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New DNA tests in Knox trial rejected
Source: Agencies |
September 8, 2011, Thursday
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AN Italian court yesterday rejected a prosecutor's request for new testing of DNA evidence in the appeal trial of Amanda Knox - a positive development for the US student seeking to overturn her murder conviction.
The decision was a blow to the prosecution, which had sought to counter the results of a court-ordered independent review that criticized how DNA evidence was used in the case.
Without a clear motive or convincing witnesses, the DNA evidence is crucial, and much of the appeal's outcome hinges on it.
Knox was convicted in December 2009 of sexually assaulting and murdering her UK roommate Meredith Kercher while they were studying in Perugia. She was sentenced to 26 years in jail. Raffaele Sollecito, Knox's boyfriend at the time, was convicted of the same charges and sentenced to 25 years. Both are appealing.
In the first trial, prosecutors maintained Knox's DNA was found on the handle of a kitchen knife believed to be the murder weapon, and that Kercher's DNA was found on the blade. They said Sollecito's DNA was on the clasp of Kercher's bra as part of a mixed trace that included the victim's genetic profile.
The appeal court ordered an independent review, which found that much of the DNA evidence was unreliable and possibly contaminated.
Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann said the discussion had been thorough enough for the court to form an opinion. New testing would be "superfluous," he said, rejecting the request made earlier in the day by prosecutor Manuela Comodi.
The court also rejected a prosecution request to put back on the stand a witness who previously testified that his brother, a fugitive, had killed Kercher during a botched burglary. The witness, a jailed mobster, announced he wanted to retract his statement.
The decision was a blow to the prosecution, which had sought to counter the results of a court-ordered independent review that criticized how DNA evidence was used in the case.
Without a clear motive or convincing witnesses, the DNA evidence is crucial, and much of the appeal's outcome hinges on it.
Knox was convicted in December 2009 of sexually assaulting and murdering her UK roommate Meredith Kercher while they were studying in Perugia. She was sentenced to 26 years in jail. Raffaele Sollecito, Knox's boyfriend at the time, was convicted of the same charges and sentenced to 25 years. Both are appealing.
In the first trial, prosecutors maintained Knox's DNA was found on the handle of a kitchen knife believed to be the murder weapon, and that Kercher's DNA was found on the blade. They said Sollecito's DNA was on the clasp of Kercher's bra as part of a mixed trace that included the victim's genetic profile.
The appeal court ordered an independent review, which found that much of the DNA evidence was unreliable and possibly contaminated.
Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann said the discussion had been thorough enough for the court to form an opinion. New testing would be "superfluous," he said, rejecting the request made earlier in the day by prosecutor Manuela Comodi.
The court also rejected a prosecution request to put back on the stand a witness who previously testified that his brother, a fugitive, had killed Kercher during a botched burglary. The witness, a jailed mobster, announced he wanted to retract his statement.
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