Knox

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Jan 9, 2024

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1 The purpose of this paper is to highlight the damage of not following investigative and the gathering of evidence protocol. When police officers are called upon to investigate such tragedies as murder then everyone is depending on them to do their job correctly. Collecting forensic proof is critical in solving crimes and prosecuting perpetrators. Investigative proof may

2 give actual evidence that a crime took place, as well as assist police in identifying suspects and building a compelling case against them. Furthermore, forensic proof can be utilized to clear innocent persons who have been wrongfully charged. Failure to pursue forensic proof can lead to false convictions, missed chances to apprehend perpetrators, and the continuance of injustices. In this gruesome awful case, Amanda Knox and Meredith Kercher deserved better from the police officers who investigated her case. Amanda Knox, an American university student, went back to her apartment in Perugia, Italy, on the second of November 2007 after spending the whole night with her boyfriend. When Amanda Knox arrived, she discovered blood in the restroom that she shared with her roommate, Meredith Kercher. Raffaele Sollecito (Amanda Knox’s boyfriend) attempted to open Meredith Kercher’s room door and was unable to pry the door open, so then he decided to contact the authorities. Filomena Romanelli the 3 rd roommate living in the apartment with Meredith Kercher and Amanda Knox was afraid that the apartment had been robbed so she began looking around to see if anything was stolen. So not only did she contaminate and disturb the crime scene but so did Amanda Knox and her boyfriend. When authorities arrived Amanda Knox, Filomena Romanelli, and Raffaele Sollecito asked the authorities to open Meredith Kercher’s room, but authorities refused, which resulted in Filomena Romanelli’s friend opening the door. (Goulandris, & McLaughlin, E., 2020) They found Meredith Kercher’s bloody body almost fully naked, she had sustained severe injuries from a brutal rape. The night of the murder, Meredith Kercher had gone on a date with a guy named Rudy Guede, his fingerprints and DNA were found in her room. (Goulandris, & McLaughlin, E., 2020) However, police thought that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were accomplices in helping Rudy Guede with Meredith Kercher’s murder. In the month of March 2015, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were acquitted. Rudy Guede, the third accused,

3 stands condemned as the single offender. Numerous DNA samples collected from the crime scene and the restroom connected him to the crime. However, the decisive proof against Guede differed sharply from the scant proof against the accomplices, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. Meredith Kercher's chamber had no DNA traces relating to Amanda Knox. A blade was retrieved from inside a cutlery drawer at Raffaele Sollecito's flat and DNA samples were found in the restroom she occupied with Meredith Kercher also linked to Amanda Knox. (Gill. 2016) A sample of DNA matched to Raffaele Sollecito retrieved from a violently ripped bra clasp discovered in the murder chamber was another significant piece of proof. (Gill. 2016) Now let’s dive into the lack of investigative and forensic protocol. The knife that contained DNA traces of Amanda Knox was found in the kitchen of Raffaele Sollecito’s apartment. Cops said that the weapon was placed in an envelope meant to keep fresh gloves for them before being transferred to police headquarters. One of the officers who retrieved the weapon at the police station was present in Meredith Kercher's flat previously in the morning, especially in Amanda Knox's room. Meaning that there could have been cross-contamination because everything was already cross-contaminated from the beginning. According to Goulandris, & McLaughlin, E. (2020) later in the case other officers testified that the envelope that held the knife was not properly sealed and was later put in a non-sterile box with tape. “Anti-contamination procedures were not documented (or disclosed); it is unknown if or how surfaces were sterilized; what protective equipment was used; whether the equipment was cleaned after each run; or how often technicians changed gloves.” (Gill. 2016) The knife contained no traces of Meredith Kercher’s blood, only Amanda Knox’s DNA, Amanda Knox stated that she only used the knife to cook in Raffaele Sollecito's apartment.

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4 The bra clasp was the only thing that contained Raffaele Sollecito’s DNA at the crime scene that tied him to the crime. This could have easily been borrowed from his girlfriend Amanda Knox. The bra clasp was collected almost a month and a half after Kercher was found dead, throughout this time the clasp was moved around resulting in again cross-contamination. The cops failed to adhere to correct protocol while managing this product, as seen by the application of non-sterile gloves, failure to switch gloves before encountering an area or object, passing the clasp all over, and dropping it on the ground. (Page. 2014) According to a consultant, the clasp was left on the floor for several days, so it had been contaminated. The technique of gathering, storing, moving, and testing the bra clasp failed to adhere to basic cross-contamination precautions. There had been multiple potentials for cross-transfer and clasp contaminating throughout this operation. The clasp not only held Raffaele Sollecito’s DNA but 2 other culprits as well, but the forensics analysts ruled it as irrelevant information. Even when the bra clasp was collected the police officers who handled it had dirty gloves on. All the evidence that was collected throughout this case was contaminated by either the roommates entering the apartment rummaging through stuff or by friends they had over to help. And because law enforcement officials were not taking their job seriously enough considering that they did not even want to open Meredith Kercher’s room to see if she was okay. Resulting in someone other than law enforcement opening the door. They also avoided taking precautions to not contaminate all the evidence so that Meredith Kercher could at least have a fair and just trial. Officers also failed to wear caps to protect their hair from falling at the crime scene, as well as wearing clean gloves every time they handled a new piece of evidence or encountered another space. This resulted in cross-contamination in all the evidence. They also failed to collect and transfer the evidence correctly, again resulting in contamination. They did not even close the

5 container in which they collected the evidence. The evidence is the most important piece in any case in securing a conviction especially if they believed that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito as well as the main perpetrator Rudy Guede committed the crime together. The forensic scientist Stefanoni who handled the evidence of the Meredith Kercher murder violated worldwide DNA norms when testing the evidence given to her. She made simple mistakes and testified in the case as an expert that contradicted her laboratory finding. Making the knife and bra strap ineffective proof in the case. They were considered ineffective proof because they could not be tested again for DNA because of the severity of cross-contamination. (Gill. 2016) They also failed to double-test the DNA found to support their claims. She also stated that Amanda Knox could have possibly individually cleaned her DNA out of Kercher’s room and left behind the main perpetrator Rudy Guede’s DNA behind. There are a few flaws with this theory such as how would Amanda Knox know what parts of her DNA and what parts of Rudy Guede’s or Meredith Kercher’s were. They also swatched DNA from the bathroom that Meredith Kercher and Amanda Knox shared resulting in obviously Amanda Knox’s blood in the mix, however, because they share the bathroom it was obvious that there would be a mix of her blood. There was also lots of speculation in the case instead of actual scientific proof being backed up by their claims. In conclusion, the main errors in this case were neglect to use pre-cautions meant to reduce contamination hazards therefore irreparably undermining the reliability of the proof. The speculation that Amanda Knox’s and Meredith Kercher’s DNA mixes were recognized as 'bloody footprints' utilizing luminol was confirming proof. The speculation is that Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito cleaned the apartment before calling the cops and just specifically wiping down their DNA. As well as I mentioned before the lack of double testing the evidence to back

6 up their findings. They also tried to trick the trial judges into believing that cross-contamination hadn’t occurred at all which is false because all of the proof was cross contaminated except Rudy Guede’s. Wrongfully convicting Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito despite the lack of DNA in the murder room even though Rudy Guede’s DNA shouldn’t have been in the apartment in the first place. This disparity is made especially stark by the fact that Amanda Knox shared the flat with Meredith Kercher, and Raffaele Sollecito possessed a valid entry. There is a presumption that their genetic material will be found at the location of the murder. (Gill. 2016) There we also made-up stories from each individual suspect surrounding Meredith Kercher's death. There have been recounted stories of the killing by the perpetrators. Each accused's story diverged from the other individuals, and Knox leveled accusations regarding an additional person Patrick Lumumba who was subsequently discarded as slanderous. (Page, 2014) The impact of the error of this case was the wrongful convictions of Amanda Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. The impact of this case was also a bad reputation for both Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. This is very important because Meredith Kercher also didn’t receive a fair and just trial. After all, the law enforcement in Italy failed to do their jobs correctly. Rudy Guade also received a simple conviction because all the evidence that was used against Amanda Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was cross-contaminated. Meredith Kercher’s family had to go through this case not knowing whether or not they would receive justice for their daughter. I think there was a lot missed in this case, such as evidence that could have been used to put away Rudy Guade longer . I think that common sense was missed in this case because they did speculation throughout the case, they wrongfully convicted two people because their DNA was all over the apartment, but they lived there so then how is it not supposed to be there

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7 in the first place? The forensic specialist also seemed to be bitter towards everyone for telling her that she did her job incorrectly. It also didn’t help that Amanda Knox’s and Raffaele Sollecito’s accounts of that night were contradicting each other due to them taking drugs at the time so they couldn’t remember everything. The final outcome of this case was, as I stated before the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. Also, the lack of justice for Meredith Kercher. However, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito continually upheld their innocence, and both were cleared and freed from imprisonment in the same year, while Rudy Guede's appeal was dismissed, and he remained facing a shorter time in prison. (Page, 2014) They only spent four years in prison before being released. The case was appealed in Italy till the two were both “entirely exonerated by the Supreme Court in March 2015” according to Goulandris, & McLaughlin, E. (2020) “A victim, and that’s all’: the construction of Meredith Kercher in the British national newspapers”. Later on, in another trial, Rudy Guede received a punishment of thirty years in prison for Meredith Kercher's rape and homicide in October 2008. (Goulandris, & McLaughlin, E., 2020) Then Rudy Guede later appealed his sentence, so it got reduced to sixteen years in prison instead of thirty years. Citations: Hess, K. M., Orthmann, C. H., & Cho, H.L. (2015). Criminal Investigation. (11th Ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

8 Gill. (2016). Analysis and implications of the miscarriages of justice of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. Forensic Science International: Genetics , 23 , 9–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsigen.2016.02.015 Goulandris, & McLaughlin, E. (2020). “A victim and that’s all’: the construction of Meredith Kercher in the British national newspapers. Feminist Media Studies , 20 (7), 1043–1058. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2019.1690018 Page. (2014). Counter-narratives and controversial crimes: The Wikipedia article for the “Murder of Meredith Kercher.” Language and Literature (Harlow, England), 23(1), 61–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963947013510648 De Ronde, Kokshoorn, B., de Puit, M., & de Poot, C. J. (2021). Using case-specific experiments to evaluate fingermarks on knives given activity level propositions. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110710

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