American Student Jailed Over Italy Murder

Judge Rules Sufficient Evidence To Keep Victim's Roomate, 20, Jailed Pending Investigation

(CBS/AP)  An Italian judge ruled Friday that an American student, her Italian boyfriend and a Congolese bar owner should remain in jail as suspects in the death of a British student, a lawyer said.

Amanda Marie Knox, 20, Raffaele Sollecito, 24, and Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, 38, have been detained in connection with the sexual assault and killing of Knox's roommate, Meredith Kercher, 21, who was found dead Nov. 2.

Knox has been formally arrested but has not yet been charged, Sky News' Greg Miliam told The Early Show.

Judge Claudia Matteini said in a 19-page ruling that there was sufficient evidence to keep them in jail for up to a year while the investigation continues, said Luca Maori, one of Sollecito's lawyers.

"We didn't expect it," Maori told reporters, adding that he planned to appeal.

He cautioned that he still had to read the ruling, but said that the defense team was "perplexed" by the judge's decision.

The three have denied involvement in the killing, according to their lawyers.

Under Italian law, suspects can be kept behind bars without being charged if a judge rules there is enough evidence to jail them and there is a chance they might flee, repeat the crime or tamper with evidence. Depending on the course of the investigation, prosecutors may later seek to indict the suspects and put them on trial.

Kercher's body was found in the apartment she shared with Knox and police said she died fighting off a sexual attack. The coroner said Kercher was stabbed in the neck, but police say no murder weapon has been found.

Italian newspapers have reported that Kercher was found with reporters Knox's bloody fingerprint on her face.

Jeff Tripoli, a friend of Knox's from the University of Washington told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm that she has been misportrayed in the media as a "party girl."

"I don't think there's a harmful bone in her body," he said. "I've never seen her do anything to excess that any other college student wouldn't do."

[mediabrat60]

Where any chinese toys involved?

[andrew_693]

I guess this is what happens when a civilized society lets illegal americans into their society. Lets see if the italians are as biggots as americans are and start blaming the immigration problem for this murder.

[zootallures2]

Maybe they just arested her for going over 500 mph at 700 feet...lol.

[wonderyman-2009]

Anyone wanting to see the really sordid details of what presumably went down her - go to www.dailymail.co.uk
The US press is treating this really low-key.

[hypnotoad72]

*gasp* The student murdered the country of Italy? Don''t you mean "American Student Jailed Over Italian''s Murder"?

[kfreeman67]

The comments posted by staycalm and greeneyes222 are right on the money:

If you travel to another country and don''t behave by the letter of the law, and choose to associate with those on the criminal fringe, or choose not to extricate yourself when the wierdness starts going down, or choose to be too stoned to extricate yourself when the wierdness starts going down, then you might just get a lot more trouble than you bargained for.

Regarding the posting by staycalm, I agree completely. Garbage in, garbage out. We are ruining our children with a relentless barrage of garbage. The *** they are exposed to is absolutely horrifying, and it takes mighty diligence to avoid it seeping in. They''re going to be exposed to the worst the world has to offer anyway, but we can at least protect them from it until they are old enough to digest it properly and put it in perspective. You think letting your kids watch Jerry Springer when they''re 8 or 9 won''t have consequences later? Good luck with that.
You''d better make *** sure you''re raising future adults, not just raising children, or heaven help ''em when they''re out of your sight, because they might just be incable of behaving like adults.

[greeneyes222]

If the judge rules there''s enough evidence to hold her, so be it. If you go to another country, you''re subject to their laws.

[zootallures2]

American jailed in Italy. What a great way to sell your one world government.

[str8arow]

I suspect rape-date drugs were given to both girls. There are a lot of weirdos in the world.

[lastdance4]

Too bad Iraq - Is not a Democratic Government with Civil Laws.
The Blackwater incident would have never occurred.

Perhaps if this student was a - Federal Employee
The State Department would grant her Immunity from Murder charges.

I don''t think the Government of of Italy
The Italian people would stand for any interference within
it''s Juridical System by - The State Department

Lastdance

[scottyusa]

When you sign something (the fingerprint) in blood it sticks. She got caught "red handed". I hope Italy is not like america where the amount of guilt is indirectly propotional to the amount of money one has.

[denn034]

If US Ambassadors don''t get a free ride where murder is concerned, then, nor should US citizens. Italy is right to detain that possibly murderous American.

[rfcnj68]

Forget the trail keep them in jail they are guilty.

[staycalm]

Jeff Tripoli describes Amanda Knox as being just like any other college girl and I believe him. What we need to realize is that all these years of parents telling themselves that the music, movies and pornography that our children have been marinated in are harmless has been wishful thinking. To expose innocent children to what our sick society constantly bombards them with and then expect them to be normal is just not realistic. Get ready for the onslaught of the children we have raised.

[nolalou]

The CBS version of this story is very vague. For more details, check this site: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2827877.ece

[missingamerica]

"that Kercher was found with reporters Knox''s bloody fingerprint on her face" is an interesting sentence, I just realized.

Glad CBS said it first and I just quoted it.

[missingamerica]

Kercher was found with reporters Knox''s bloody fingerprint on her face?

Wow.

Either crazy, incredibly stupid, wacked out of her mind on drugs, or a spoiled rich kid who thinks her mommy and daddy can fix anything.

[casawade]

andrew_693 - It is not fair to judge "most" American college students as a*** based only by the ones you met. That only applies to a mere handful but these handful of a***''s are the only ones we hear about in the news. And where are you when you meet these types as you describe? In the same places as they are? What does that say about you? ALSO....Meredith is "the poor British girl", the murder victim and Amanda Knox is the suspect. The disgusting part about the picture of her posing with a gun is that the picture was taken at a Holocaust museum and Amanda was posing with the gun pointed right at her head. Pathetic.

[sunshie25]

If she is like most american female university students I met, meredith is definitely a ***.

andrew_693
=============

Careful, Andrew. Meredith is the poor dead girl. Amanda is the ****. And yes, I agree with you.

[andrew_693]

If she is like most american female university students I met, meredith is definitely a ***. I read in another newspaper that in her myspace, she poses with gunswhile her demented boyfriend poses dressed in a doctor''s uniform pretending to be mad doctor. I feel sorry for the poor british girl.