later testified, because she was expecting calls about her mother who was ill back in Britain. Then she called Filomena, saying that she had returned to the apartment to find the front door open and blood in the bathroom. Knox called Filomena twice more, updating her. The window in Filomena’s room had been broken and her room had been ransacked.
At 12.47 p.m., Knox called her mother in Seattle who told her to call the police. Knox called the Italian emergency number twice, reporting a break-in and mentioning that she had seen blood. She also said that her flatmate was missing and the door to her room was locked.
By the time the Carabinieri (the army police corps) had responded to these calls, the Italian Polizia postale e delle comunicazioni (Post and Communications Police) had turned up as Kercher’s two mobile phones – one for UK calls, one for local calls – had been found in gardens half-a-mile (800 m) away. They found Knox and Sollecito standing outside the flat, saying they were waiting for the Carabinieri. Knox took the officers inside and showed them the broken window, bloodstains in the bathroom and Kercher’s locked bedroom door. But the Polizia postale were reluctant to break it down, considering it outside their jurisdiction.
Filomena then turned up with three friends. One of them kicked Kercher’s door in. Meredith’s near-naked body was found lying on the floor, covered by a blood-soaked duvet. There was blood on the bed, the walls and the floor. The police then ordered everyone out of the flat as it was now a crime scene and forensic teams moved in.
Pathologists put the time of death at between nine and eleven the previous evening. Her body was covered in scratches and bruises. There were forty-three in all. An attempt had been made to strangle her, but she had actually been killed by multiple stab wounds to the throat. One had severed her superior thyroid artery and she died of suffocation due to inhalation of her own blood. The hyoid bone in her neck, which supports the tongue, was broken, indicating that she had been choked before she was stabbed. There were also the marks of three fingers and a thumb on Meredith’s neck and knife wounds to her hands made when she tried to defend herself. There were also signs of sexual assault. Her body had been disrobed and moved some time after death. Two credit cards and money were missing.
On 5 November, twenty-four-year-old Sollecito was called to the police station in Perugia for questioning. Knox came, too, explaining later that she did not want to be alone. She sat on his knee and was told by police officer Giacinto Profazio that this was inappropriate behaviour in a murder investigation. He also said that they showed a “strange attitude” after their friend was found with her throat cut. Knox was said to have done the splits and cartwheels while waiting.
Monica Napoleone, head of the Perugia murder squad, said: “She had complained that she was feeling tired and at that stage I told her that she could go if she wanted. She said she wanted to stay; Sollecito was also at the station at the time and she said she wanted to wait for him. A few minutes later I walked past a room at the police station where she was waiting and I saw Amanda doing the splits and a cartwheel . . . She and Sollecito had had a bizarre attitude throughout the whole time – they were laughing, kissing and pulling faces at each other.”
Napoleone said that she found their attitude very different from the others who had been brought in for questioning.
“When they were brought in after poor Meredith’s body was found, the flatmates and the British friends were very upset,” said Napoleone, “but Knox and Sollecito seemed to be more interested in each other. They were very indifferent to the situation and I found it quite disturbing considering that the body of a young girl had been found in such terrible circumstances.”
It was later reported that Knox had gone
At 12.47 p.m., Knox called her mother in Seattle who told her to call the police. Knox called the Italian emergency number twice, reporting a break-in and mentioning that she had seen blood. She also said that her flatmate was missing and the door to her room was locked.
By the time the Carabinieri (the army police corps) had responded to these calls, the Italian Polizia postale e delle comunicazioni (Post and Communications Police) had turned up as Kercher’s two mobile phones – one for UK calls, one for local calls – had been found in gardens half-a-mile (800 m) away. They found Knox and Sollecito standing outside the flat, saying they were waiting for the Carabinieri. Knox took the officers inside and showed them the broken window, bloodstains in the bathroom and Kercher’s locked bedroom door. But the Polizia postale were reluctant to break it down, considering it outside their jurisdiction.
Filomena then turned up with three friends. One of them kicked Kercher’s door in. Meredith’s near-naked body was found lying on the floor, covered by a blood-soaked duvet. There was blood on the bed, the walls and the floor. The police then ordered everyone out of the flat as it was now a crime scene and forensic teams moved in.
Pathologists put the time of death at between nine and eleven the previous evening. Her body was covered in scratches and bruises. There were forty-three in all. An attempt had been made to strangle her, but she had actually been killed by multiple stab wounds to the throat. One had severed her superior thyroid artery and she died of suffocation due to inhalation of her own blood. The hyoid bone in her neck, which supports the tongue, was broken, indicating that she had been choked before she was stabbed. There were also the marks of three fingers and a thumb on Meredith’s neck and knife wounds to her hands made when she tried to defend herself. There were also signs of sexual assault. Her body had been disrobed and moved some time after death. Two credit cards and money were missing.
On 5 November, twenty-four-year-old Sollecito was called to the police station in Perugia for questioning. Knox came, too, explaining later that she did not want to be alone. She sat on his knee and was told by police officer Giacinto Profazio that this was inappropriate behaviour in a murder investigation. He also said that they showed a “strange attitude” after their friend was found with her throat cut. Knox was said to have done the splits and cartwheels while waiting.
Monica Napoleone, head of the Perugia murder squad, said: “She had complained that she was feeling tired and at that stage I told her that she could go if she wanted. She said she wanted to stay; Sollecito was also at the station at the time and she said she wanted to wait for him. A few minutes later I walked past a room at the police station where she was waiting and I saw Amanda doing the splits and a cartwheel . . . She and Sollecito had had a bizarre attitude throughout the whole time – they were laughing, kissing and pulling faces at each other.”
Napoleone said that she found their attitude very different from the others who had been brought in for questioning.
“When they were brought in after poor Meredith’s body was found, the flatmates and the British friends were very upset,” said Napoleone, “but Knox and Sollecito seemed to be more interested in each other. They were very indifferent to the situation and I found it quite disturbing considering that the body of a young girl had been found in such terrible circumstances.”
It was later reported that Knox had gone
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