Amanda Knox: The Mountain of Missing Evidence

The Mountain of Missing Evidence

By, Steve Moore (Retired FBI Investigator)

Absence of Evidence is Evidence of Absence

The Amanda Knox/Raffaele Sollecito case isn’t really about (the alleged) evidence, it is about lack of evidence—evidence that would have to be there if Knox and Sollecito participated. A shooting victim has an entry wound. That is evidence. If you tell me you have a shooting victim, but there’s no entry wound, the lack of evidence shows your theory to be impossible. No entry wound→ no evidence→ no shooting. A complete case consists of not just what’s at the crime scene, but what’s not at the crime scene. This is simply basic investigation: Investigation 101. The prosecutors and investigators in this case simply ignored the implications of what they could not find.

In the Amanda Knox/Raffaele Sollecito case, we have a conflict between an implausibly small amount of highly suspect “evidence” that is alleged to be at the scene vs. a vast amount of missing evidence that would have HAD to be at the scene if Amanda and Raffaele had participated at all, and even more so if they had participated in the way the prosecutors allege. While the prosecution’s evidence is scant, contrived and likely non-existent; the mountain of missing evidence is absolutely overwhelming and compelling. And they both can’t be right because they are mutually exclusive.

If Amanda and Raffaele had actually killed Meredith in company with Rudy Guede, the following evidence WOULD have been there:

BLOOD TRANSFER

1. Meredith’s room would have been filled with the bloody footprints, handprints and smears of THREE PEOPLE, not one.

In the world of homicide (and other) investigations, law enforcement officials and prosecutors use the word “transfer”. Transfer is what it sounds like; the transfer of physical evidence from one person to another. Transfer is especially prevalent in murders (especially by stabbing) and rape. The nature of this case indicates that it would have the MOST transfer of any type of case.

2/3 of the required evidence missing, means 2/3 of the people were not there.

If the prosecution’s story is true, we are missing all credible evidence of the participation of, or even presence of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in the cottage at the time of the murder.

With three alleged assailants, that would mean that 2/3 of the evidence is simply missing. Evidence of Rudy Guede’s presence and participation are everywhere; bloody footprints, DNA, fingerprints, palm prints, bodily fluids, hair and even fecal matter. Nobody; not even Rudy Guede disputes this evidence. How then can the total absence of evidence of any other person be explained? The prosecution cannot provide an answer.

The sheer volume of forensic evidence of Guede’s presence is overwhelming. Evidence of any other person’s presence or involvement could not be erased without wiping out that of Guede’s. Therefore, the room could not have been cleaned, and was not cleaned. This means that the missing evidence was not removed—it was never there.

Amanda Knox is alleged to be the person who stabbed Meredith Kercher. She would therefore have been in VERY close proximity to Meredith—well within an arm length. Blood spatter evidence at the scene is consistent with ‘projected’, or ‘medium velocity impact spatter (MVIS) blood stains which travel at between 1.5 meters per second (mps) and 7.5 mps. (That is an arm-length in ½ second). Blood was spattered several feet away from Meredith’s wounds. It is inconceivable that the person stabbing Meredith was not contaminated by blood spatter. Guede was.

Anybody holding Meredith (such as was alleged by the prosecution) would be within the spatter zone. Again; blood on clothes and skin. This would mean that both Raffaele and Guede would have had substantial amounts of Meredith’s blood on them as they were alleged to have held Meredith.

The volume of blood in a woman the size of Meredith is between 4 and 5 liters. Approximately 2 liters of blood loss results in death. That would indicate that at least two liters (a little over half a gallon) of blood was spilled on the hard-surfaced floor.

Nobody disputes that Meredith was fighting bravely for her life to her last breath. There were 46 wounds on her body consistent with such a struggle. With three persons wrestling and stabbing, it is impossible that contact blood transfer did not occur; on the feet, on the clothing and on the hands of any alleged perpetrator. Especially when fighting in the small confines of Meredith’s bedroom. And the footprints would occasionally overlap.

Guede stepped in the blood, Guede put his hand in the blood, Guede touched surfaces all around the room. Yet neither Amanda Knox, nor Raffaele Sollecito came in contact with any blood? This is difficult to conceive, as even if they avoided the large blood pools and spatters, it would be impossible to avoid stepping on the bloody (but sometimes latent) footprints left by Guede.

It is all the more impressive that examiners found latent (but non-blood) footprints claimed to be of Amanda all through the house….but NONE in Meredith’s room. This is an impossible result if Amanda had been involved in the murder. Against all of this missing evidence is a bra clasp that sat for six weeks in a pile of dust with a questionable DNA marking related to Sollecito, and a bloody footprint of Guede that the prosecution asserted to have belonged to Raffaele.

BLOODY CLOTHING: NOT THERE

2. There would be blood-stained clothes, underwear and/or shoes of the attackers.

There is a simple answer to why Guede’s clothes were not found to have blood on them. They were never found. Guede left the country, and disposed of his clothes and shoes. Those items can never be tested. But Amanda and Raffaele stayed in town. Their clothes would have been with them. Maybe even ON them. The blood would likely not have even been dry. Even after laundering, it is easy to detect latent blood on fabric and certainly leather. Any blood on Amanda or Raffaele’s clothes or shoes would have been found.

No blood was ever found on any of their clothes or shoes.

The prosecution might argue that the two disposed of the clothes they allegedly wore at the murder. But then one would have to believe that they cleverly and secretly disposed of their shoes, they disposed of their clothes, they disposed of one murder knife……but they kept a second murder knife, and returned it to their silverware drawer. This makes absolutely no sense. I remember as a kid that if you started telling a tall tale, the tales you had to tell to back the first one up became all the more ridiculous. This reminds me of that type of situation.

INJURIES TO THE ASSAILANT(S)

3. There would have been bruises, cuts and other injuries to Amanda and Raffaele.

It is a rare occurrence when a frenzied fight involving a knife does not involve injuries to both parties, even when one is assumed to be larger and stronger than the other.

When I was on an FBI SWAT Team, we had an exercise designed to teach us the dangers of trying to fight off a knife attack. A red magic-marker played the part of a knife, and an “assailant” would attempt to attack another member of the SWAT Team with it. We did this in white t-shirts and open sleeves so we could see the wounds. Within seconds, the assailant had usually dispatched the victim with stabs and slashing attacks to the neck and torso, as the victim fought back desperately. Without exception though, the attacker was “cut”. Always. And almost every time on the hands or fingers. This is because the victim, in attempting to fight off a knife, reaches for the hands, which deflects the knife into fingers or other parts of the hands. In addition to the “cuts”, there were bruises and lacerations simply from elbows and arms flying.

Also, folding knives have no ‘hilt’, a perpendicular piece between the knife handle and blade to keep your hand from sliding forward when using the knife for stabbing. When this happens, the attacker usually receives slash injuries to his finger just below (or in the vicinity of) the second knuckle. Amanda could not have known that. She had no such cuts. Rudy Guede, when arrested had such cuts across three of his fingers. One piece of evidence used against O.J. Simpson in his stabbing/slashing murder trial was that he had a severe cut on his finger, likely inflicted during a stabbing motion when his hand slid over the blade.

In the FBI, I have been involved in several physical altercations, including a couple of attempts to take a knife away from a person. Each of those events ended in all parties having bruises and/or cuts. And these people weren’t fighting for their life; they were just fighting to keep from being arrested. Meredith had 46 wounds consistent with a fight for her life. Rudy had just such cuts on his hand. If Meredith had been attacked by three people, is it plausible that in all of Meredith’s fighting that she was unable to inflict a single scratch or a bruise on either of her other two attackers? Not really.

Neither Raffaele nor Amanda had a bruise on their body, not a cut, not a scratch. Amanda had a small mark on her neck that was proven to be nothing. There was not a single hair of theirs in the room. Raffaele’s glasses were not broken or bent. They were NOT involved in any struggle with Meredith.

BLOOD CONTAMINATION IN AMANDA’S ROOM OR RAFFAELE’S APARTMENT

4. There would be significant blood residue

They had to change and clean up. They didn’t change their clothes outside. They would have to have changed either at Amanda’s or Raffaele’s, and if the clothes came in contact with ANY object or substance, there would have been further transfer. At the O.J. Simpson crime scene, significant amounts of the victims’ blood were found on the carpet in Simpson’s house.

There is NO place where they could have changed their clothes which would not have been contaminated by contact transfer.

Not a speck of blood was found in Amanda’s room or Raffaele’s apartment. (According to the Italian authorities themselves, not even the knife taken from Raffaele’s apartment had blood on it.)

ESCAPE

5. There would likely have been some type of escape attempt

Guede fled to Germany shortly after the murder. Amanda had time to get a flight out of the country and to the safety of America. Raffaele had friends in Rome. Instead, Amanda was at her cottage when Raffaele called the police.

PSYCHOLOGICAL INDICATORS OF VIOLENCE

6. Much (flawed) amateur psychology has been bandied about by the press and the police in this matter. It is true, however, that a person’s behavior can be an indicator of future violence.

The prosecution alleged ridiculous theories in this case such as satanic rituals, etc., which were soundly rejected even in the Motivation Document. However, the Motivation Document alleges that Amanda came upon her roommate fighting off a rapist, and instead of assisting her roommate; she sided with the rapist. Not only that, but for some unknown reason, Amanda abandoned her attempts to assist Guede rape her friend, and simply slashed her throat. The Motivation Document could not provide any motive for this attack. This is anti-social behavior in the extreme. This is sociopathy. This behavior is so extreme that it could not be hidden from the world prior to this event.

As part of my duties in the FBI, I was responsible for evaluating the dangerousness of individuals who were involved in violent groups, or were threatening violence. I worked closely with FBI profilers on these matters, and even assisted in the creation of an FBI text on lone attackers. We put dangerous people in prison and I believe we saved lives.

The Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP), whose conferences I attend, has several behavioral checklists to assess potential violence. The following are a selection of questions which are industry standards used to assist in the assessment of behavior that indicates future violence. They rate the potential violence by how many of these predictors are present in a person’s life. The higher the score, the higher the potential threat. Let’s check how Amanda Knox would score on this test.

But first, we should discuss the word “credible”. Something is credible when it can be backed up with substantial facts. An unsupported accusation (such as those we have seen in the press) is simply non-credible. In determining if anybody was dangerous, we always discounted any information that we could not verify. Doing otherwise would endanger lives. An example of information which would be discounted here is, for instance, an accusation that Amanda Knox was involved in the occult, and committed murder as part of a satanic ritual. No unbiased person believes that, and it has never been established with a single scintilla of evidence.

7. WHAT WOULD WE HAVE SEEN IF AMANDA KNOX WAS THE KILLER SHE IS PORTRAYED TO BE? We would have seen:

A. A MOTIVE for violence:

No motive has ever been established for Amanda allegedly murdering Meredith, though the prosecution came up with a new one almost every week during the trial. None.

B. Homicidal fantasies or preoccupation:

No credible allegation has ever been made that Amanda Knox harbored homicidal fantasies or preoccupation. This would have surfaced by the time Amanda was 21. Stories would abound; she would likely be a feared person. Much like Rudy Guede was in Perugia.

C. Violent intentions and expressed threats

Not once can a single person provide any account that Amanda threatened anybody in her entire life. Not one person can state that she ever displayed violence of any kind. Ever.

D. Weapons skills and access

Amanda Knox has no knowledge of guns or knives as weapons. (If you consider cooking knives a weapon, then there is not a person in America or Italy over the age of 8 who does not have access to a weapon, rendering this part of the question null).

Putting a knife in Amanda’s hand is like putting a trumpet in my hand. It doesn’t mean that I know what to do with it. I am a firearms instructor. I can tell you that a knife or firearm in an inexperienced person’s hands is more dangerous to them than others. The thought that you could put a knife in Amanda’s hands, and the very first time, have her inflict fatal wounds (especially without injuring herself in the process) is ludicrous.

E. Pre-Attack planning

The Italian court stated that there was no pre-planning for this crime.

F. Stalking

No allegation was made, even by Mignini, that Amanda ever stalked Meredith or any other person. Amanda has never been accused of stalking or ANY similar behavior in the US.

G. Job Problems

Amanda held several jobs working toward going to Italy to study. She has never been fired from a job. She had no reason to believe that she was having any problems at Le Chic. (After an angry Patrick Lumumba was released from prison, he told the “Daily Mail” tabloid that he had fired Amanda prior to the crime. This was shown to be a lie in trial.)

H. Loss, Personal Stressors

Amanda was having the time of her life in Perugia. She had just met Raffaele, and was in a new romance. Amanda was extremely happy.

I. Lack of conscience

Much has been made of a perceived lack of concern for Meredith in the days following the murder. I believe most of these to be highly inaccurate and sensationalized, to sell media. However, the lack of conscience issue is not a photograph of one or two days in a person’s life. It is a movie of their entire life. Amanda’s care and concern for others in her hometown is legendary. Only those who prefer to get their information from tabloids believe otherwise.

J. Anger problems

Anger problems do not mean that a person is never angry. A complete lack of anger over a lifetime is a danger sign, not a reason to relax. Absent discredited tabloid reports, there are no indications that Amanda Knox dealt with anger any differently than any other normal person. There have never been any accusations by schools, teachers, and friends or family that Amanda had “a temper” or any such thing.

K. Depression and suicidality

I refer you to the answer to question 9: Amanda was having the time of her life in Perugia. She had just met Raffaele, and was in a new romance. Amanda was extremely happy.

L. Paranoia and other psychotic symptoms

Not a single speck credible evidence exists that in her entire life, Amanda Knox ever suffered from any mental illness, or neurosis.

M. Isolation

Before Amanda left America, she had hundreds of friends. She now has thousands. Amanda is a “people person”, who at the time of Meredith’s murder, had a boyfriend and lived with three other girls.

N. History of violence

None.

O. History of criminality:

Amanda Knox has NO history of criminality. None. In his latest appeal Prosecutor Mignini points out that Amanda was fined for a loud party. A loud party? Really? This is not criminality. Period. This is no more criminality than is a speeding ticket. Are all college students who host or go to loud parties now threats to become violent murderers? The argument is simply absurd and beneath the dignity of Mignini’s office, though clearly not below his personal dignity. This is a panic reaction to an upcoming appeal. Are we to believe that there is a person in a civilized country who believes that the throwing of a loud college party is grounds for raising a sentence from 26 years to life? Where are the statutes that say a loud party is worth a prison sentence enhancement? This is simply desperation and petty posturing. It should shame an otherwise honorable and reasonable Italian Judiciary.

Mignini alleges that rocks were thrown at the party. But he does not allege that Amanda had any part in it. She didn’t. How do I know? If Mignini had any proof that she threw a single rock, he would have put it in the appeal.

These are examples of a history of criminality that professionals recognize: Robbery, threats, assault, cruelty to animals….All things in which Rudy Guede has dabbled.

Amanda had been in Perugia for three months and was virtually unknown to the police. Rudy Guede, however, had been arrested several times in the previous 30 days.

P. Domestic partner violence

No.

Amanda scores a zero on the potential violence threat test. No threat. Not a small threat, not a manageable threat, not a moderate threat….no threat whatsoever.

CONCLUSIONS:

1. There is absolutely no evidence of Amanda Knox in the room at the time of the murder, nor is there evidence that she participated in any way.

a. No blood

b. No hairs

c. No fingerprints

d. No footprints

e. No saliva

f. No DNA

2. There are absolutely no items of Amanda’s which have any blood on them

a. No clothes

b. No shoes

c. No socks

d. No underwear

3. Amanda had not a scratch on her the morning after the attack

a. No cuts

b. No bruises

c. No lacerations

4. There was absolutely no blood found in Raffaele’s apartment or Amanda’s room.

a. Nothing on the floors

b. Nothing on knives

c. Nothing on carpets

d. Nothing on walls

e. Nothing on clothes

f. Nothing on utensils

g. Nothing on doorknobs

5. There was no escape attempt by Amanda or Raffaele

a. Rudy escaped to Germany shortly after the attack

b. Amanda did not attempt to flee

c. Raffaele did not attempt to flee

6. There were NO psychological indicators of potential violence in Amanda

a. No motive

b. No homicidal fantasies or preoccupation

c. No violent intentions or expressed threats

d. No weapons skills

e. No pre-attack planning

f. No stalking

g. No job problems

h. No loss or personal stressors

i. No lack of conscience

j. No anger problems

k. No depression or suicidality

l. No paranoia or other symptoms

m. No isolation

n. No history of violence

o. No history of criminality

p. No domestic partner violence.

Based on the preceding, AMANDA’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE MURDER IS NOT JUST UNLIKELY, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE. The prosecution is missing all evidence needed to convict Amanda Knox, and hasn’t provided any plausible reason for it's absence.

Behind Giuliano Mignini's Own Conviction

A few months ago the head prosecutor in the case against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, Giuliano Mignini, was convicted for conducting illegal investigations in connection with the Narducci case, an alleged murder originally thought to be a suicide. Incidentally, Mignini submitted a ridiculous "switched-body" scenario in that case just as ludicrous as his theory in the case at hand. For some context on the Narducci case, here is a short explanation.

Aside from the possibility of being forced from office as prosecutor, the Narducci case could have further repurcussions. Mignini's computer was seized and contained an enemies list. You can read more on that here.

Below is an explanation of the charges and conviction against Giuliano Mignini as well as the charge where he was acquitted.

Sentencing Report for Giuliano Mignini

What were the charges Giuliano Mignini was convicted for?

The charges against Giuliano Mignini are threefold and involve more than just illegal wiretapping. The court convicted Mignini for the following:

1.) Illegally investigating journalists who had criticized him with the "intent to harass or deter them from pursuing their legitimate profession". Specifically the court found that Mignini had targeted Italian journalists Vincenzo Tessandori, Gennaro De Stefano, and Roberto Fiasconaro, because they had criticized his investigations into the death of Narducci.

2.) Ordering an illegal investigation of the Florentine ex police chief Giuseppe De Donno.

3.) Ordering illegal investigations of two officials of the Viminale, the Ministry of the Interior in Rome, including an illegal investigation of the Roberto Sgalla, ex-director of the office of external affairs.

Why were Giuliano Mignini's investigations illegal?
These investigations were illegal because they involved illegal wiretaps (wiretaps without judicial approval) and Mignini illegally created investigative files for the targets outside of normal judicial procedures and approvals. These were illegal freelance investigations, the court determined, designed to "harass and intimidate" people who had criticized him or Chief Inspector Michele Giuttari for their conduct in the Narducci investigation.

What was Giuliano Mignini acquitted of?
Along with being charged with conducting illegal investigations, Mignini was also charged with "aiding and abetting" where he was accused of informing Giuttari that he was the target of a criminal inquiry by the "procura di Genova" who was investigating Giuttari for doctoring the transcript and tape of a wiretap to put false and incriminating words in the mouth of a targeted suspect.

How serious are the charges?
Some uninformed bloggers have described the charges against Mignini as an "administrative charge"---a claim which is completely bogus. Mignini was given a 16 month prison sentence, 6 months more than even the prosecutor had asked for. However, he is unlikely to see jail time and his sentence is suspended while his case is on appeal.

While Mignini will most likely never spend time in jail, if his conviction is upheld, he will be removed from public office and never be allowed to serve as a prosecutor or judge again.

It is important to keep in mind that the Florentine judge in this case imposed a heavier sentence than what was asked for, which came as a huge surprise to even Mignini himself. A judge handing out a stronger sentence than asked for is extremely rare in Italy and serves as an incredibly strong condemnation of Mignini's illegal behavior (though under Italian law he is still presumed innocent until he has exhausted his appeals---as are Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito).

NOTE: Whenever you are in doubt about how serious a charge is, just look at the length of the possible sentence. That is the barometer for how seriously society judges that specific crime.

More info on Mignini's Conviction

For the news round up from the day of Mignini's conviction, click here.

For info on the defamation suits related to this case, including Giuliano Mignini, click here.

Rayrayturner@gmail.com

The Appeal Moves Forward for Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox

From NBC News

From ABC News

Lawyers for both Raffele Sollecito have now filed their appeals. Frank Sfarzo of Perugia-Shock has updated his blog with more specifics about Sollecito's appeal in particular:

They repropose their argument of illegitimate arrest of Raffaele due the original lack of legal assistance and they ask to cancel the judge order that declared it regular, so to obtain the immediate release of Raffaele.

They try again with the full re-examination of all scientific data, included the DNA tests.

They deny the validity of DNA result for The Knife and the bra clasp.

They ask the substance on the pillow case to be analyzed.

They ask an audiometric test to demonstrate that Nara couldn't have heard Meredith screams and the steps.

They ask new investigative activity to be performed and discussed in trial, they ask new witnesses to be heard to doubt Toto's version.

They also now believe that Rudy was not alone when he committed the crime, and will rely on Mario Alessi's testimony and the one of three other gentlemen from Viterbo jail to prove this.

But, above all, they maintain the illegitimacy of the whole trial in Corte d'Assise, since it forced the defendants to prove their innocence, when, by law, it should be the opposite.

continued here.....

Also, from Bob Graham, the possibility that Rudy might have been a police informant is discussed. There is much more to this finding that will hopefully be revealed in the press shortly:

LAWYERS appealing against the murder conviction of Amanda Knox have been told they can’t use shocking new evidence.

It reveals the third person convicted of killing British student Meredith Kercher had committed six serious crimes over 33 days before the killing.

But robberies carried out by small-time drug dealer Rudy Guede were ignored by Italian authorities, raising suspicions that he was a police informer.

Continue here......

Also, co-prosecutor Manuel Comodi brushes off a defendant's right to examine the evidence against them. To this day, the defense team has yet to receive the .FSA files which are vitally important to examining the DNA evidence. More here from the Telegraph.

Prosecutors Manuela Comodi and Giuliano Mignini Plan to Appeal the Sentences of Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox

There should be a lot of news this coming week as Amanda Knox's appeal is due on Tuesday. Expect in the next week to hear more about what each party plans to argue on appeal as well as possible new evidence that wasn't heard in court. I will also be posting more specifics on the charges against Mignini sometime within the next week which should create a clearer understanding over what he was convicted for and why.

From Perugia-Shock:

We'll hardly appeal the sentence, prosecutors Giuliano Mignini and Manuela Comodi said after the conviction of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. But then the motivations Giancarlo Massei released didn't really make them happy. Massei was too kind.

continue reading......

From Ann Wise and Nikki Battiste of ABC:

The Italian prosecutors who sent American college student Amanda Knox to prison for 26 years filed an appeal of the case today, asking the court for a tougher sentence.

The appeal came just days before Knox's lawyers are expected to file their own appeal of her conviction for murdering British roommate Meredith Kercher in 2007.

The prosecution did not specify the sentence it wants imposed on Knox, but by arguing that the court should have considered an aggravating circumstance in handing out Knox's punishment, a life sentence would be almost automatic.

continue reading here......

Email: Rayrayturner@gmail.com

Giuliano Mignini's Enemies List

Translated from Panorama, an Italian Magazine.  For original version in Italian click here.

You're my enemy? Then I will indict you.

The Index. Following the conviction of the pm Giuliano Mignini and of the policeman-turned-writer Michele Giuttari, their methods of investigation have come under severe criticism. Many blacklists found.

A blacklist, a secret file with the names of parliamentarians, ministers, and journalists. This is what investigators have discovered on the personal computer of Giuliano Mignini, the Italian prosecutor who has been heavily criticized in America (the same one who pointed a severely accusatory finger against the American Amanda Knox in the trial for the death of Meredith Kercher) and the lead investigator in the second part of the investigation of the Monster of Florence.

Florentine prosecutors Luca Turco and Gabriele Mazzotta have uncovered a series of “strange items” in the investigations conducted by Mignini and the policeman-writer Michele Giuttari, who were searching for the masterminds behind the serial killings of couples. The end result: on January 22 the Tribunale of Florence convicted the magistrate and the chief inspector for abuse of office.

According to the verdict of conviction (the two men received respectively a year and six months and a year and four months in prison, beyond a ban on holding public office), the two, in 2006, illegally investigated certain journalists, the police chief of Florence Giuseppe De Donno and two high officials of the Viminale [the Ministry of the Interior in Rome].

However, the disturbing files in question opened other possibilities. The affair had its origin in April 2006, during the sensational arrest of the journalist Mario Spezi for involvement in murder and obstruction of justice. Spezi spent 23 days in prison, of which five were spent in an isolation cell, denied access to his attorney, under laws of the Penal Code meant to be applied only to extremely dangerous criminals such as terrorists.

Spezi’s arrest unleashed scathing criticism by some journalists. Giuttari and Mignini responded with a series of “assessments” (later judged illegal by the tribunale) authorized under the signature of Judge Marina De Robertis, who used a legal procedure meant only to be employed in an emergency; but these emergency authorizations were never retroactively justified as required by law.

One of the cases involved the wiretapping of a cellular telephone owned by the daily newspaper, La Stampa, in use by the reporter Vincenzo Tessandori, who was moreover illegally investigated beyond normal judicial procedures, but who had written several articles critical of the investigation. The same illegal harassment was directed at other newspaper reporters such as Gennaro De Stefano (who has since died) and Roberto Fiasconaro.

Giuttari and Mignini ordered the wiretapping and shadowing of two police officials from the press office of the Polizia in Rome, who had earlier asked Giuttari to limit his television appearances.

These are the facts that have emerged from the Florentine inquiries. Here is a passage from the indictments written by the pm Turco regarding the fact that the victims of this judicial abuse were investigated illegally, outside of normal judicial procedures. “If Mignini suspected a crime had been committed, he had the capacity and obligation to investigate the suspect in a proper and legal manner.” But even more disturbing, for the repercussions it had, is the list of “enemies” of Mignini.

From December 2005 to May 2006 a file was created and added to entitled “Attacks to Remember”, in which there is another file: “Orgy of Attacks Following the Arrest of Spezi; an index of newspapers: Libero, Il Giornale, Oggi.” Following that is a long list of people “To Remember” that consisted of the names of some of the most prominent judges involved in the case of the Monster of Florence, a long list of politicians, among which could be found the ex-mayor of Florence, Leonardo Domenici, the deputy mayor Michele Venturo and the Minister of the Environment Altero Matteoli, all of whom signed a petition of solidarity protesting Spezi’s incarceration.

Former FBI Investigator Discusses the Case Against Amanda Knox & Raffaele Sollectio

My name is Steve Moore; I retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2008 after 25 years as a Special Agent and Supervisory Special Agent. My entire investigative experience was in the investigation and prosecution of violent crime, from murder to mass-murder and terrorism. In my last such assignment, I was the Supervisor of the Al Qaeda Investigations squad, following which I ran the FBI’s Los Angeles-based “Extra-Territorial Squad”, which was tasked with responding to any acts of terrorism against the United States in Asia and Pakistan. I have investigated murders throughout the United States and the world.

I do not know Amanda Knox. I have never met or spoken with anybody in the Knox or Mellas families. In my 25 years in the FBI, I had come to believe that if you were arrested, you were probably guilty. I never had a person I took to trial who wasn’t convicted. I was especially tired of guilty persons claiming their innocence.

I had heard snippets about the Knox case from the news, and believed that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were certainly guilty. But then I began to hear statements from the press that contradicted known facts. Wanting to resolve the conflicts, I looked into the case out of curiosity. The more I looked, the more I was troubled by what I found. So I looked deeper, and I ended up examining every bit of information I could find (and there’s a lot of it). The more I investigated, the more I realized that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito could not have had anything to do with the murder of Meredith Kercher. Moreover, one reason that they were falsely convicted was that every rule of good investigation was violated.

continue here......

About Steve Moore:

Steve Moore is a retired FBI Agent who has 25 years of investigative experience. His experience includes the investigation and prosecution of violent crime, from murder to mass-murder and terrorism. Steve has researched the Meredith Kercher murder case extensively. I was very pleased when Steve accepted my request to write about his knowledge of this case for Injustice in Perugia. Steve has agreed to join our effort and will continue to work with us to set the record straight about this case. I would like to personally thank Steve for providing this invaluable information. Steve's expert opinion is one that comes from years of experience and one that must be respected when it comes to crimes of this nature. 

The Trials of Amanda Knox: American Version to Air This Sunday on TLC

This Sunday, the documentary "The Trials of Amanda Knox" will air at 8pm on The Learning Channel. Speculation has already begun about which version will air as several different edits currently exist.

The back story behind the filming is almost more interesting than the actual documentary itself, with the two main directors, Bob Graham and Garfield Kennedy, losing creative control of the editing process, where the footage rights are currently in the process of litigation. Paul Russell, a casting director who co-authored the first book in English on the case, Darkness Descending, was fired during the filming process for breach of contract.

For those who have seen the British version of the documentary which originally appeared on More4, the differences in the two edits may not justify a second viewing. This is not to say the two are exactly the same.

The American version begins by asking, "Who is the real Amanda Knox"? Is she the ring leader of a callous murder as described by the prosecutor, the quirky Seattle student described by her family and friends, or "Foxy Knoxy" the media creation?

If the film posits one sure conclusion, it is that the media itself is somewhat of a guilty party in a country where trial by media is common. As Richard Owen of the Times of London explains, "Well I think it's no secret to the Italians themselves that their system of justice is slow... suspects can be held in jail for up to a year before they're charged. The result of that tends to be trial by media and that is one reason you get a lot of leaks from legal sources, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and so on, so that the information will at least get out there and the public can make up its own mind."

We also get a glimpse of just how out of touch the views of many reporters writing about the case are towards the younger generation in Perugia (and the United States for that matter). For example, Barbie Nadeau, writer for Newsweek and the Daily Beast, states that it's not completely out of the picture to assume that group sex is part of the university experience now and that university kids are no strangers to extreme sex games--a ridiculous claim for even the worst of tabloid journalists.

This version concentrates slightly more on the forensic evidence, but only to a superficial level that will fail to satisfy either side. We are told of the problems with the murder knife and the problems of the "two knife" scenario put forth by the prosecution. Also explored in slightly more detail is some of the footprint evidence.

The lead prosecutor in the case, Giuliano Mignini, and his suing of the West Seattle Herald for defamation is also touched upon. (You can read more about Mignini on the side bar entitled "Mignini File" and his many lawsuits here).

In the end, just as with the British edit of the documentary, very few will be satisfied, and even fewer will be swayed one way or another. For those who are only vaguely familiar with the case, however, they will get an interesting view of the players involved and a primer for the basic areas of contention that surround this controversial case. If you never caught the British version, it is probably worth tuning in.

Special thanks to The Learning Channel and Discovery.com.