Monday, October 03, 2011

Awaiting Appeal Court Verdict, Arline And Lyle And Stephanie In First Press Conference:

Posted by Peter Quennell







The family was fair but firm that their priorities are justice for Meredith and her remembrance.

This first report on the press conference (probably the first of two) is from the Daily Telegraph.

Stephanie Kercher said her sister had been “hugely forgotten” in the furore around the appeal launched by American student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito over the November 2007 killing in Perugia, Italy.

Sitting alongside her mother Arline and brother Lyle, she told a press conference: “It is very difficult to keep her memory alive in all of this.”

Miss Kercher said forgiveness “does not come into it” at the moment.  She went on: “It would be very difficult to forgive anything at this stage.

“What everyone needs to remember is ... the brutality of what happened that night, everything that Meredith must have felt that night, everything she went through, the fear and the terror, and not knowing why.

“She doesn’t deserve that, no-one deserves that.”

Meredith’s mother Arline refused to say whether she believed Knox killed her daughter but said she trusted the Italian justice system.

She added: “You have to go by the evidence because there is nothing else. What I want, what they want doesn’t come into it.

“It is what the police have found, what the science has found, what the evidence is and that’s all you can go on.

“It is to find out what happened to Meredith and to get some justice really.”

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Hour and a half to go.  By the way, I was called obsessed and misogynist the way I go on about justice for Meredith at my site.  We’re such terrible people, are we not?

If we’re nervous, what must it be like for the Kerchers?

Posted by James Higham on 10/03/11 at 07:30 PM | #

I’m relieved not to have heard any leaks coming from the Knox/Mellas camp claiming to know the verdict already. Could be a good sign.

Posted by Spencer on 10/03/11 at 07:32 PM | #

I’m relieved not to have heard any leaks coming from the Knox/Mellas camp claiming to know the verdict already. Could be a good sign.

Posted by Spencer on 10/03/11 at 07:32 PM | #

Best quote of the trial:  “You have to go by the evidence.”

Both TJMK and Perugia Murder File.org are experiencing tremendous traffic today. I want to thank everyone for their patience in accessing and logging on - we’re working to increase the available bandwidth today!

Thank you so much for remembering Meredith today!

Posted by Fly By Night on 10/03/11 at 07:38 PM | #

I don’t know, I have a bad feeling. I was listening the local radio in Seattle this morning and they said that AK’s family and friends gathered at one of the hotels in downtown since last night and they are not partying - just yet…

Posted by Hungarian on 10/03/11 at 07:41 PM | #

Good point about predicting the verdict - Knox/Mellas claimed to know the contents of the so-called “expert report” months before it was presented to the court.

Judge Hellman is not under anyones thumb.

Posted by Fly By Night on 10/03/11 at 07:42 PM | #

Surprised Meredith’s Dad wasn’t at the press conference…? Anybody know why he wasn’t?

Posted by janeelisabeth on 10/03/11 at 07:45 PM | #

No worries, Hungarian.  I personally don’t think Hellman et al are in an acquitting mood today.

Knox/Mellas have said and shown that they will do anything to secure their daughter’s freedom, and that includes convincing themselves and everyone surrounding them.

But positive thinking is not enough. If the evidence was stacked in their favor, they wouldn’t have to go to such extremes.

Posted by Fly By Night on 10/03/11 at 07:47 PM | #

Please post the Mrs. Kercher’s response about the faulty DNA.  What she said in a very soft voice, hard to hear her, was that there was a lot of other DNA evidence (that was not contested) and that the DNA was not the only evidence cpnsidered in the original verdicts.

Of course Amanda is nervous, tearful, pleading for her life.  Who wants to go to jail for life for what must have been a drug-induced moment?  That’s all I can figure out.  She certainly did not have the profile of a killer before-hand, but then again, neither did Rudy Guede except that he was breaking into places and holding onto a knife at the time (self-protection?  planning an attack?  We don’t know.)  Of course Rapahel does not want to spend his life in jail, and did not enjoy being in a cell for the last four years.  It’s not much fun, that’s for sure.  He says he kept thinking that the evidence would be overturned.  But he does not explain why his account of that night kept changing.  He says he never harmed anyone before.  But nether had Rudy.  Such a strange strange case.

I feel like it could go either way.  I was so surprised at the Casey Anthony verdict that anything could happen. 

Did someone say that the jury members in this case are professional judges, not civilians?

Posted by believing on 10/03/11 at 07:56 PM | #

10/3/11
Yesterday I bought white roses for Meredith. The sticker on the clear plastic said, “Anastasia”.

Posted by Hopeful on 10/03/11 at 08:11 PM | #

I am in awe at the grace and - yes - courage of this family.

Posted by lauowolf on 10/03/11 at 08:38 PM | #

I don’t know that I’d have the strength to be there for the verdict if my sister or Mom had been murdered.  I am in awe of the human capacity to keep from falling to pieces in the face of so much.  The Kercher family is strong.
I remember it being reported that John Kercher has had 2 strokes in the last year or so, thus maybe explaining why he is not in Perugia…he doesnt need to experience that kind of stress in his condition (though he feels it regardless of his location) I imagine the sadness & anger of being in the courtroom and having to navigate through the insensitive circus surrounding it would be too much to bear.

Posted by rach on 10/03/11 at 08:38 PM | #

Apparently, the verdicts will be announced at 9:30pm.

Posted by The Machine on 10/03/11 at 08:54 PM | #

Perugia time?

Posted by James Higham on 10/03/11 at 09:00 PM | #

Perugia time

Posted by Spencer on 10/03/11 at 09:10 PM | #

Judgement day! http://bit.ly/pC3nnw

I thought Sollecito’s speech was very telling. He didn’t spend any time talking about the details of his “innocence;” he only seemed to play the sympathy card and how horrible the last few years have been for him while in prison. He went as far back as meeting Knox, but then he skipped the details of where he was during the murder and went right to the police interrogation in his speech. Moreover, he actually said:

“No one ever asked me to testify and I don’t know why. But I was ready to talk in front of you, in front of the court to explain any doubt, but nobody—not in this process [the appeal] or the previous one [the original trial] has asked my examination. So I am here, in a way, to say freely the facts, what I’ve gone through and who I am.”

He also appeared very unemotional, and he even smirked once when he began talking about the “free Amanda & Raffaele” bracelet, as if he was making a profound statement or a bad joke.

Posted by willsavive on 10/03/11 at 09:27 PM | #

I also heard another nonsence on the local radio this morning that the Kerchers only listening to their lawyer who is involved in this project solely because of the amount of money involved in the ongoing civil trial against AK. They mentioned 4 million dollars. I haven’t heard any aspect of this yet.

Posted by Hungarian on 10/03/11 at 09:39 PM | #

I’ve heard that chestnut about Maresca too. Honestly I think a lot of lawyers would be honored to take this case. If it were about money the Kerchers would have cut a deal with the defendants long ago.

Posted by brmull on 10/03/11 at 09:55 PM | #

Finally a shot of Raphael who seems to just be sitting quietly next to his lawyer, not talking.  I wonder how long this wait will go on?  Must be agonizing for all those involved.

Posted by believing on 10/03/11 at 10:45 PM | #

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