A tearful Amanda Knox faces Perugian judge
It appears that Amanda Knox has no problem answering questions, but the one issue she won't go near is the only one anybody wants to hear about: what happened the night Meredith Kercher was murdered. From this morning's P-I:
Other notable court developments, as mentioned in the article:
It looks like Sollecito is the most likely candidate, The Times Online's article implies: Guede is now claiming that he heard Kercher muttering her killer's name in her final moments alive. Can you guess what she said?
But, as I pointed out in an earlier post, authorities are saying that Kercher didn't die immediately - it took time for her to slowly bleed out. Did Guede sit with her during that time, which has been estimated to be as long as an hour, instead of alerting authorities? That seems like the only way he could have been there to hear her "dying breath."
No updates yet on whether Knox and Sollecito will remain behind bars, but the article seems confident that the judge will make a decision sometime today.
Thursday, Turin daily La Stampa published excerpts of a prison interview with Knox, who was visited by an Italian politician, Osvaldo Napoli, earlier this week.But despite her unwillingness to clarify that flip-flopping story of what happened Nov. 1, the article claims, Knox - perhaps hoping to help sway the judge who will decide sometime today whether she remains behind bars - has expressed confidence in the Italian judicial system.
According to the report, Knox said she did not want to answer any questions about "that night" because she did not want to be influenced by outside information. When she sees news about the murder case on TV, she changes the channel, Knox was quoted as saying.
"What I have to say I want to say only to the judge. And to my attorney. We get along. He gives me a sense of security," Knox told Napoli. "I have faith in your justice system. I don't feel abandoned and I am not afraid, really. I have faith in Italy. I'm waiting. I'm serene. Everything will be clarified."Meanwhile over at The Times Online, they've got a nice update on some of the details from the suspect's court appearance, which took place this morning.
Amid dramatic scenes in court, Ms Knox broke down in tears as she insisted that she was not at the Perugia cottage when Ms Kercher, 21, had her throat cut.Crying to the judge? Sounds like that "faith" in the Italian justice system was lost somewhere between her jail cell and the courtroom.
She told the judge: “I am innocent, I was at Raffaele’s house the whole time.” Speaking in English she added: “I want to tell the truth.”
Other notable court developments, as mentioned in the article:
- It was the first time Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, a Romeo & Juliet for the 21st century, have seen each other since their arrests earlier this month.
- Knox reportedly apologized to the judge "for the trouble" she brought on Patrick Lumumba, the Congolese bar owner she initially fingered as Meredith Kercher's rapist and murderer. I guess it's okay to lie to police, so long as you apologize afterwards? Please. The fact that Knox brought a presumably innocent man into the picture and ruined his life cannot be overlooked with a simple apology. Hopefully the judge has the common sense to realize it.
- Not surprisingly, attorneys for both of the suspects are working to place the blame on Rudy Hermann Guede, a drug dealer from Perugia arrested in Germany who was recently linked by DNA evidence to the crime scene.
It looks like Sollecito is the most likely candidate, The Times Online's article implies: Guede is now claiming that he heard Kercher muttering her killer's name in her final moments alive. Can you guess what she said?
His description of the man and his claim that Ms Kercher tried to name her killer by uttering the sound “af” with her dying breath appear aimed at pointing the finger at Mr Sollecito.Guede, who is in Germany awaiting extradition to Perugia, had equally suggestive statements about Knox.
Mr Guede claims that while he was in the house he saw Ms Kercher discover that money was missing from her bedside table, and says that she accused Ms Knox (who he did not say was present) of stealing the cash to pay for drugs.The plot thickens. No wonder attorneys for Sollecito and Knox are so aggressively pointing the finger at Guede...it's part of the never-ending blame game.
But, as I pointed out in an earlier post, authorities are saying that Kercher didn't die immediately - it took time for her to slowly bleed out. Did Guede sit with her during that time, which has been estimated to be as long as an hour, instead of alerting authorities? That seems like the only way he could have been there to hear her "dying breath."
No updates yet on whether Knox and Sollecito will remain behind bars, but the article seems confident that the judge will make a decision sometime today.
You don't consider that it was the police that planted the idea that Lumumba was the killer in Knox's head. You think that it was Knox's words alone that introduced him as a suspect when it was in fact reported that Lumumba's "cell phone trace" was localized in the vicinity of the villa in the evening of the murder, and this despite his denying ever going near the villa. Furthermore, there were problems with his alibi according to the police.
I theorize that it was rather the police that focused on Lumumba during interrogations of Knox. If you read her statement she says that the police told her that they had "hard evidence" that she was at the villa at the time of the murder, yet they didn't reveal what evidence it was. She made it clear that this caused her to doubt her own memory. I suspect that the police told her that they had "hard evidence" that Lumumba was there during the murder, that he was involved. Hearing that, and having lost her confidence in her memories, Knox began to imagine exactly the scenario the police presented to her. When she spit something out, i.e., "I see Lumumba going into Meredith's room to have sex, I see myself covering my ears as she screams...." the police report it as a confession.
Well isn't that convenient for the police!!! They drag Lumumba in, not because of Knox's words but because of their own suspicions, and then they get to distance themselves from their actions by making it appear that Knox alone led them to Lumumba!
In my view, it's highly likely that the alleged cell phone tracing that the police claimed made Lumumba a suspect was a fabrication. Why? Because if it were legitimate the police would have no business releasing him from custody, as it puts him near the scene of the murder on the evening of the murder when he claimed he was nowhere near. Notice that there has been no further mention of the cell phone tracing, nor of the alleged inconsistencies in Lumumba's alibi.
I think Knox's recent speculations about how Sollecito could have carried out the murder is exactly in the same vein. Knox only knows what they are telling her and she keeps trying to imagine scenarios that correspond. Notice that she doesn't say a word about Guede, probably because they haven't told her anything about Guede.
Quote in reference to Guede:
'His description of the man and his claim that Ms Kercher tried to name her killer by uttering the sound "af" with her dying breath appear aimed at pointing the finger at Mr Sollecito.'
Can someone please explain to me how Merediths apparent last word of 'af' implicate Mr Sollecito?
Arent Mr Sollecitos initials RS? Im sorry I dont see the connection btween 'af' and 'R.Sollecito'.
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME???
af=raf
They are saying that she was trying to say Mr. Sollecito's first name.
It is documented in court papers that AF are initials...not letters of a first or last name, but BOTH.
As for Hirams' response? Hoorah. The man has his head on straight. I like the answer and I think that it is the closest to the truth I have seen on any blog.
Personally, since her throat was crushed and she was unconscious in a rather short timeframe, regardless of the slashing of her neck, I doubt she said much at all. The autopsy showed that there was blood behind the eyes and that her hyoid bone was shattered.
If you were struggling for air and running low on blood, would you have the presence of mind to stop all that and say anything at all. Last time I had something get caught in my throat, I couldnt even say that I was choking.