Is Amanda Knox Guilty? Page #4

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by eye, you can see very strongly

all of Raffaele Sollecito's

DNA types are there

and that can't be explained by any

kind of environmental contamination.

I calculate how likely is the

evidence under

the prosecution assertion that DNA is

there from Raffaele Sollecito

and again how likely it is

without him being present.

And the former is much greater

than the latter,

so that's when I say that's

extremely strong evidence.

But forensic experts representing

the defence remain adamant that

the bra clasp had been contaminated

and is unreliable.

TRANSLATED:
As far as the bra clasp

is concerned, what happened?

This bra clasp was collected 46 days

after the first crime scene

inspection, and a mixture

of biological material was found.

There was a profile attributable

to the victim, which is normal,

and other material that was

attributable to Raffaele Sollecito.

There were other traces, but

they were not attributed to anyone.

The defence also uses

the crime scene video to question

the DNA evidence

presented by the prosecution.

I have looked at the crime scene...

the videos.

Bloody shoe prints, cleaned up.

Cleaned up, not saved.

A bra strap collected weeks

and weeks

and weeks after the initial

collection,

that now supposedly connects

Amanda, Raffaele and Meredith.

But the prosecution keeps producing

evidence they say connects

Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito

to the crime scene.

TRANSLATED:
Amanda's footprints,

which were revealed by the luminol,

showed DNA attributed to Meredith,

which means Amanda was walking

in bare feet covered in blood.

They argue this is proof the couple

came back during the night

to clean up and stage the break-in,

leaving bloodstained footprints

in the bathroom and corridor.

The defence says there is no proof

the prints actually were

bloodstains.

The luminol may have revealed

another substance such as bleach.

The prosecution also presents

evidence to challenge

the couple's story of what they did

that night and the next morning.

They show Raffaele's cellphone was

turned on at 6.02am,

despite the couple's claim

they slept until ten.

Then there's the telephone call

to the Carabinieri,

when Sollecito knew nothing

had been stolen,

and failed to mention the postal

police were at the scene.

They also question Raffaele

Sollecito's changing alibi and

prison eyewitnesses who contradict

Knox and Sollecito's stories.

In court, the prosecution accuses

Amanda Knox of being

the leader of a sexual

attack on Meredith.

They say this was

payback for Meredith's disapproval

of Amanda's lifestyle.

TRANSLATED:
The erotic game was

always part of the case.

I think that night, Amanda wanted to

make Meredith pay for judging her,

which she found offensive.

A girl from Seattle that worked

three jobs to get to Italy

to study abroad, an honour student

from Seattle Prep,

doesn't overnight, in my experience,

turn into a depraved murderess.

Overnight.

The court's claims make difficult

hearing for the Knox family.

Obviously, listening to those

types of things were horrible.

It was an all-out attack on her

character by individuals that

have no idea who

she truly is as a person.

One of the things that we have tried

to do this entire time is obviously

support Amanda by always having

somebody over here,

somebody to visit her

and stuff like that.

And we have to stay strong in order

for her to stay strong.

Amanda Knox spends two

days on the stand telling her

version of the story.

Millions worldwide watch her

explanation of why

she put the pub owner

Patrick Lumumba in the frame.

They told me that I was trying to

protect someone...

INTERPRETER TRANSLATES INTO ITALIAN

..but I wasn't trying to

protect anyone.

They continued to put

so much emphasis...

..on this message that

I had received from Patrick...

..and so I almost was convinced that

I had met him.

Her case is this.

She was at Raffaele's house

when the murder happened,

watching a movie

and reading her e-mails.

She can't prove it because two

of their three computers were

damaged when police tried to

search the hard-drives.

Throughout the year-long trial,

Meredith's family

fly in from London to testify

and witness the key hearings.

They try to keep the focus

on Meredith

and their quest for justice.

3rd December 2009.

The eve of the verdict.

Amanda's family arrives to hear

her plea for freedom.

She knows that she's innocent

and has had nothing to do with this

and we're just very

hopeful that the court will see

and be able to see that in the

evidence that's been presented.

Amanda is now almost fluent

in Italian.

323 days since the trial started.

The verdict is

broadcast around the world.

Guilty of murder.

25 years for Raffaele Sollecito

and 26 for Amanda Knox,

the extra year for slandering

Patrick Lumumba.

The Kerchers' Italian lawyer

is satisfied.

TRANSLATED:
The failed alibis,

the behaviour of Sollecito and Knox,

Knox's statements,

the slander of Patrick Lumumba.

These are all elements

that, once put together,

allowed the determination of guilt.

But Knox's family are angry.

They keep tight-lipped as they leave

the courtroom.

Push back, push back. Chris,

Chris, stop it.

And when they return to Seattle,

they immediately start

preparing her appeal.

There's not one piece of

physical evidence

to link this girl to this crime.

They draft legal, forensic, media

and political support

from the US and Italy

to strengthen the defence team.

It takes a year to get to the

appeal.

By now, Knox and Sollecito have

been in jail for three years.

This time, there's a new judge

and a new prosecutor,

Giancarlo Costagliola.

TRANSLATED:
Despite the

fact that there had already

been a conviction, the deputy judge

said at the beginning of the hearing

that the only thing that was certain

was that a girl was dead.

Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito's

defence teams decide to

focus on Rudy Guede.

They call prison inmates, convicted

criminals, to testify that

Guede has confessed to them

in prison.

June 27th 2011.

Rudy Guede takes the stand.

By now, after an appeal,

his sentence has been cut

from 30 to 16 years.

He denies he made a jailhouse

confession

and is asked about a letter

he has written claiming Amanda Knox

and Raffaele Sollecito

killed Meredith.

The key focus of the appeal is on

the DNA -

Knox and Kercher's DNA on the knife,

Sollecito's on the bra clasp.

Is it enough to place the defendants

at the crime scene or not?

The court appoints independent

experts Carla Vecchiotti

and Stefano Conti from the

University of Sapienza, Rome,

to review the science.

Their report is scathing

about prosecution forensic methods.

They cite US manuals and standards,

highlighting errors made

when the evidence was collected.

They do find a new trace of DNA

on the knife from Sollecito's

kitchen that hasn't been tested.

However, they argue,

it's too small to be of use.

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