Slain Student's DNA Found On Knife

DNA From American Student Also Found On Knife Belonging To Her Italian Boyfriend

(CBS/AP)  Italian police have found DNA traces of a slain British student and of her American roommate - jailed as a suspect in the case - on a knife that may have been the murder weapon, lawyers and news reports said.

Police seized the kitchen knife in the house of Raffaele Sollecito, the Italian boyfriend of American Amanda Marie Knox. The couple has been arrested, along with Congolese musician and bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, on suspicion of killing Meredith Kercher, 21.

Sollecito's lawyers and family said in a written statement Thursday evening that traces of the DNA of both Knox and Kercher were found on the knife in Sollecito's house. Sollecito's DNA was not found on the knife, the statement said.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said that Kercher's DNA was found on the tip of the knife, while Knox's was on the handle. Corriere della Sera and other reports said the knife had a 6.7-inch blade, and that investigators believed it to be the murder weapon.

"It's critical evidence," forensic scientist Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky told CBS' The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen. "When you have the DNA of the suspect and the victim on the same item, it's critical. It links Amanda Knox to the victim directly."

"But one thing still needs to be established, and that is that this was the knife used to kill Ms. Kercher," Kobilinsky said.

Police say an impression from one of Sollecito's tennis shoes is said to match a print found in the blood in the house where the murder victim was discovered, reports CBS News correspondent Mark
Phillips.

"Analysis from a shoe pattern, especially from a sneaker that can be an absolute identification," Kobilinsky told The Early Show.

Police are also investigating a hair sample found under the victim's fingernail, trying to establish whether they can link it to any of the suspects.

Knox's lawyer was not available for comment Friday.

Kercher's body was found Nov. 2 in the apartment she shared with Knox near the center of Perugia, a small Medieval city in central Italy that hosts two major universities and draws thousands of foreign students every year.

The circumstances surrounding the killing remain unclear, and police were carrying out forensic tests on Sollecito's house on Friday, reports said.

Police said Kercher died fighting off a sexual attack, and that she was stabbed in the neck.

The three suspects have been detained since Nov. 6. No charges have been filed, but an Italian judge who ordered the three to remain in jail last week said that there were "serious indications of guilt."

The three have all denied involvement. Knox, 20, from Seattle, has changed her version of events several times, at one point accusing the Congolese suspect. She has always maintained her innocence.

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[peaceprophet]

WERE HAVING A TEA PARTY! YOU''RE INVITED
As we all know, freedom isn''t free in this country. Therefore, in the wake of our successful fundraising event of November 5th, in which we all came together to raise $4.2 million dollars for Ron Paul''s campaign, we''ve set yet another date for an even bigger fundraiser. This one will take place during on December 16th: a very important date for people who love freedom and hate tyranny to ring the Liberty Bell, and let our sold-out, globalist, political ****** and their mainstream media enablers know that good Americans are mad as hell, and that we''re not going to take it anymore. December 16th is the 224th aniversary of The Boston Tea Party: an act of protest by the American colonists against the tyranny of Great Britain where the Sons of Liberty boarded British ships and dumped crates of tea overboard into Boston Harbor. It was a key event which helped to spark the American Revolution, and we hope this event will, likewise, add additional spark to our own 21st Century political revolution to restore peace, prosperity and freedom to our Republic by helping elect a President whose record of adherance to The Constitution is unmatched by anyone in American politics. Please join us this December 16th for the largest one-day political donation event in history. Our goal is to bring together 100,000 people to donate $100 each, creating a one day donation total of $10,000,000. The time to act is now. The time for Ron Paul is NOW! TeaParty07.com

[peaceprophet]

HOPE FOR AMERICA: PRESIDENT RON PAUL

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-- No more illegal aliens pouring-in over our country''s borders
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-- No more national ID cards (Real ID Act)
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"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men"
- Samual Adams

"Those who expect to reap the blessing of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine

"Ron Paul doesn''t represent your Father''s school of political thought. He represents your Founding Fathers."
- Me

[shiptonsarch]

likablunch is a babbling idiot. Shut up and do us all a favor.

[agarwal1]

See the murder plot caught on tape....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYjQpFAGUrQ

[mediabrat60]

Threw it away for a man. Very sad.
It''s probably as simple as lacking that fatherly love growing up as a child.

[jetlizhan]

stupid, stupid girl - she''s literally thrown her life away and she did it all on her own.