lot of money, told lies, and did not behave well. If I had to judge him, I would say he was a boy who could not take care of himself. But no way is he a murderer.’
When he was about 16 he was injured during a knife fight over drugs, which left him with an abdominal scar. In time he became a well-known but small-time drug dealer and was referred to around town as ‘The Baron’. He also became known as a petty thief.
At one point he moved to Milan for a while, but returned to Perugia a few days before Meredith was murdered. He had, in fact, been seen by a local barman walking in Perugia on Halloween night, and detectives began showing his photograph around the city’s bars, with swift results. Pasquale Alessi, one of the owners of the Merlin pub, told police that Guede was a frequent visitor to another bar, the Domus nightclub where, investigators learned, Meredith had gone dancing the night before her death. But the potential connections between Guede and Meredith did not merely end at the Domus.
Police eventually learned that Guede had become friendly with the four men who shared the bottom half of the cottage where Meredith and Amanda resided, and was frequently seen at the Piazza Grimana basketball court, only a few metres away and on the route that the students habitually took to and from classes.
He apparently liked to play basketball at the open air court there, hence one of the reasons he liked to hang out at the dimly lit Piazza Grimana – the other being his involvement in illicit drugs, both in the capacity of their sale and usage. A list for a Perugia basketball team shows that Guede played guard in 2004 and 2005.
Rudy Guede also maintained a Facebook page, where he had posted photographs of himself in a number of Perugia bars. He listed his interests as ‘arts, computers, basketball and girls’. Guede’s Facebook page was still active after Meredith’s death, with new message and posted entries. For example, on November 3 someone left Guede a message that read, ‘You still in Perugia? I heard what happened with the English girl. Very crazy.’ Another public message, also addressing Guede, asked, ‘How are you doing in Sweden?’
In another development, after word began circulating about Guede being wanted by the police in connection with Meredith’s death, another Perugian bar owner came forward and said that he had foundGuede in his house with a knife one night a few weeks before Meredith’s murder. The bar owner, however, had declined to press charges against the intruder.
As the police continued their search for Guede, a disconcerting YouTube video of him materialized. Guede was obviously high on some illicit drug or substance when he made the video, as he continuously repeated, ‘Oh my God. I’m an extraterra.’ As the video continued, Guede rolls his eyes back and says, ‘Oh mama, I’m a vampire, I’m Dracula. I’m gonna suck your blood.’
After learning that he was wanted by the police in connection with Meredith’s murder, Guede apparently contacted the British Guardian newspaper via e-mail. He wrote: ‘I didn’t do nothing, but I won’t talk with a policeman, ’cause I’m not a killer. See you in Perugia.’
Fortunately, the search for the African had not taken long to bring results and he was tracked to Germany through a friend – under police guidance – who had contacted him via the Internet. He and his friend chatted for several hours using Skype, with his friend, unknown to Guede, sitting in front of a computer at police headquarters as police listened in and passed him notes telling him what to say or which questions to ask.
‘They are after you for the murder of Kercher,’ said his friend, who the police declined to identify. ‘What have you done?’
‘I wasn’t there that night,’ Guede replied. ‘If theyfound my fingerprints, it must have been from before… I have been in the house. I knew Amanda and I knew Meredith, but I didn’t kill her.’
The
When he was about 16 he was injured during a knife fight over drugs, which left him with an abdominal scar. In time he became a well-known but small-time drug dealer and was referred to around town as ‘The Baron’. He also became known as a petty thief.
At one point he moved to Milan for a while, but returned to Perugia a few days before Meredith was murdered. He had, in fact, been seen by a local barman walking in Perugia on Halloween night, and detectives began showing his photograph around the city’s bars, with swift results. Pasquale Alessi, one of the owners of the Merlin pub, told police that Guede was a frequent visitor to another bar, the Domus nightclub where, investigators learned, Meredith had gone dancing the night before her death. But the potential connections between Guede and Meredith did not merely end at the Domus.
Police eventually learned that Guede had become friendly with the four men who shared the bottom half of the cottage where Meredith and Amanda resided, and was frequently seen at the Piazza Grimana basketball court, only a few metres away and on the route that the students habitually took to and from classes.
He apparently liked to play basketball at the open air court there, hence one of the reasons he liked to hang out at the dimly lit Piazza Grimana – the other being his involvement in illicit drugs, both in the capacity of their sale and usage. A list for a Perugia basketball team shows that Guede played guard in 2004 and 2005.
Rudy Guede also maintained a Facebook page, where he had posted photographs of himself in a number of Perugia bars. He listed his interests as ‘arts, computers, basketball and girls’. Guede’s Facebook page was still active after Meredith’s death, with new message and posted entries. For example, on November 3 someone left Guede a message that read, ‘You still in Perugia? I heard what happened with the English girl. Very crazy.’ Another public message, also addressing Guede, asked, ‘How are you doing in Sweden?’
In another development, after word began circulating about Guede being wanted by the police in connection with Meredith’s death, another Perugian bar owner came forward and said that he had foundGuede in his house with a knife one night a few weeks before Meredith’s murder. The bar owner, however, had declined to press charges against the intruder.
As the police continued their search for Guede, a disconcerting YouTube video of him materialized. Guede was obviously high on some illicit drug or substance when he made the video, as he continuously repeated, ‘Oh my God. I’m an extraterra.’ As the video continued, Guede rolls his eyes back and says, ‘Oh mama, I’m a vampire, I’m Dracula. I’m gonna suck your blood.’
After learning that he was wanted by the police in connection with Meredith’s murder, Guede apparently contacted the British Guardian newspaper via e-mail. He wrote: ‘I didn’t do nothing, but I won’t talk with a policeman, ’cause I’m not a killer. See you in Perugia.’
Fortunately, the search for the African had not taken long to bring results and he was tracked to Germany through a friend – under police guidance – who had contacted him via the Internet. He and his friend chatted for several hours using Skype, with his friend, unknown to Guede, sitting in front of a computer at police headquarters as police listened in and passed him notes telling him what to say or which questions to ask.
‘They are after you for the murder of Kercher,’ said his friend, who the police declined to identify. ‘What have you done?’
‘I wasn’t there that night,’ Guede replied. ‘If theyfound my fingerprints, it must have been from before… I have been in the house. I knew Amanda and I knew Meredith, but I didn’t kill her.’
The
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