Question for Mom
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 59,377
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From: La Crescenta, CA
From today's LA Times:
"But the case against them began to crumble during the appeals trial when an independent review commissioned by the defense cast major doubt on the DNA evidence's reliability. Police detectives had failed to change their gloves when picking up different items in the apartment, making contamination of samples likely, and the bra clasp was not taken away for testing until 46 days after the slaying. The DNA review found that the evidence was severely compromised by sloppy police collection methods and subpar forensic testing, a devastating conclusion that prosecutors could not successfully counter.
Only one person remains in prison in connection with Kercher's death: Rudy Hermann Guede, a small-time drug dealer and drifter. Guede's DNA was found at the scene, leading to his conviction and sentence of 16 years in prison, but he maintains his innocence and has fingered Knox and Sollecito as the killers. The pair's attorneys say Guede acted alone in the attack. Sollecito and Knox have insisted they spent the evening in question watching a movie at Sollecito's house, smoking pot and having sex, and were nowhere near the apartment Knox and Kercher shared."
"But the case against them began to crumble during the appeals trial when an independent review commissioned by the defense cast major doubt on the DNA evidence's reliability. Police detectives had failed to change their gloves when picking up different items in the apartment, making contamination of samples likely, and the bra clasp was not taken away for testing until 46 days after the slaying. The DNA review found that the evidence was severely compromised by sloppy police collection methods and subpar forensic testing, a devastating conclusion that prosecutors could not successfully counter.
Only one person remains in prison in connection with Kercher's death: Rudy Hermann Guede, a small-time drug dealer and drifter. Guede's DNA was found at the scene, leading to his conviction and sentence of 16 years in prison, but he maintains his innocence and has fingered Knox and Sollecito as the killers. The pair's attorneys say Guede acted alone in the attack. Sollecito and Knox have insisted they spent the evening in question watching a movie at Sollecito's house, smoking pot and having sex, and were nowhere near the apartment Knox and Kercher shared."
