Knoxs knife DNA casts doubt on murder weapon

Wednesday November 6, 2013

Knox's knife DNA casts doubt on murder weapon

That testimony bolsters the defense, which claims the kitchen knife was not the weapon used in the bloody 2007 slaying of Knox's British roommate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher.

FLORENCE, Italy -- A court-appointed expert testifying in U.S. student Amanda Knox's third murder trial in Italy said Wednesday that a new trace of DNA found on the handle of the knife alleged to have been the murder weapon belongs to Knox and not the victim.

That testimony bolsters the defense, which claims the kitchen knife was not the weapon used in the bloody 2007 slaying of Knox's British roommate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher.

As things stand, there's no confirmed DNA belonging to Kercher on the knife; one piece of DNA on its blade that was first attributed to Kercher has been disputed on appeal.

Expert Andrea Berti testified Wednesday that the minute new DNA trace from the knife's handle showed "considerable affinity" with Knox's DNA, while not matching that of Kercher. It also did not match the DNA of Knox's co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito or Rudy Guede, an Ivorian man who has been convicted separately in the brutal slaying.

Knox defense lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova told The Associated Press that the testimony confirms their contention that the knife was used solely for preparing food. "The report confirms that this is a kitchen knife. It is not a murder weapon," Dalla Vedova said.

Luca Maori, Sollecito's defense lawyer, said the trace's very existence also indicated the knife had not been washed. "It is something very important," he said. "It is absurd to use it for a murder and put it back in the drawer."

The DNA evidence on the knife found in a drawer at Sollecito's place has been among the most hotly contested pieces of evidence in the original trial and now in two appeals.

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Knoxs knife DNA casts doubt on murder weapon