June 12, 2009

Amanda Knox: Evidence Given While On Drugs

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- American college student Amanda Knox took the stand Friday in an Italian courtroom, defending herself against charges that she took part in the killing of her roommate two years ago, her lawyer said.

Knox, 21, from Seattle, Washington, distanced herself from the confused and conflicting deposition she gave to police just days after her roommate, British student Meredith Kercher, was found dead.

Wearing a white short-sleeve shirt and beige trousers and with her hair in a ponytail, she spoke first in English. She said she was under the influence of marijuana when she spoke to police and did not realize at the time that her police interview was on the record.

She had no attorney during the questioning, Knox said.

"The declarations were taken against my will and they were taken in a state of confusion and pressure by the police," Knox testified before a packed courtroom, filled mostly with members of the media.

Kercher's body was found half-naked in her bed Nov. 2, 2007, at the villa she shared with Knox. Prosecutors have said Kercher, 21, died in a "drug-fueled sex game" with Knox and Knox's then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.

Knox and Sollecito, now 25, are charged with murder and sexual assault.

A third person, Ivory Coast native Rudy Hermann Guede, was convicted of murder in a fast-track trial in October and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is appealing the verdict.

Kercher suffered a knife wound to the neck. In court papers, prosecutors alleged Sollecito held Kercher by her wrists while Knox poked her with a knife and Guede sexually assaulted her.

Prosecutors say they have physical evidence placing the defendants at the scene, and that the suspects gave investigators confusing and contradictory statements about their whereabouts the night Kercher died.

Knox first said she was at the house she shared with Kercher, then changed her story, according to court records. Sollecito, meanwhile, said he was never at the house, but was at his apartment, watching a movie on his computer with Knox. Later, he told investigators he did not remember whether Knox was with him the entire night.

Knox testified Friday that she was confused and scared when police interviewed her. She said an interpreter was there and encouraged her to remember facts, which led her to say things that she later retracted.

She said police repeatedly called her a liar and mistreated her. When a prosecuting attorney pointed out that police offered her tea at the end of questioning, he said it indicated that they treated her well.

"No," Knox replied firmly.

Knox, who later testified in fluent Italian, also answered questions about local bar owner Patrick Lumumba. He was arrested early on in the case but was later released for lack of evidence.

Lumumba is now suing Knox for defamation of character because she claimed in the deposition that he was present when Kercher was killed. Knox, who had worked at Lumumba's bar, later changed her remarks.

The trial against Knox and Sollecito began January 16 in Perugia, a university town about 185 kilometers (115 miles) north of Rome.

Knox's testimony may continue Saturday, said Luciano Ghriga, one of her lawyers.

Defense lawyers are expected to argue that the physical evidence was tainted by sloppy police work.

The case is being heard by a panel of eight judges. The trial has drawn more than 140 journalists from 86 news outlets to the courthouse in Perugia.

The presiding judge in the case, Giancarlo Massei, has barred cameras from the courtroom and said he could completely close portions of the trial dealing with the most graphic sexual assault allegations.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/12/italy.amanda.knox.trial/index.html

Posted by Nealus at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)