Knox's Mom: No Hint Of Her At Murder Scene

(CBS/AP)  Amanda Knox's mother is trying to punch holes in the prosecution's murder case against her daughter.

Knox, from Seattle, is on trial along with Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for allegedly killing Meredith Kercher, Knox's British roommate in the central Italian town of Perugia.

Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, testified Friday and was in court as a spectator on Saturday.

Speaking from outside the courthouse, Mellas told Early Show Saturday Edition co-anchor Chris Wragge, "One of the big things you don't hear a lot about is the fact that, at the actual crime scene, there's no, no physical evidence of Amanda - not a hair, not a fingerprint ... nothing.

"The DNA (prosecutors say was found at the scene) is so insignificant - it's this tiny spot, it's not blood, it could well have come from ... who knows where."

The trial is now examining forensic evidence, CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey reported from Perugia Saturday, and the Kercher family has asked that it not been made public. Some of it, Pizzey says, is so graphic it made one jury member ill.

A coroner told a jury Saturday that a stab wound to Kercher's neck was caused by a shorter knife than the one believed to be the murder weapon, news reports said.

Prosecutor say Kercher's DNA - and Knox's - was found on the longer knife.

Francesco Introna, on the witness stand Saturday, also said no more than a single attacker could have assaulted the victim on the night of the 2007 slaying, the ANSA news agency said.

Kercher's body was found in the apartment she shared with Knox on Nov. 2, 2007.

Knox and Sollecito both deny wrongdoing. They are charged with murder and sexual violence in what prosecutors assert began as a sex game.

Introna, who was called to the stand by Sollecito's defense lawyers, testified that the cut on Kercher's neck was made with a knife with a 3 - 3-1/2-inch-long blade, ANSA said.

Prosecutors say that a 6-1/2-inch knife found at Sollecito's house matched the victim's wounds and could be the murder weapon. They say the knife had Kercher's DNA on the blade and Knox's on the handle.

A third person, Rudy Hermann Guede of the Ivory Coast, was convicted in a separate trial last year and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He denies wrongdoing and has appealed his conviction.

Introna said that the bedroom where Kercher was killed was too small and that it would be "physically impossible" that three people could have attacked her, ANSA said.

[Observer4]

Please read this and do some real journalism/reporting for ONCE:
How The Media Should Approach The Case If Justice Is To Be Done

http://truejustice.org/ee/index.php

This is one of the most seriously misreported cases in recent history, and a line really needs to be drawn.

Much of the media are doing no digging, consulting no Italians, repeatedly recycling discredited sources and those with a vested interest in the outcome, stating facts that are not facts, ignoring other facts that really are facts, revealing no understanding of how the Italian judicial process works, and often depicting the Italian professionals with contempt.

[OLEANDER_]

I read the link. Thanks for making it available.
I will say that I think that author of the piece has just as may holes in his writing as most American jouralist in thiers regarding this case, his just happens to go into greater detail than what I have read to date. A lot if it seemed to be his analyss of ?what if? senarios and his attempt to explain. (however weak) There are 9 paragraphs that?s start out with ?If Amanda were truly innocent wouldn?t she have?.?
That is not reprting facts that is speading his personal opinion.

Six bloody footprints from bare feet were identified (one shoe print was also found under Meredith?s pillow--the print is consistent with the size of Amanda?s shoe).

And how many countless others could it be consistant with? I have size 8.5, Do you think I was there?
They have been watching her since day one. Have they found her bloody shoes? Bloody clothes? I mean come on!

The neighbor has testified that she heard a very loud, long scream that night (presumably Meredith?s last), followed not long thereafter by the sounds of two to three different people running from the area (it was unusual to hear people running at that time of night). The neighbor was 69 and could not remember exactly the date she heard the screaming

Not what I would consider creitable. 69 years old with a bad memory? I wouldn?t want her as a winess regardless of guilt or innocense. Dismiss the witness and her testimony please.

And these are just a few, upon re-reading the piece I found even more things that just didn?t add up. I can say if she is guilty or not but the press, the judge, the readers have been less than fair to this girl.

[OLEANDER_]

I read the link. Thanks for making it available.
I will say that I think that author of the piece has just as may holes in his writing as most American jouralist in thiers regarding this case, his just happens to go into greater detail than what I have read to date. A lot if it seemed to be his analyss of ?what if? senarios and his attempt to explain. (however weak) There are 9 paragraphs that?s start out with ?If Amanda were truly innocent wouldn?t she have?.?
That is not reprting facts that is speading his personal opinion.

Six bloody footprints from bare feet were identified (one shoe print was also found under Meredith?s pillow--the print is consistent with the size of Amanda?s shoe).

And how many countless others could it be consistant with? I have size 8.5, Do you think I was there?
They have been watching her since day one. Have they found her bloody shoes? Bloody clothes? I mean come on!

The neighbor has testified that she heard a very loud, long scream that night (presumably Meredith?s last), followed not long thereafter by the sounds of two to three different people running from the area (it was unusual to hear people running at that time of night). The neighbor was 69 and could not remember exactly the date she heard the screaming

Not what I would consider creitable. 69 years old with a bad memory? I wouldn?t want her as a winess regardless of guilt or innocense. Dismiss the witness and her testimony please.

And these are just a few, upon re-reading the piece I found even more things that just didn?t add up. I can say if she is guilty or not but the press, the judge, the readers have been less than fair to this girl.

[OLEANDER_]

Something about this little girl is just creepy. I cant say that she is guilty but the DNA on the bra strap is hard to dismiss. The DNA all over the rest of home is not all that alarming to me, she was staying there. We all leave little traces of DNA whereever we go.

[formrusmcsgt]

Knox's Mom: No Hint Of Her At Murder Scene
---
Who cares what the mnother of the accused thinks?

It's what the judge thinks that matters.

Mother's children are always innocent.

Sheesh.

[Illuminated1]

Conflicting evidence says its undetermined, and means the prosecution is in denial.
The coroner says a small blade, the prosecutor says a large one.
There is no case against the defendants until there is.
The two will probably walk off free.

[rwsmith29456]

For one thing, it's not vital to have DNA evidence, though that certainly helps. Second, Knox lived there and if they found her DNA all over the apartment it would only show that she spent a lot of time there which everybody already knows.

[naj1953]

I don't know, but I see this girl smiling all the time...in pictures. It gives me the creeps.

[janeyre-2009]

Knox dna, boyfriend's dna, were both found on the deceased bra strap. Explain that please.