Amanda Knox: 'Another Day Closer to Freedom'

Amanda Knox's appeal of her Italian murder conviction received a significant boost today from independent DNA experts who said there was no DNA on the two most crucial pieces of evidence used to convict her.

The family of Amanda Knox said that testimony today by DNA experts at the appeal of her Italian murder conviction was "huge" and put the American exchange student "another day closer to freedom."

The Knox family was buoyed by the testimony of court appointed experts who said the prosecution's collection, handling and interpreting of DNA on two crucial pieces of evidence used to convict Knox of killing her roommate was blatantly flawed.

Knox, looking pale and fragile, smiled slightly at her mother at the start of the hearing that could determine whether she is released from prison or must finish her 26 year sentence.

By the end of the hearing, however, she was more emotional.

"She was relieved. Another day done, another day closer to freedom," her mother Edda Mellas told ABC News.

"After the hearing Amanda told me she loves me and I gave her a big hug. She is feeling good, feeling better, but she is still going back to being locked up," Mellas said.

Mellas was delighted with the testimony by independent DNA experts Stefano Conti and Carla Vecchiotti, who were appointed by the court to review DNA evidence from the trial. Their review was very critical of the evidence.

"It was powerful... huge," Mellas said.

One thing that the experts criticized was the investigators using a dirty rubber glove while handling the evidence.
PHOTO: Amanda Knox looks on during a trial hearing where she is accused of murdering her flatmate in Perugia, Italy on July 25, 2011.
Stefano Medici/AP Photo
Amanda Knox looks on during a trial hearing... View Full Size
Amanda Knox Appeal: DNA Evidence Challenged by Experts Watch Video
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"To see it [the glove] in front of a judge was nice. It's one thing to hear from parents, defense experts. It's something else to have someone appointed by the court say it," said Chris Mellas, Amanda's stepfather.

Knox, 24, was convicted along with her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 27, of stabbing her British roommate Meredith Kercher to death in November 2007 in Perugia, Italy, where both girls were spending the year studying.

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Conti and Vecchiotti testified today that they found no DNA or blood on the blade of a knife found in Sollecito's kitchen that prosecutors claimed was the murder weapon. Prosecutors had claimed during the trial that the knife had DNA from both Knox and Kercher on it.

Amanda Knox DNA Evidence Challenged by Independent Experts

The experts told the court the manner in which the bra clasp was handled by investigators could have allowed it to be contaminated with Sollecito's DNA. They also criticized the way in which the DNA on the clasp was tested. Before concluding their testimony today, the experts recommended that the bra clasp should be excluded from the case.

The independent DNA experts told the court that the investigating team violated numerous protocols for the proper collection of DNA evidence. A ripple of laughter went through the courtroom at one point as the court was shown video of the detectives collecting DNA evidence, and doing the exact opposite of what the experts had just described was the proper method.

DNA evidence is supposed to be placed in paper bags, not plastic, and it should not be wiped, the experts said. The evidence in the Knox case was placed in plastic bags and video showed the investigators swiping Q-tips for evidence, and not changing their gloves at the proper moments.

In addition, the experts presented a catalogue of errors allegedly committed by the prosecution's forensic team, including how the evidence could have been contaminated, the original reports were missing certain data, the DNA was not quantified at times, and how control tests were not used.

Dr. Patrizia Stefanoni, who led the prosecution's forensic investigation, looked uncomfortable during today's testimony. The prosecution will cross examine the two expert witnesses when the appeal hearing resumes on Saturday, July 30.

For the complete story of the Amanda Knox case, read "THE AMANDA KNOX STORY: A Murder in Perugia"

The experts' written conclusions released earlier this month and their testimony has buoyed Knox's family which has insisted she is innocent of murder. Knox has been in prison since her arrest shortly after Kercher's death.
Amanda Knox Appeal: DNA Evidence Challenged by Experts Watch Video
Amanda Knox Appeal Trial Set to Begin Watch Video
Knox's Mother: 'Step in Right Direction' Watch Video

"I am definitely more hopeful that when this is all over that here in September that she will be coming home with us, absolutely," Mellas told ABC News before today's hearing began.

Knox and Sollecito were left in the courtroom during a break in the hearing and exchanged words with each other. Sollecito even smiled, an indication of the optimism felt by the defendants.

Knox defense team has argued that a third person who was also convicted of the murder is the real killer. Ivory Coast drifiter Rudy Guede was convicted of the murder in a separate trial and is serving a 16 year prison term.

Guede has admitted being at the house at the time Kercher was killed, but denies he was the murderer. He originally said that Knox and Sollecito were not at the house when the killing occurred, but later said they were present.

source: ABC News' Zachary Nowak contributed to this report