The Mammoth Book of New Csi by Nigel Cawthorne Page A
Authors: Nigel Cawthorne
Tags: Mystery
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shopping for lingerie with Sollecito the day after Meredith’s murder. On the other hand, when one friend, Natalie Hayward, said she hoped Kercher did not suffer, Knox burst out: “What do you think? They cut her throat, Natalie. She fucking bled to death!”
Investigators were also struck by a gesture Knox made repeatedly in front of them over the next few days. “She’d press her hands to her temples and shake her head, as if she was trying to empty her brain of something she’d been through,” one of them recalled.
Sollecito told the police he could not say for sure that Knox had stayed at his house on the night of the murder. He had passed the evening smoking marijuana and downloading cartoons on his computer. Knox said he used cocaine and acid. He said that Knox had been there, but she left. He could not remember when or if she came back. Computer experts for the prosecution say that the machine had been used to watch a film from around 6.30 p.m. that evening, but there was no activity on his computer between 9.10 on the evening of the murder and 5.32 the next morning – during the time he said he was downloading cartoons. But expert witnesses for the defence maintained that there were records of activity on his computer during the time he was at the police station, implying that his alibi had been tampered with. Curiously, at 9 p.m. on the night of the murder, both Sollecito and Knox’s mobile phones had been switched off, something they did not normally do. Sollecito claimed that he phoned his father that night, but there is no record of the call. Pornography was also found in his apartment.
As Knox was on hand, the police decided to question her, too. Her interrogation began at 11 p.m. By 5.45 a.m., she had told the police that she was in the apartment when Kercher died. She had claimed earlier to have left her apartment at 5 p.m. on Thursday and returned only the next morning when Kercher’s body was discovered. Now she said that on the evening of 1 November she met Lumumba at about 9 p.m. after their exchange of texts. She told police they had gone to the apartment.
“I don’t remember if my friend Meredith was already there or whether she came later,” she said. “What I can say is that they [Meredith and Patrick] went off together.”
Apparently, their objective was to “have some fun”.
“Patrick wanted her, and he had her,” said Knox. “Patrick and Meredith went off together into Meredith’s room while I think I stayed in the kitchen. I can’t remember how long they were in the bedroom together, I can only say that at a certain point I heard Meredith screaming and I was so frightened I put my fingers in my ears.”
She also claimed she had drunk a lot of alcohol and fallen asleep.
“I’m not sure whether Raffaele was there too that evening but I do remember waking up at his house in his bed and that, in the morning, I went back to where I lived, where I found the door open.”
Sollecito continued to claim he was not present on the evening of the murder. In his testimony he said that he had gone into town with Knox.
“I don’t remember what we did,” he said. “Amanda told me she was going to the Le Chic pub to meet friends.”
Around 8.30 or 9 p.m., he had returned home, “smoked a joint”, eaten dinner and then spoken to his father on the phone. After surfing the internet for a couple of hours he went to bed. Knox, he said, had returned at around 1 a.m. He said that Knox rose at 10 a.m. the next morning, before leaving to go to the apartment to change her clothes. She returned saying that she had seen blood there. The pair then went to investigate.
As result of Knox’s testimony Lumumba was dragged from his home in front of his wife and children. He, Sollecito and Knox were then arrested.
The following morning, Knox wrote a five-page memorandum retracting everything she said: “In regards to this ‘confession’ that I made last night, I want to make clear that I’m
Investigators were also struck by a gesture Knox made repeatedly in front of them over the next few days. “She’d press her hands to her temples and shake her head, as if she was trying to empty her brain of something she’d been through,” one of them recalled.
Sollecito told the police he could not say for sure that Knox had stayed at his house on the night of the murder. He had passed the evening smoking marijuana and downloading cartoons on his computer. Knox said he used cocaine and acid. He said that Knox had been there, but she left. He could not remember when or if she came back. Computer experts for the prosecution say that the machine had been used to watch a film from around 6.30 p.m. that evening, but there was no activity on his computer between 9.10 on the evening of the murder and 5.32 the next morning – during the time he said he was downloading cartoons. But expert witnesses for the defence maintained that there were records of activity on his computer during the time he was at the police station, implying that his alibi had been tampered with. Curiously, at 9 p.m. on the night of the murder, both Sollecito and Knox’s mobile phones had been switched off, something they did not normally do. Sollecito claimed that he phoned his father that night, but there is no record of the call. Pornography was also found in his apartment.
As Knox was on hand, the police decided to question her, too. Her interrogation began at 11 p.m. By 5.45 a.m., she had told the police that she was in the apartment when Kercher died. She had claimed earlier to have left her apartment at 5 p.m. on Thursday and returned only the next morning when Kercher’s body was discovered. Now she said that on the evening of 1 November she met Lumumba at about 9 p.m. after their exchange of texts. She told police they had gone to the apartment.
“I don’t remember if my friend Meredith was already there or whether she came later,” she said. “What I can say is that they [Meredith and Patrick] went off together.”
Apparently, their objective was to “have some fun”.
“Patrick wanted her, and he had her,” said Knox. “Patrick and Meredith went off together into Meredith’s room while I think I stayed in the kitchen. I can’t remember how long they were in the bedroom together, I can only say that at a certain point I heard Meredith screaming and I was so frightened I put my fingers in my ears.”
She also claimed she had drunk a lot of alcohol and fallen asleep.
“I’m not sure whether Raffaele was there too that evening but I do remember waking up at his house in his bed and that, in the morning, I went back to where I lived, where I found the door open.”
Sollecito continued to claim he was not present on the evening of the murder. In his testimony he said that he had gone into town with Knox.
“I don’t remember what we did,” he said. “Amanda told me she was going to the Le Chic pub to meet friends.”
Around 8.30 or 9 p.m., he had returned home, “smoked a joint”, eaten dinner and then spoken to his father on the phone. After surfing the internet for a couple of hours he went to bed. Knox, he said, had returned at around 1 a.m. He said that Knox rose at 10 a.m. the next morning, before leaving to go to the apartment to change her clothes. She returned saying that she had seen blood there. The pair then went to investigate.
As result of Knox’s testimony Lumumba was dragged from his home in front of his wife and children. He, Sollecito and Knox were then arrested.
The following morning, Knox wrote a five-page memorandum retracting everything she said: “In regards to this ‘confession’ that I made last night, I want to make clear that I’m
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