredith suspect arrested in Germany". The Times. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
- ^ Rudy Guede profile
- ^ John Follain (2007-11-25). "Dying Meredith Kercher 'whispered initials of killer'". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
- ^ "Drug dealer is fourth suspect in Meredith murder investigation". The Times. 2007-11-20. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
- ^ Rudy Guede; engaging drifter who boasted 'I will drink your blood'
- ^ a b c d "Two more sought over 'sex and drugs' party on night Meredith Kercher died". The Times. 2007-11-26. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ "Meredith Kercher suspects 'flirted and shopped for lingerie' after murder". The Times. 2007-11-23. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ Press Association (August 30, 2009). "Meredith Kercher's killer Rudy Guede turns to detectives to clear name". The Guardian. Retrieved Oct. 20, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Harry Miller (22 November 2009). "Coulsdon student Meredith Kercher's convicted killer begins murder appeal". Retrieved 3 December 2009.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|paper=ignored (help) - ^ Ann Wise (2009-04-04). "Convict Opts for Silence in Knox Trial". ABC News. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- ^ "We are innocent lovebirds not Meredith Kercher's murderers, trial told". Times Online. 2009-01-17. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
- ^ a b Nadeau, Barbie (September 10, 2009). "Nuclear-Family Fallout". Newsweek. Retrieved Oct. 20, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Kercher police beat me, Knox says". BBC Online. 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
- ^ "Caso Meredith, Amanda in aula "La polizia mi ha maltrattata"". Repubblica Online. 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
- ^ Vogt, Andrea (2009-07-01). "Knox prosector's own trial delayed". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
- ^ http://www.corrieredellumbria.it/news.asp?id=41.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b Harris, Paul (March 1, 2009). "The friends back home intent on telling the 'real Amanda Knox' story". www.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved Oct. 20, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Parents tell of Meredith Kercher murder suspect Amanda Knox tell of her 'jail ordeal'". Mirror.co.uk. June 16, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
- ^ Colin Fernandez (2007-11-06). "Foxy Knoxy: Inside the twisted world of murdered Meredith's flatmate". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthor=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Maureen O'Hagan (2007-11-08). "Slaying in Italy stirs media frenzy". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthor=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/peter-popham-will-knox-find-justice-in-perugia-1826533.html
- ^ "Larry King Live Transcripts (scroll down for Knox story)". transcripts.cnn.com. October 18, 2009. Retrieved October 23, 2009.