COURT REJECTS THE REQUEST OF NEW EXPERTS BROUGHT BY PROSECUTION
But this time there was Hellmann and Zanetti, and the new dream of guilt lasted the space of a morning.
(The locals were well informed, as always. They got a direct line, indeed, and they think it’s a privilege… How much great information that privileged direct line provided to them in the time: “there is Patrick’s hair in Meredith’s hands”, “Amanda thrown her sweatshirt”, “we found Meredith’s keys in Amanda’s room”, “we found a bleach receipt”, “they called the 112 after the police arrived”, in her first interrogation in jail “Amanda broke in tears and refused to speak”, “there is Raffaele’s shoeprint”, “there is Amanda’s shoeprint”… Even recently: “Amanda was having sex with a drug dealer”! Sure… Will the locals understand that someone, from the other side of that direct line, gives them false information about suspects ALL THE TIME?).
Remember how frustrating Massei’s “No” was for Amanda, Raffaele and their team?
Remember how he motivated the refusal of independent experts to review the DNA? He said that the acquired data were enough for the judges to form their idea.
Today Hellmann answered in exactly the same way to the same request of new tests and new independent experts to be appointed. The difference is that the request, this time, came from the prosecution.
And Hellmann said “no”, because “the acquired data are enough for us to form an idea”. The frustration is returned, straight to the sinking battleship.
Absent Carlo Dalla Vedova and Giulia Bongiorno, all defense lawyers pointed out how absurd the request was. Probably the most effective was Maria Del Grosso, who reminded how harshly the prosecutors had opposed, in the first trial, new tests on the knife… (and, as always, their request was satisfied…).
This request is really unbelievable. Really revealing. What is their problem, they can’t lose?
What is this? A move of desperation? A spite? A will of causing more harm to the kids and more costs to the Italians?
Kind of a Hitler’s Ardennes counteroffensive? Or Saddam burning the oil wells because the invader is winning?
What do they want to do, try all remaining scientists as independent until they find one who sees the DNA?
Anyways, Hellmann and Zanetti said “no”, and declared the inquiring phase closed. The trial will resume on September 23 with the starting of the closing arguments.
How long can they last? A week, more or less, then the jury will go deliberate. And it doesn’t look like it will be a struggle for them…
When they will be acquitted, Amanda and Raffaele will be brought back to the jail to take their stuff and take care of the release formalities, after which they will be released.
The prosecution can’t do anything. Even if Amanda should be condemned for the sole calunnia, that crime will be already paid, since the penalty was reduced from 6 to 1 year for technical reason (the “continuation”).
They can’t hold her even for her other trial, since that other calumny is 2 years, and it would anyway be already paid.
If they want to harm some more they can only wait for the motivations report, which usually comes in 90 days, and after having studied it, they can eventually appeal through Supreme Court of Cassazione, only if they spot some formal mistakes in the ruling.
Marietti finally rubbed in the right spot in La Sapienza: nothing
So, today the super useless discussion about DNA was finally over, with Sarah Gino who expressed the same defense points, and Carlo Torre who clarified about the starch on the knife.
Torre knows starch cells very well, for having studied them even when they were damaged by digestion. So he has no doubt that the cells photographed on the knife were of starch. And the starch, which has a high absorbing power, would have certainly absorbed the blood, and retained it.
But, as we know, no hemoglobin was detected on the knife, so it can’t have anything to do with the crime. Goodbye, Marietti, the drawer is waiting for you.
Enter your comment here
This case is such a travesty of justice in so many ways. I am an American who’s spent most of her early adult life in Italy and am a long time student of Italy’s history, art, language and culture. I often hear ridiculous comments like “you are so lucky nothing happened to you while you were over there” or “could you imagine if you were unjustly incarcerated while you were in Italy”. It is such a shame that the insanity of one man (Mignini) has given the country such a bad rap. I recently took my husband with me to Rome and he was scared to go. It broke my heart.
What happened over there is absolutely criminal. Not only have Amanda, Raffaele, their family and friends lost precious years of their lives; a grave injustice has been done to poor Meredith. At least Amanda & Raffaele are finally getting their name’s cleared. The biggest travesty of all is the fact that the one person who we know unequivocally is responsible for brutally snuffing out the beautiful light that was Meredith Kercher is walking away with 16 years. Again, it’s criminal! Mignini should be brought up on criminal charges for what he’s done. (go ahead and sue me!)
Thank you, Frank!
Buh-bye Marietti.
That knife was the dumbest piece of evidence in legal history.
Blood? NO
Starch? YES
Evidence that Knox toted it around Perugia in her “very large handbag” to “make her feel more secure?” NONE
Ringraziamo il nostro buon amico per tutti i vostri report della verità!
We thank our good friend for all your reporting of the truth!
- I agree…
Thank you once again Frank for your reporting. Between now and the 23rd I assume that there are no more court dates. I see that the press in Italy is starting to see the light as well and reporting that Amanda and Raffaele could be out soon. One headline : “Knox and Sollecito had nothing to do with it- Absurd to keep them in prison for 4 years”- a quote of criminologist Francesco Bruno. If they are acquitted and released what are their rights at that point to compensation for false imprisonment for four years? Will any of the people such as the cops, the “scientists”, or the PM face any charges of obstruction of justice for having fabricated evidence and kept real evidence supporting the innocence of Knox and Sollecito from the light of day? Will Lumumba finally get to sue the police for having attacked him? Will Amanda and Knox have recourse for their mistreatment? For the stolen privacy? For the fabrication of lies?I am greatly hoping that finally these poor and abused kids will be let free and that true justice will be served.
Where did Bruno say that?
Bruno is a wise one, he wrote with me a report for Gente last year and he was already on those positions more o less. Unfortunately they moderated us in that occasion. Only on a blog you can write freely. Even though you have to be cryptic sometimes…
They can ask compensation up to 512,000 euro….
But I don’t see why all Italians have to pay when we know exactly who is responsible for this. And certainly the damage to the kids, to the town of Perugia, to the country and to the Kerchers is much more than 512,000 euro…
Lumumba took side (the wrong side), he became an accuser too, so…
Will Amanda and Knox have recourse for their mistreatment? For the stolen privacy? For the fabrication of lies? I HOPE SO!
Frank,
How can Comodi get away with defaming the court as she did in her qoutes to Pisa that this judge and this court is againt the prosecution and so she thinks the defendants will walk even though she thiks they are still guilty.
This would land her in jail in most countries. It would at least disbar her and keep from any courtrooms in the future.
Does this judge or even Mignini in fact have no power or duty to punish such disrespectful behavior?
I remember Amanda being slapped with charges when she told the truth about being slapped in the head by police. Why is Mignini not doing his duty as required by Italian law now? Comodi clearly called the judge a cheater…is that ok in Italy now? What changed?
I know you have to live there but these things need written about. Unless you accept as the average Italian accepts this behavior from those you keep in power.
The lawyers should really protest for this and other things. But if they don’t do it…
Why do the lawyers have to do it? Comodi is calling this court dishonest. She says the judges are against her. She said this to Nick Pisa. He quoted her directly…I bet he has a recording of it. It seems like the judges she is defaming and the court she is calling dishonest. It seems like papers should be filed against her. I dont know why the lawyers should do it. The judges should do it or even Mignini should do it. My question remains. Is it legal for Comodi to call these judges unfair? If they were truely unfair that would mean the court is rigged. Is the court rigged? Is that why no one punishes her? Because she is right?
Randy, try not to be like they are.
To say that the judges are dishonest you have to say “the judges are dishonest”, not “the judges are against us”.
Exactly like to say that Stefanoni cheated you have to say “Stefanoni cheated”, not “Stefanoni proceed with suspect-centric method”, as Tagliabracci said the other day.
They are against them, good, she understood that they understood that someone screwed up…
Well it appears to me this is simply a game about semantics then. If you say I am against you in a proceeding where I am a judge and before the full case has even been presented… then you accuse me of being dishonest and unfair. Actually Comodi is speaking exactly like this because she then goes on to say that she expects the defendants to go free and further she says that is a shame because they are guilty. That is saying the judges are dishonest no matter what spin you wish to attach to her comments.
Tagliabracci was threatened in this very court by Comodi right in front of the judges. “Are you sure you wish to proclaim these things”. To anyone used to working under rule of law this would seem out of place in a court of law…more like a comment by a mafia don speaking to his associate. She only left out the threat of chopped off fingers and broken legs.
While its clear the woman has run out of ideas its also apparent she has lost her mind. Or is she trying to provoke the judges so she can then say ….see how they are against me.
The independent experts seem to have said Stefanoni cheated or else it was contamination. But trying to insert fake negative and positive control data sheets never found yet from the first trial appears to confirm that cheating went on rather than simple poor record keeping. Add Biondo’s collaboration with the prosecution and you have a cast of criminal activity designed to jail innocent persons and to protect the fragile Italian ego of police and prosecutor.
These all can not be simple mistakes…rather they point to criminal behavior and the only motive I see is ego. Hopefully some day a true investigation will show all the deeds of this legal mafia. It wont come from an Italian investigation though…too many controls against freedom of speech and no right to know laws. I am hoping Frontline takes a look into this case. It is a perfect story for them.
@randy2438
Police don’t give speeding tickets to other police. Kind of the same thing here.
It’s obvious that the demation rules are used as tactical weapons to harrass people. Lawyers on opposite sides of a case have nothing to gain from harrassing each other like that. Their working situation would become untenable.
Hi Frank, I read the quote by Bruno in the Leggo paper from Thursday, September 8th. I too was glad that this was printed. I too wish that Italians did not have to pay for the crimes of a few, but of course it is the same in the USA- we pay for false convictions, we pay for mistrials, we pay for the abuse of the law by the police and others.
Of course half a million Euros is nothing compared to the horrible treatment AK and RS have faced. The worst thing to me in this whole case, is that I believe the cause for the incredibly terrible injustice in this case and many others in Italy is the suppression of the press and those who would question in order to find the truth. Looking at the World Freedom of Press 2011 rankings, one can understand why the things that happened did, since Italy is at the bottom of the list:
http://www.freedomhouse.org/images/File/fop/2011/FOTP2011GlobalRegionalTables.pdf
I love Italy and think it is a very special country, just as I love the USA but in both countries there are injustices which must be battled. In Italy the issue with the press is a serious hindrance to truth in journalism.
Thank you for your hard work in pursuing the truth and the risks you have taken to do so.
Regarding AK I have wanted to write her for four years, but have not done so. I have only posted on blogs and news sights in order to fight for justice with regards to her case. Do you know what happens if I write her a letter? Is it opened and read by the prison? Would it be best to send it to her family? I just want to try to understand how I can be assured of getting a letter to her, and knowing about what I can say to her.
Thanks so much Frank~
It’s not very safe, you know. Maybe that day they are busy and they just give it to her. Maybe they read, maybe it gets “lost”…
It’s a disgrace, it’s part of the abuse…
In Italy journalism it’s two teams. The team pro-Berlusconi and the team against. Their only purpose is saving or destroying Berlusconi. They got all the money they need for the purpose. And of course they are not free to speak. In the middle there is some gossip paper, and that’s it…
That’s why the media attention on a case like the one of Amanda and Raffaele lasts one month, because it’s not important, neither for the pro nor for the against-Berlusconi team…
Hi Frank Sfarzo,
I am wondering about a few things, maybe you can help me out and inform the public too…
!st, is there a way to access all of your earlier original postings, starting with the November 2007 ones? If so will you give us fans of yours that info so we might search for stories that we have read before?
The 2nd question is about this, a post from a very knowlegeable gal named RoseMontague:.
“I will give you my understanding of the issue. Shortly after the murder a local paper faxed some information to Mignini’s office to the effect that Raffaele called the cops after they had arrived. This would indicate guilt as it would show he was trying to pretend they were calling it in because they knew the cops were already there anyway and it would look good if they had called the cops rather than them just show up and find them there with a dead body”
RoseMontague has made mention that she originally read of this newspaper fax that was sent to Mignini, here, on Perugia Shock. Makes sense, you cover the minute details of what goes on in Perugia.
What is the story behind this fax?
Can you let us know what you originally wrote about when you 1st reported this?
From what I understand, this was the same newspaper that brought forward Antonio “Toto” Curatolo, many months later. Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t “Toto” speak with the cops that day Meredith was discovered murdered, and he made no mention of nothing strange, such as seeing 2 people suspiciously watching the gals cottage, loitering outside on a cold November night for hours. Even though “Toto” was high on heroin that night Meredith was murdered, surely he would have wanted to help the cops, since he was the same guy who was a prosecution witness in 2 other previous murders. But he did not report anything suspicious, right? Yet months later, this same newspaper brought him forward to say otherwise, that he saw Amanda and Raffaele, correct?
From what I understand, this was the same newspaper that brought forward Marco Quintavalle, many months later. Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t Marco say to the police investigator that came into his store that he did not see Raffaele and Amanda after the murder was discovered? But then months later, at the beheast of this same newspaper, he was brought forward to say that that Amanda did indeed come into his store early the same morning before Meredith was discovered murdered in her bedroom, correct?
What else is known about these 3 coincedental newspaper discoveries that you can share with us, your fans? Were there any other discoveries from this same newspaper that might help us understand what happened the night Miss Kercher was brutally stabbed to her death?
Thanks for your time,
Randy from Los Angeles
Excellent. The fax, indeed, reveals everything. But it wasn’t form a newspaper. it was form the postals…
Amanda and Raffale had called the 112, so they couldn’t have anything to do with the murder, they couldn’t be arrested.
No problem. The postals fax that that they had called after their arrival!
Problem solved…
See how easy? You just need to write things on a piece of paper.
You want them to have called the 112 after the pp arrived? Write it on a piece of paper…
You want to arrest a guy for murder? Write on a piece of paper that a girl saw him and have that girl to sign it…
You need a scientific proof? Write on a piece of paper “DNA of the victim”, or of the desired perpetrator…
If you are lucky you will find gullible prosecutors, judges, journalists who believe pieces of paper instead of reality…
Hi Frank Sfarzo,
Thanks for the information, it helps us better understand this case.
But you forgot to give me, and others, a link to your earlier archived posts.
RandyN, who I believe also posts here on Perugia Shock,
posted this on JREF, courtesy of Scornflake:
http://www.docstoc.com/profile/scornflake
These are your earlier postings, YES!!!
I hope that you don’t mind if I post it here since others too might like to view your earlier work.
But if it’s a problem and you don’t want it posted, I’m sure that you will delete if necessary.
Thanks for all you’ve done, Frank!
Randy from Los Angeles
aka
RWVBWL
PS-Some of us would like an update on what is goin’ on with regards to your arrest last year.
Care to do an update for us?
Thanks, RW
Ok, I hope they are the originals. Should I die Scornflake is gonna make some money…
Ah, there will be a trial for that one day, when Amanda and Raffaele will be already safe at home. I’ll let you know how it goes…
I met at the court entrance the one who led the commando of five men to my place, I told the other cops he was a criminal.
They moved him to the other entrance…
I dont understand all the money the police and courts seems to have for this case. It must be into the millions spent so far. Yet Mignini lies to reporters that he could not afford to record Amandas interrogation. Italy seems to have a problem. The police and court have acted with the behavior of the mafia for the last 4 years. Is this how they do it in Italy now?
Migninis latest stupid comments that the defense waited too long to request a DNA review tells me the man must actually be insane.
Greetings Frank Sfarzo,
Thank you for the update on your own situation.
It’s nice to know that you have a few friends also…
Once I asked you if there were any further 2nd story break-in crime sprees in Perugia after Rudy Guede was arrested,and you mentioned that you had not heard of any and you would know of it.
I have another Rudy Guede question,
1 that I have never seen an answer for::
Was Rudy Guede drug tested after his arrest for participation in Meredith Kercher’s brutal murder?
If so, what were the results?
From what I have read, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were drug tested and the results did not show hard drug useage.
In fact, Barbie Nadaeu’s book ‘Angel Face’ says this on page 162:
“As for Amanda and Raf, when they were finally arrested, on November 6, only the slightest unidentifiable trace of narcotics was found through hair samples – not even enough to identify the substance”
Strangely,
I’ve never seen any menion of if Rudy Guede was ever even drug tested
and if so, what his results were.
Do you have any information that you might share with us?
Thanks for your time,
RW
Hi Frank,
It was because of reading this that I ask if Rudy Guede was drug tested:
“Judge Paolo Micheli admitted several new pieces of evidence, including the testimony of a young Somali man who used to play basketball with Guede on a court near the rented house that Miss Kercher shared with Knox”
“.In the document, Abukar Mohamed Barrow, known as “Momi”, accused Guede of drinking too much, taking drugs and trying to steal the handbags of young women during nights out on the town.”
“Rudy was often drunk. I know he took cocaine. Often he was off his head with the drugs that he was taking. And when he was like that he would be a nuisance to girls, he’d block their path and try to hassle them. When we were in crowded places he stole their bags,” Barrow testified, according to excerpts of his evidence printed in the Italian press.”
Link here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/2976250/Meredith-Kercher-murder-trial-Rudy-Guede-was-violent-to-women.html
From what I know, no one has ever said publicly stated that Amanda Knox used cocaine.
Yet on some of the pro-guilt websites, there has been much discussion of possible useage, even though B. Nadeau’s book states that no identifaible traces of narcotics were found when Amanda, and Raf, were drug tested.
From what I understand, cocaine can be found in a drug test sample for up to 90 days…
So I wonder, since Rudy’s pal “Momi” publicly stated in a newspaper article that he knew Rudy took cocaine, was Rudy ever drug tested after his arrest and if so, what were the results?
Thanks for any information.
Randy from Los Angeles
the schedule…
The Prosecution, Maresca, MIgnini, Commodi and the Appeal Prosecutor.
then the Defense Raffaele, Defense Amanda
Then the Rebuttal…which is a very foggy haze of days…will start and end, when, why?
(and to think Closing arguments could all be avoided by the Prosecution holding up a “Guilty” sign, and the Defense holding up an “Innocent” sign.)
Then the final words will be from Judge Hellman and Judge Zanetti and the supporting Judges who will discuss their thoughts for a few days. This is the real mystery now…
The pillars of the accusation have been reviewed by this Appeal court.
The main pillars supporting the case to fall or stand…
Pillar 1 = The Knife= No Blood+ Not Cleaned = Not the murder weapon
Pillar 2 = The Bra Clasp= a zillion peaks, even the Judge Hellmans DNA is on the bra clasp!
Pillar 3 = The eye witness, Toto, high on heroin, he saw John, Paul, George and Ringo. on a bus.
That’s the way I see it from the crime tourist section of the Appeal court. It wasn’t just one pillar falling, it was all three. So unless we ignore C&V, how could anyone convict?
I hope I dont get sued for saying that.