Knox's DNA also on Meredith's bra
- 00:01:41
- ITN
Knox's DNA also on Meredith's bra
DNA found on murdered student Meredith Kercher's bra does not prove suspect Raffaele Sollecito's guilt, his lawyer has said. The 24-year-old Italian is accused of killing Miss Kercher during a sex game with his American girlfriend Amanda Knox, 21, and Rudy Hermann Guede, 21. Lawyer Giulia Bongiorno said the bra also had DNA traces compatible with fellow suspects Knox and Guede, which indicated contamination rather than evidence against his client. Outside court, Ms Bongiorno said: "There are multiple traces of DNA on the bra. This is further proof of contamination." The decision by Sollecito's lawyers to link Knox to the evidence has been seen by some as proof the couple have turned on each other and his lawyers are now trying to implicate his girlfriend. The linking of Knox to the bra by Sollecito's lawyers is said to be the first time they have mentioned her name in their evidence. It is thought they referred to her as many as 20 times in their defence report. Lawyer Valter Biscotti, who represents Guede, refused to comment on the claims. Miss Kercher, an exchange student from Coulsdon, Surrey, was found dead on November 2 last year in the room she was staying in on her year abroad in Perugia, Italy. Her semi-naked body was covered with a duvet and her throat had been slit. Guede, who is from the Ivory Coast in west Africa, admits to being in the house Miss Kercher shared with Knox on the night of the murder, but like the other two he denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers have said he was in the bathroom when the crime took place and last week they pointed the finger at Knox and Sollecito. The three suspects are back in court in Perugia, where the prosecutor is due to give his response to the defence cases put forward last week. Judge Paolo Micheli will decide on Tuesday whether Knox and Sollecito should stand trial for the murder. He will also give his verdict on Guede, who is undergoing a fast track trial separate from his fellow suspects, which his lawyers requested amid fears of a pact between the former lovers to frame him. Lawyers for Knox and Sollecito are expected to give their final response this afternoon. Miss Kercher's family are due to arrive in the Umbrian hilltop town on Tuesday to hear the verdicts.
ITN | October 27, 2008
