Knox's Mom Says Daughter, Victim Got Along

By: Edecio Martinez
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP Photo/Stefano Medici)

PERUGIA, Italy (CBS/AP) The mother of Amanda Knox, the American student accused of killing her British roommate in Italy, said Friday that her daughter and the victim "got along great."

Amanda Knox is on trial on charges of murder and sexual violence in the 2007 slaying of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, central Italy. Her mother, Edda Mellas, took the stand on Friday. She said there were no problems between her daughter and Kercher.

"They got along great," Mellas told the eight-member jury. "She told me about the fun things she and Meredith did," she said, without elaborating.

Knox's father, Curt, told CBS' The Early Show from Seattle that his ex-wife's testimony conveyed the real "shock" their daughter was in at the time of the murder.

"We're now getting a new side of the story," he said.

Last week, Knox testified she was stunned by the death of Kercher, whom she considered her friend. This contrasted with previous testimony by other witnesses that Kercher had complained about Knox's bathroom habits and had expressed surprise at her apparent promiscuity.

Knox is on trial together with her Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. Both deny wrongdoing.

Mellas also testified about three phone calls she received from Knox on Nov. 2, 2007, the morning Kercher's body was found in her bedroom.

"In her first call, she said she thought somebody was in the house," Mellas said.

Last week, Knox recalled going home that morning to find the front door open. She said she took a shower and saw blood in one of the apartment's bathrooms.

The second and third calls were made after Kercher's body was discovered, Mellas said.

"She was very upset, it was disturbing," Mellas said.

Also on Friday, Sollecito's father testified his son was never violent and would not "hurt a fly."

Francesco Sollecito also told the court that his son liked to carry "small knives" in his pockets, a habit he picked up when he was younger.

Kercher was stabbed in the neck.

Prosecutors say that a kitchen knife found at Sollecito's apartment is compatible with Kercher's wounds. Knox's DNA was found on the knife's handle and trace amounts of DNA found on the blade might be the victim's. But an analysis of the case by 48 Hours Mystery questioned those claims, finding serious irregularities with how the evidence was collected and disagreeing with the conclusion that the knife matched the victim's wounds.

Police have testified that Sollecito carried a different knife to the police station after the killing.

Prosecutors believe Knox, Sollecito and a third person already convicted in a separate trial went to Kercher's home the night of the murder and killed the British woman in what began as a sex game.

Sollecito, 25, has said he was at his own apartment the entire night of Nov. 1. He said he does not remember if Knox spent the whole night with him or just part of it.

Knox said she spent the night at Sollecito's apartment and went back to her place the following morning.

Both suspects have been jailed since shortly after the slaying.

The third person involved, Ivory Coast national Rudy Hermann Guede, denied wrongdoing but was convicted of murder last year and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The Amanda Knox Case Was Investigated By 48 Hours Mystery In April

PREVIOUSLY ON CRIMESIDER
June 15, 2009 - "Always A Crescendo:" Amanda Knox Talks About Murder Investigation On Stand
June 12, 2009 - Knox's Alibi: Sex, Drugs And Sleep
June 12, 2009 - Amanda Knox Finally Tells Her Side Of The Story
June 8, 2009 - Amanda Knox Set To Testify In Italian Murder Trial
June 5, 2009 - Victim's Family To Testify In Amanda Knox In Italian Murder Trial

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by Matthews24 March 20, 2010 2:19 PM EDT: I have been following this case since the beginning & I hope that Meredith is at peace & that her family will soon find closure. However, I believe that Meredith is not the only victim in this case. I have worked as an investigator for the past 15-years. I have NEVER been convinced that Knox/Sollecito were ever involved in this horrible murder. Without a doubt the prosecutor/police have "tunnel vision" & absolutely botched the investigation in this case. For those of you who want to ignore the obvious, I will point out a few obvious facts.

Fact 1: The prosecutor/police theory for motive is based on the vision of a so-called psychic, who claims to have seen Knox, Sollecito & another person involved in a sex game & Meredith was murdered, because she no longer wanted to participate in the sex game. Give me a freaking break!

Fact 2: It has been proven by video documentation that the police involved in this case, did not protect the crime scene & left evidence at the scene of the crime for weeks after the murder was committed. Video documentation of the crime scene, shows Meredith's bra clasp being moved around the floor of the bedroom where her murder took place. Weeks later, the bra clasp was finally collected by CSI's, who did NOT follow proper procedure for collecting evidence. Furthermore, in the video of the crime scene, the CSI's are shown picking up the bra clasp & holding it in their hands, which no doubt contaminated this evidence, & since there is no way to know what evidence was contaminated by the CSI's who worked this crime scene, all physical evidence in the case against Knox/Sollecito should have been thrown out.

Fact 3: The prosecutor & police claim that both Knox/Kercher's DNA were found on a knife at Sollecito's apartment. However, since it was proven that CSI's previoulsy contaiminated evidence in this case, the minuscule amount of Kercher's DNA allegedly found at Sollecito's apartment should be attributed to the sloppy work of the CSI's & thrown out.

Fact 4: NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE. Although both Knox & Sollecito's DNA were found at the crime scene, it is worthless as far as proving their guilt, since Knox lived at the residence & Sollecito was a frequent guest at the residence.

Fact 5: The police found on a bathmat at the residence a partial bloody footprint, which was proven to belong to Rudy Guede, who admitted being in Meredith's bedroom the night she was murdered.

Fact 6: Based on the report that Meredith was stabbed &/or beaten to death, the perpetrator(s) in this crime would have had Meredith's blood on their clothing/body. However, none of Meredith's blood was ever found on any clothing belonging to Knox/Sollecito.

Fact 6: Unfortunatly, false confessions happen more than the police will ever admit. Any experienced investigator/interrogator who knows how to "read a person" can find the right buttons to push in order to obtain a "confession" from someone under duress. At the time of her arrest, Knox did not speak or understand fluent Italian & had never been arrested before, so she was very naive when it came to techniques used by police to elicit a confession. Under the circumstances, the police should have NEVER questioned Knox without an interpreter. It is not surprising that Knox said some things in her so-called
"confession", which could be interpreted as incriminating & they really mean nothing as far as her guilt is concerned. Her so-called
"confession" should have been thrown out.

Fact 7: In many other cases where a perpetrator used a knife to stab the victim, it has been demonstrated that it is nearly impossible to forcefully stab someone, without the knife slipping & cutting the perpetrator's hand/fingers. Knox nor Sollecito had any cuts or knife wounds on their hands the day after Meredith was murdered, which contradicts the prosecutors/police theory that Knox was the one who stabbed Meredith.

It is so obvious that the facts of this case point to Rudy Guede as the person who committed this horrible muder. Guede has been convicted of the murder of Meredith Kercher & is serving his time in prison. Hopefully, he will never see the light of day again.

The fact that Knox has been found guilty in this case is a travesty to justice. After Guede's conviction, the prosecutor should have done the right thing & admit he made a mistake in pursuing prosecution of Knox/Sollecito & dropped the charges.

It is so obvious, that the prosecutor has targeted these two innocent people based on nothing more than a so-called psychic's vision. He should be ashamed of himself for not admitting his mistake & continuing to ruin the lives of these two innocent people, but I doubt he even cares.

I believe most people will agree with me that it is better for a guilty person to be set free than to convict & inprison an innocent person.; Reply to this comment


by Roma1964 December 5, 2009 4:41 PM EST: I couldn't agree more. A.K is odd and appears to have enjoyed courting the press. All American girl, they say. Well pigtail hair can't diguise a cold-hearted killer. America! Accept that other countries have their own judicial system and as the saying goes, 'When in Rome...'

Justice for Meredith-Grazie Italy; Reply to this comment


by carolcape June 20, 2009 11:43 PM EDT: I have watched this program before and I don't believe that Amana Knox is an innocent person in all of this. I believe she took part in a gruesome crime against a very young innocent victim. She, I believe was jealous of the English lass and she wanted to shake her world. She was pretty cozy with her boyfriend in all of this. It stands to reason if your friend was murdered in such a horrific way, you would be a basket case. This woman is cold. I noticed when she was giving her evidence her hands never stopped moving. She thinks she is going to get out of this, but she is a cold blooded killer and she is not fooling anyone. I hope they throw the book at her, in Italian.; Reply to this comment