Read Online The Murder of Meredith Kercher by Gary C. King - Free Book Online
Authors: Gary C. King
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exactly did that mean, or entail? Again, people wondered whether this thought of pursuing pleasure had clouded her judgment the night Meredith was killed.
As the investigation continued, detectives interviewed Sophie Purton, 20, a friend of Meredith’s and a fellow student, who told them that Meredith had shared with her information indicating that Amanda had brought a number of men back to the villa. Purton was just one of several student friends of Meredith’s that detectives would interview over the course of the investigation.
‘Meredith told me that Amanda brought men back to their house,’ Purton said. ‘I don’t know how many. Meredith told me in particular about one man who lives in an internet café. Meredith thought this man was very strange.’
In just about any investigation conducted in near fever-pitch intensity, such as this one, detectives would have been all over the lead about the man who lives in an internet café. They would want to know his name, his background, whether he was connected to the victim or the suspects (or both), whether he had an alibi for the night of the murder, and so forth. But the lead, although duly noted, seemed to go by the wayside as investigators seemed certain that they already had in custody those they believed responsible for Meredith’s death. After all, most of the police – including Perugia’s chief of police – already considered the case closed.
Murders are frequently, even typically, solved – at least in part – by determining the motive. Sometimes the motive remains a mystery. In this case, officials ranging from police to forensic pathologists had said they believe Meredith’s murder had been violently sexually motivated. Considering the circumstances surrounding her death, that seems to be a given. Based on the nature and number of the knife wounds to her neck, the case also looked like a torturous, violent sex game that had gone too far and had been played against the will of the victim, and that she had been allowed to die over a lengthy period, so that the identities of those who had attacked Meredith died with her. Indeed, some people close to the investigation speculated later that Meredith may very well have survived the attack had she obtained medical attention, but her killers, knowing that they could not allow Meredith to identify them, could not let that happen.
At various points as the investigation continued the team of detectives re-examined the crime scene video made on the day Meredith’s body was found. It began outdoors, showing the exterior of the hillside cottage that Amanda and Meredith shared with the two other girls. It included shots of Amanda and Raffaele standing nearby, both of them chewing gum and exchanging glances. At one point Amanda could be seen, standing several feet away from Raffaele, mouthing a message to her boyfriend, but it was notimmediately known what she was attempting to convey to him.
The video then moved into Meredith’s bedroom, where disturbing footage was captured of her bloodied face with her eyes open; another shot showed a foot protruding from a duvet on the bloodstained floor. The video also showed Meredith’s bra lying on the bedroom floor, and blood on the bedroom door handle. At one point the duvet was pulled back to reveal Meredith’s bruised and semi-naked body.
The footage also captured the blood in the adjoining bathroom, including blood on one of the tap handles. Forensic investigators were filmed as they examined bloody footprints and fingerprints, including a bloody handprint on the wall in Meredith’s bedroom and a handprint on her pillow. However, only one of Amanda’s fingerprints was found – on a kitchen glass – backing the police theory that the cottage had been cleaned after Meredith’s death.
The video also showed a large rock lying beneath a desk in Filomena Romanelli’s bedroom, which police believed was used to break the window in Meredith’s room in an attempt,
As the investigation continued, detectives interviewed Sophie Purton, 20, a friend of Meredith’s and a fellow student, who told them that Meredith had shared with her information indicating that Amanda had brought a number of men back to the villa. Purton was just one of several student friends of Meredith’s that detectives would interview over the course of the investigation.
‘Meredith told me that Amanda brought men back to their house,’ Purton said. ‘I don’t know how many. Meredith told me in particular about one man who lives in an internet café. Meredith thought this man was very strange.’
In just about any investigation conducted in near fever-pitch intensity, such as this one, detectives would have been all over the lead about the man who lives in an internet café. They would want to know his name, his background, whether he was connected to the victim or the suspects (or both), whether he had an alibi for the night of the murder, and so forth. But the lead, although duly noted, seemed to go by the wayside as investigators seemed certain that they already had in custody those they believed responsible for Meredith’s death. After all, most of the police – including Perugia’s chief of police – already considered the case closed.
Murders are frequently, even typically, solved – at least in part – by determining the motive. Sometimes the motive remains a mystery. In this case, officials ranging from police to forensic pathologists had said they believe Meredith’s murder had been violently sexually motivated. Considering the circumstances surrounding her death, that seems to be a given. Based on the nature and number of the knife wounds to her neck, the case also looked like a torturous, violent sex game that had gone too far and had been played against the will of the victim, and that she had been allowed to die over a lengthy period, so that the identities of those who had attacked Meredith died with her. Indeed, some people close to the investigation speculated later that Meredith may very well have survived the attack had she obtained medical attention, but her killers, knowing that they could not allow Meredith to identify them, could not let that happen.
At various points as the investigation continued the team of detectives re-examined the crime scene video made on the day Meredith’s body was found. It began outdoors, showing the exterior of the hillside cottage that Amanda and Meredith shared with the two other girls. It included shots of Amanda and Raffaele standing nearby, both of them chewing gum and exchanging glances. At one point Amanda could be seen, standing several feet away from Raffaele, mouthing a message to her boyfriend, but it was notimmediately known what she was attempting to convey to him.
The video then moved into Meredith’s bedroom, where disturbing footage was captured of her bloodied face with her eyes open; another shot showed a foot protruding from a duvet on the bloodstained floor. The video also showed Meredith’s bra lying on the bedroom floor, and blood on the bedroom door handle. At one point the duvet was pulled back to reveal Meredith’s bruised and semi-naked body.
The footage also captured the blood in the adjoining bathroom, including blood on one of the tap handles. Forensic investigators were filmed as they examined bloody footprints and fingerprints, including a bloody handprint on the wall in Meredith’s bedroom and a handprint on her pillow. However, only one of Amanda’s fingerprints was found – on a kitchen glass – backing the police theory that the cottage had been cleaned after Meredith’s death.
The video also showed a large rock lying beneath a desk in Filomena Romanelli’s bedroom, which police believed was used to break the window in Meredith’s room in an attempt,
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