Student murder suspects held on remand

el guapo · Post by **el guapo** » Fri Nov 09, 2007 3:00 pm

Student murder suspects held on remand

Reuters - 2 hours 1 minute agoROME (Reuters) - Three suspects in the murder of a British student in the Italian university town of Perugia, including the woman's American flatmate, were ordered to remain in custody on Friday as police gathered evidence.

Meredith Kercher, 21, was found in her bedroom on November 2 lying under a duvet with a deep cut to the throat.

Police suspect a sexual motive and Italian newspapers have been filled with lurid speculation that the student, on a year's study trip from Leeds University, had been killed when she refused to have sex with her assailants.

On Tuesday police detained Kercher's 20-year-old flatmate, Amanda Knox, the American woman's 24-year-old Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, and a 37-year-old Congolese man, Lumumba Diya, known as Patrick, who runs a bar in the town.

On Friday a judge ruled they should continue to be held in custody for up to a year as police continue their investigation.

The three suspects have not been formally charged over the killing which has shocked students in the city of Perugia, about 130 km (80 miles) north of Rome, home to a well-known university for foreigners studying in Italy.

The crime has resonated around Europe where thousands of young people take a year to study abroad under the Erasmus exchange scheme.

Italian daily La Repubblica posted on its Web site a copy of Friday's court document which puts the motive for the murder as: "the desire for sexual relations which the victim did not want".

Although an autopsy found no evidence of rape, the court document says the body did have cuts and bruises which indicated a struggle.

A lawyer for the Italian suspect told Reuters he was surprised his client had been held in custody and he denied speculation a knife found on Sollecito when taken into custody was the murder weapon.

"My client has absolutely nothing to do with Meredith's killing," Tiziano Tedeschi told Reuters.

"He's a lad who uses (the knife) for cutting wood and for his hobbies. It has nothing to do with the crime.

"If he had killed Meredith he would hardly have taken it into the police station for questioning, would he?"

(Reporting by Roberto Landucci in Rome and Elisa Forte in Bari; writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Charles Dick)

Post by **spot** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 8:59 am

Why these things take so long for courts to resolve baffles me.

How any court can convict on a murder charge with just circumstantial evidence and the flimsiest hint of dubious forensics baffles me too. And given the choice of trusting the word of an American student against the jaundiced convict-and-be-damned bulldozing of the Italian judicial system I'd take the word of the student any time. The pointless conviction of Ms Knox means any overseas student with the bad luck to have a flatmate killed is in danger of serving decades of jail time.

So, having got all that out of the way, I note I'll be appalled if there's even the slightest note of triumph on her return to the US later this week. What chance is there it might be muted and avoid a party atmosphere. Bugger all, I expect.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 9:15 am

She should ber set free and hopefully that will happen. There is no evidence that she or her boyfriend committed this crime none at all. Unfortunately this young women has incredible bad luck so I'm not sure what is going to happen later on today.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:19 am

She made her final plea today.... I so want her aquitted.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:05 pm

Amanda Knox's conviction was overturned for her and her boyfriend she will be set free and my guess on the next plane home.

Post by **spot** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:15 pm

Well. There it is then. "Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito have been acquitted of the murder of UK student Meredith Kercher following a successful appeal in Perugia, Italy". She'll be on her way back to Seattle and, equally importantly, that lad is on his way back home too.

Now. We were saying about inappropriate celebration parties. I bet the Italian lad has sufficient taste to avoid any.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 1:59 pm

My guess they just want to be home they have been through hell. Might be quite family celebrations for both they just want to get home as soon as possible.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:38 pm

CARLA;1371598 wrote: My guess they just want to be home they have been through hell. Might be quite family celebrations for both they just want to get home as soon as possible.

I have been reading some nasty tabloid articles where they drone on about how she will exploit the situation and make millions. Why not, I say? She has been wrongly Imprisoned and so what If she sells the TV and film rights.

Post by **spot** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 2:56 pm

oscar;1371602 wrote: Why not, I say? She has been wrongly Imprisoned and so what If she sells the TV and film rights.The fact that there's a murdered student at the back of it. How can you even ask.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 3:17 pm

I think the only one guilty is the first guy they charged with the murder. These 2 kids had nothing to do with it. Like Amanda said in her plea today if she would have been there she would have been dead as well. I hope someday the facts come out so the victims family can have some peace as well.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 3:45 pm

spot;1371603 wrote: The fact that there's a murdered student at the back of it. How can you even ask. If the Italian Police hadn't made a monumental balls up of the forensic evidence In the first place, who knows what the outcome would have been? Seems police Ineptness Is rife whatever the country,

Post by **spot** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 3:56 pm

oscar;1371612 wrote: If the Italian Police hadn't made a monumental balls up of the forensic evidence In the first place, who knows what the outcome would have been? Seems police Ineptness Is rife whatever the country,And that leads to "She has been wrongly Imprisoned and so what If she sells the TV and film rights", does it?

This is where Let's Rescue Jessica Lynch From Those Torturing Ragheads gained traction as a film script perhaps.

Maybe good taste just isn't your strongest suit, oscar.

Post by **Oscar Namechange** » Mon Oct 03, 2011 4:35 pm

spot;1371613 wrote: And that leads to "She has been wrongly Imprisoned and so what If she sells the TV and film rights", does it?

This is where Let's Rescue Jessica Lynch From Those Torturing Ragheads gained traction as a film script perhaps.

Maybe good taste just isn't your strongest suit, oscar.

I never believed she was guilty due to lack of real evidence In the first place. That is merely my opinion as I am sure many others hold an opinion.

However, that of which you are stating here Is arrogance based on your belief that you can read between the lines or second guess what someone Is thinking. You are assuming again and assuming that I have not given a second thought for the victem Either way, I care not.

Perhaps now she has been cleared, a fresh Investigation with a new police force will find the real killer and bring some peace to the family of the victem,

gmc · Post by **gmc** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 11:49 am

Seeing some of the tabloids headlines you would think she had deliberately planned it all so she could make money out of the book and film rights.

Seems they were convicted because the police believed the story of the one jailed that he was not a lone murderer. If you know it's coming you might be able to defend yourself but there are very few unarmed women that would stand any chance against a knife wielding adult male - why assume anyone else was involved in the first place? Come to that if someone attacks you with a knife you have to be pretty quick or lucky to stop a fatal or crippling blow.

flopstock · Post by **flopstock** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 11:49 am

I not only hope she makes millions, I hope she is dancing in the streets.

Lifetime already aired the 'she's guilty' version of her story. She got nothing out of that.

I bet Oprah comes out of retirement for this interview!

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 12:10 pm

Good post GMC excactly had she actually been there she would have died as well. Floppy she was 20 when this happend now 24 and the horror of the past 4 years showed on her face and body when they read the verdict. This young women has been through hell. I hope she can get herself back and move on if possible.

theia · Post by **theia** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 12:27 pm

I agree that she should receive compensation for the four years of her life that she spent in prison.

If she chooses to make more money from what is basically the murder of her friend, I hope she donates it to charity.

Post by **LarsMac** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 1:46 pm

She won't be making money off the death of a friend. She will be making money off the miscarriage of justice that left her falsely accused, and falsely imprisoned.

Nothing she does will be of help to the dead.

If she shares with the roommate's family, all the better.

flopstock · Post by **flopstock** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 2:03 pm

theia;1371659 wrote: I agree that she should receive compensation for the four years of her life that she spent in prison.

If she chooses to make more money from what is basically the murder of her friend, I hope she donates it to charity.

I would imagine a goodly chunk would be going to pay off bills, both for herself and her family. I would imagine years and years of counseling await her and her family.

She lost a large portion of her past, her present and her future.

IMO she more than deserves to be compensated and should not feel guilty for a moment for anything she makes off of this.

There are plenty of others who should carry the guilt.

theia · Post by **theia** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 2:21 pm

LarsMac;1371676 wrote: She won't be making money off the death of a friend. She will be making money off the miscarriage of justice that left her falsely accused, and falsely imprisoned.

Nothing she does will be of help to the dead.

If she shares with the roommate's family, all the better.

As I said, she should be compensated for the miscarriage of justice. What would be the point of making more money from a tragic event?

And yes, I agree that nothing she does will be of help to the dead. I don't think I suggested otherwise. I wonder if her friend's family would be interested in a share of any money? I don't know.

theia · Post by **theia** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 2:36 pm

flopstock;1371681 wrote: I would imagine a goodly chunk would be going to pay off bills, both for herself and her family. I would imagine years and years of counseling await her and her family.

She lost a large portion of her past, her present and her future.

IMO she more than deserves to be compensated and should not feel guilty for a moment for anything she makes off of this.

There are plenty of others who should carry the guilt.

I would imagine most of the costs you mention would be covered by the compensation. If they are not, I would agree that she should make as much as she can to cover these costs.

Of course, she isn't the only one in this awful case to have lost a large portion of their life.

I'm not quite sure where guilt comes into this?

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 2:37 pm

I heard on one of the news show her parents have mortgaged everything they could. The fees are upwards of 1 million dollars for their daughter defense. I hope they can get some compensation for the injustice Amanda endured for 4 awful years.

Post by **spot** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 2:52 pm

The distasteful side of spending "upwards of 1 million dollars for their daughter defense" is the implication of their being one law for the rich and another for the poor.

Mustang · Post by **Mustang** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 3:23 pm

CARLA;1371689 wrote: I heard on one of the news show her parents have mortgaged everything they could. The fees are upwards of 1 million dollars for their daughter defense. I hope they can get some compensation for the injustice Amanda endured for 4 awful years.

Here's the link to what they spent for Amanda's defense:

Amanda Knox's Acquittal: Family's Heavy Financial Burden Could Come to Close - ABC News

There is an Amanda Knox Defense Fund set up, where people could make a financial contribution and donate air miles that helped the family.

Support for Amanda Knox

Post by **LarsMac** » Tue Oct 04, 2011 3:26 pm

It's one thing to have a million dollars to spend, it's quite another to mortgage yourself into a million dollars worth of debt.

While the family may not have been poor, by any stretch of the imagination, I don't know that they could be considered "Rich"

And there is very likely a book, and maybe even a movie to be made from all this, and I hope that both of the wrongly accused will benefit from the proceeds, at least enough to resolve the expenses, and to perhaps pay for their continuing education in some other school.