A Long Way From Home

48 Hours Investigates The U.S. Student Jailed In Italy For Her Roommate's Murder

(CBS)  Ciolino wanted to talk to this key witness himself. He took 48 Hours' translator, Julia Alagna, to the woman's door.

"She heard a scream and somebody run away," the translator said after speaking with Nara.

The windows, Nara told the translator, were closed at the time.

Ciolino wanted to see-or hear-for himself. Nara's upstairs neighbor let Ciolino into her apartment to find out what he could hear.

Outside, 48 Hours got some local kids to do some running to see if the sounds were audible inside the neighbor's apartment, with the window's closed.

The result: Ciolino says he heard something but couldn't tell if it was footsteps; the neighbor, Christine, says she didn't hear anything.

At the very least, the unscientific test raises serious questions about what Nara really heard that night, and even she isn't as certain as police have suggested.

"She didn’t know what it…she couldn’t tell if it was one or two or three," Nara told Ciolino through the translator.

Nara also didn’t know what time it was that she heard the sounds. But she is very clear about one thing: she says she was never interviewed by the police.

As hard as it is to believe, police only saw the witness on television. "This is fascinating to me because not one cop in this town has ever knocked on this woman's door, not one time," Ciolino says.

Ciolino says if Amanda had actually been involved in Meredith's murder, police should have a lot more evidence to prove it. "When you or I walk into a room and we mess it up with blood and DNA and sweat we're going to bring a whole lot of stuff home with us. And we're going to leave even more there. But we have a problem in this case. Because they can’t put Amanda and Raffaele in that crime scene," Ciolino says.

"But you know who put Amanda at the crime scene? Amanda put Amanda at the crime scene. Who signs a statement that implicates them and their friends to murder? Who does that? Why would Amanda sign that?" Van Sant asks.

"Let me tell you, Peter, a confused 20-year-old girl, 6,000 miles from home, and all of a sudden they’re telling her she’s a prime suspect in a murder, that they’re gonna put her in prison for the rest of her life in an Italian jail, unless you pony up baby, and sign this," Ciolino says.

That’s what the case against Amanda boils down to, says Ciolino: a police theory that formed the basis for a coerced confession.

How does this work?

"This is real easy, okay? 'Amanda, you know what happened and I know what happened. And you better sign this statement because if you don't, young lady, you're never gonna see your mom again. You're never gonna see your daddy again.' 'Sir, it didn't really happen like that.' 'Bip, yes, it did happen like that, Amanda. And this is how it happened. You were with Patrick. And you and him went over there and he murdered your roommate. Now, maybe, maybe you didn't know that was gonna happen. But you certainly were there and you helped make it happen. Now, you better get writing or sign this or bad things are gonna happen like we're gonna charge you with the murder.' That's why there's no video. There is no audio. There is no independent party. There's Amanda and there's the cops. That's it. And who's gonna believe Amanda?" Ciolino says.

Amanda's signed statement helped form the backbone of the original police theory of the crime: that Amanda and Raffaele assisted Patrick Lumumba when he killed Meredith.

"And that's a great theory until the science comes rolling in, until the fingerprints show up," Ciolino says.

When Lumumba proved he had an alibi, and police matched DNA to Rudy Guede, the original theory didn’t work anymore.

"But now we have another problem, because Amanda didn’t know him. And Raffaele don’t know him," Ciolino explains.

[poidog88]

Amanda is a sociopath and would kill you baby without blinking an eye. Seriously, she's borderline personality and only thinks of herself. Don't be fooled by her appearance.

[sweetdea]

I think everyone should write to our new president to ask him for help for amanda knox our old president was to worried in fighting his daddy battles he had now time for the people that put him in office. we all need to fight for amanda to get our government involded

[johnsm99]

Its hard to be polite to the nonsensical posters who believe this ridiculous case. I heard about the details too and was skeptical but initially took the mountain of PR at its word. Its clear this is a classic pathetic police frameup. Ive seen case after case where the police seem come to an insanely ridiculous conclusion out of the blue in the first week or so and then try to force a false confession which is shockingly common. Then just out of the fear of looking foolish, do anything to hang on to the ridiculous story even if it means execution or life imprisonment. It happens in every country, even in the US. There are other cases where the public due to their nationality and ethnicity, defend clearly guilty trendy people too and the police get a bad rap---but this is in the former camp.
Its actually frightening how ignorant people can be and how easily they can be manipulated into thinking someone is guilty or innocent. Remember the proof that prosecutors claimed to have and the confession by a recent Jon Benet suspect? There was a blizzard of media coverage and claims of evidence and people screaming he was guilty.
Why doesnt the US intervene? The US or any country generally doesnt unless its a high profile case in which a large group in the US makes a fuss. Maybe with this report there will be fuss though shes not a hip trendy defendant pretending to be a revolutionary.

This is a complete sham, anyone with a brain can see that.

[letters4ak]

If anyone would like to send a letter to Amanda, e-mail it to:

[e-mail]

Her friends will mail it to her if it is not hate-mail.

[letters4ak]

If anyone would like to send a letter to Amanda, e-mail it to:

[e-mail]

Her friends will mail it to her if it is not hate-mail.

[letters4ak]

If anyone would like to send a letter to Amanda, e-mail it to:

[e-mail]

Her friends will mail it to her if it is not hate-mail.

[grace991]

If Amanda Knox is such a great "All American Girl" and is innocent, why didn''t US government stand up for her? US government is well-known standing up for its citizens overseas; in many cases, US government over do by standing up for its citizens. Why in this case, US government keeps silent from the very beginning until now? The reason is very obvious, US government and FBI don''t believe Amanda Knox is innocent. Knox family made every effort to persuade congressmen, senators, officials of Department of State and US Embassy in Italy to stand up for their daughter, but none of them did. Why? Does the US government decide to abandon American citiznes? Does the US government decide to remain blind while foreign countries "abuse" their citizens? Give me a break! I understand Paul Ciolino is money-driven to twist facts of the case. How could CBS be so subjective and presenting public with such twisted facts. Shame on CBS!!!

[grace991]

To Roscoezzz: If you believe that Americans are hated by other countries, you should ask why; especially, if you believe Americans are hated by European countries. If American media, like CBS and ABC in this regard, continue to adopt communist China''s stratety to twist facts by picturing Amanda Knox as a great "All American Girl", Americans are certainly hated by noble and decent people all over the world. If you follow the real news of this case, you should know that cell phone records showed Amanda and Rudy Guede called each other before and after the murder. Per your comments, they didn''t know each other. How could they make a phone call to each other if they didn''t know each other? Why did they make phone calls right before and after the murder?

[roscoezzz]

Welcome back 48 Hours Mystery! I missed you.
Now, I believe that Americans are hated by other Countries and it seems no different here from the Italians.
Amanda''s DNA is on the knife and also on the victim''s bra. But, weren''t they roommates? Don''t roommates share things? Plus, the boyfriend''s shoe print was stepped in blood, but it isn''t from his actual shoe. Where''s the real evidence?
The second man arrested didn''t even know the accused couple. Then the investigators changed their story from Rape to Robbery after they charged the wrong black man. The girl is being railroaded by the British and Italian press. They formed an opinion, like when they went to buy her underwear and she was supposedly going to have freak *** with her boyfriend because the murder turned her on! Puuuuhhhllleeeez!
If Amanda didn''t confess. This wouldn''t be a Mystery.

[thelinnet]

There was no tampon with DNA on it. This is a mistranslation of "tampone"-- swab.

Almost as sad as the murder is this self-serving program and the blindness of Ms. Knox''s parents and those who believe that an innocent little American girl is caught up in some third world police state.

Fingerprints? Blood? DNA? How can science dare to challenge our twice-dean''s listed premiere soccer player elite Jesuit school educated darling? Our little darling''s past of drugs and *** on the train? How mean! She is taking the fall for being American! Of course, whenever there is a murder in Italy they round up Americans! Raffaele isn''t American. Millions of Americans visit Italy and don''t leave their blood at a murder scene.

Has anyone stopped to wonder ... Amanda said she found the door open, and saw blood in bathroom...and then she went and took a shower? (the story doesn''t point out that she admitted seeing blood before getting in the shower). Maybe she hasn''t seen Psycho.

"If you could throw someone in prison for what they put on My Space we would all be sitting there"? 1) She is there because of physical evidence and lying, and 2) speak for yourself!

Yes, when you leave the USA, you are subject to the laws of the country you are visiting. I don''t think we''d like it much if an Italian were in jail in the USA accused of murder and the Italian government swooped in and overrode our laws.

Even after 14 hours I would accuse an innocent person of murder.

[ranger1948]

I think the real goal should be to discover evidennce that would convict the persons guilty of this crime. Most people are not capable of planning a crime and carrying it out without leaving contradictory evidence. This is what the police investigators are trained to do collect the evidence, sift thru and verify what is true and isn''t then provide a case that will hold uyp in a court of law to obtain a conviction. I think we all need to wait for the trial to see what really happened.

[cmp271]

It''s amazing how the parents are so blind to their own child''s character and behavior.

Most parents think their child is so pure and innocent. It is a real wake up to discover their child is active and wild.

[cmp271]

This storey is old news. It was all over the British press. Her storey does not add up. There were alot of drugs involved, and of course sseexx, it sounded like a threesome gone wrong.

Why are there so many pages wasted on this sorry storey. why do you believe she would be innocent? because she is an American? Ever hear of Americans going wild when they are away from home? Many GI''s have gotten charged with serious assault-one guy stabbed his girlfriend 20 times-and murder.

[missingpiec1]

True Dat,

graphic(mental viz) nothing shown
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=
/news/2007/11/12/wkercher412.xml

This mentions the clothes she was wearing in the CCTV,

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=
/news/2007/11/12/wkercher312.xml

This one has some interesting facts on cell phone whereabouts and other facts,

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/eur
ope/article2852819.ece

Here is a liberal site, and American, for the "source mongers" :)

www.newsweek.com/id/70610

Here are a few excerpts from the same, Newsweek.com. site, written by Barbie Nadeau, Nov 15th 2007.

" A 19-page report, released by investigating judge Claudia Matteini, tells a squalid tale of dangerous *** games and a disturbing tale about Knox, the blond, blue-eyed student from Seattle who adopted the online name "Foxy Knoxy."




In Perugia, the judge''s report records a pattern of inconsistent statements by Knox and Sollecito, who had been dating less than a month. (Sollecito''s Facebook page included a photo of himself wrapped in bandages and brandishing a meat cleaver; his Oct. 19 blog post expressed a desire for "extreme ***" to break up the monotony of a regular relationship.

But it is not just Knox''s inconsistencies and fingerprints that Italian authorities are using to build the case against her. The judge''s report includes cell phone records indicating that Knox sent a message to Lumumba earlier that evening, telling him her roommate was home and "see you later."

[missingpiec1]

It appears that Paul Ciolino gets paid when he gets people out of jail.

Therefore everything he says must be considered in that light.

In other words if he does not get Amanda Knox of the hook, Paul Ciolino does not get a big payout.

Therefore, what would you expect him to say regarding Amanda Knox?

[missingpiec1]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22332240/page/5/

Clint Van Zandt: The significance was going to be she alleged that she had spent the night at her boyfriend''s house. And if you think about a drop of blood is normally going to dry from the outside in.
Dennis Murphy: So blood from two days ago would look different than--
Clint Van Zandt: Entirely different. That refutes Amanda%u2019s story that she wasn''t there that night.
Dennis Murphy: They seem to think it was a pretty good piece of evidence.
Clint Van Zandt: They do. They think that''s a very good piece of evidence. We have fingerprints. We have footprints. We have basically fresh blood. We have DNA evidence, all of that places two and probably three people in the apartment, in the murder room with the victim at the time it happened. This is someone who was a victim from the get go and all the way through.
And Clint thinks Amanda, with the forensic evidence, her shifting stories -- yes I was there, no I wasn''t -- coupled with her false accusation of Lumumba has put her in a perilous situation.

[missingpiec1]

Could it be possible that Ciolino''s negative view of law enforcement personnel is due to historical conditioning?

In other words, has his experience with the law affected the way he perceives prosecutors and police officer?

Would it be possible that he may have diminished differentiation and thus simply categorically discounts any assertions made by police and/or prosecutors?

Hence, might it be necessary to consider Ciolino''s statements with judicious caution?
---------------------------------------------------
"12. On information and belief Rimland and Ciolino had a close personal and professional relationship which included Rimland representing Ciolino on a criminal charge of Assault filed in case #00-5-005307 in the Fifth District Circuit Court of Cook County."

Interesting, "Ciolino on a criminal charge of Assault" it says.

[streetg1]

In interviews over the weekend, Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, the Congolese bar owner and musician whom Knox initially accused of the murder and who has since been released from prison, said she had acted out of "revenge" because he had fired her from his bar, where she worked on two evenings a week. He said that he had offered the job to Kercher instead, and Knox had been jealous. "She wanted to be the queen bee. . .she hated anyone stealing her limelight," he said. Why was this left out?

[streetg1]

La Repubblica said police pathologists had found the "deeeply imprinted" marks of three fingers and a thumb in Kercher''s throat, confirming the theory that an attempt was made to strangle her before she was killed with a knife. Her jaw bone was fractured. A witness told police that a "colored man" running from the direction of the cottage at about 10:30 p.m. barged so violently into her boyfriend that he nearly knocked him over. Guede''s lawyers have disgreed over whether he had *** with Kercher, even though Guede admitted that he had, both in his initial statements and in Internet conversations intercepted by police. Investigators say his DNA was found "inside" Kercher''s body and on her tampon, and that his fingerprints were on her blood-stained pillow.
This is bothersome... According to Guede''s account, Knox was not in the house, though in at least one of her many confused and contradictory statements she has admitted that she was. Police say mobile phone records show that Guede and Knox talked to each other "several times" before the murder and after it.
Interesting.

[missingpiec1]

Would I be correct in assuming that the strategic plan is to uncover crucial evidence which will result in the freeing of Amanda Knox based on a legal technicality?


http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2006/01/simon_says.html



%u201C12. On information and belief Rimland and Ciolino had a close personal and professional relationship which included Rimland representing Ciolino on a criminal charge of Assault filed in case #00-5-005307 in the Fifth District Circuit Court of Cook County.%u201D
Interesting, %u201CCiolino on a criminal charge of Assault%u201D it says
%u201C14. In 1999 Jack Rimland was the President of the Illinois Attorneys for Criminal Justice. On May 7, 1999, while purporting to be representing Alstory Simon, he presented awards to David Protess, Paul Ciolino and five (5) students for their actions in freeing Anthony Porter and developing evidence against his client. Rimland, in presenting these awards stated: %u201CDavid Protess and his students utilized their talents as investigative journalists and successfully uncovered crucial evidence resulting in the freeing of Anthony Porter%u201D. (See May 21, 1999 Inside Medill News attached as Exhibit 43).%u201D


Interesting, it says %u201CDavid Protess and his students utilized their talents as investigative journalists and successfully uncovered crucial evidence resulting in the freeing of Anthony Porter%u201D.