No peace for John Kercher, Amanda Knox and Meredith Kercher – murder brought to book

JOHN Kercher is talking to the Times‘ Lucy Bannerman. John Kercher is Meredith Kercher’s father. She’s the young British woman murdered in Perugia, Italy. Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito did not murder her. Bannerman writes:

I had never cried during an interview, until I met John Kercher.

Bannerman says Knox and Sollecito walked into “an explosion of flashbulbs and big-money book deals”.

She also walked out of prison. Bannerman is painting a picture.

She adds:

As they did, they took with them the one thing Mr Kercher and his family had left — an explanation, albeit horrifyingly incomplete, of what happened to their beloved “Mez”.

But they never killed her. What can they know? Bannerman seems to playing a dangerous game.

Now, with the convictions of two of the three suspected killers quashed, the chance to find out what really took place in that white cottage on the night of November 1, 2007, feels farther out of reach than ever.

Mr Kercher says:

“The truth has evaporated.”

But Rudy Guede has been convicted of Meredith Kercher’s murder. Says Mr Kecher:

“One person could not have done it. She had 47 bruises. Two different knives were meant to have been used. Meredith did karate, for goodness’ sake.”

This is a painful stuff. It’s painful to read. A man has lost his daughter in a crime that became a media sensation and international incident.

Remove Knox and Sollecito, and the only theory left is that Guede was helped by other, as-yet-unknown, accomplices.

Mr Kercher asks:

“Then why is there not evidence of these other people?”

He adds:

“As we have always said, we would never want innocent people put in prison. But when you’re presented with that whole body of evidence, by forensic investigators, and it is just overturned, without question — without question — it is very difficult.”

Mr Kercher has written a book. Bannerman seems keen to add a chapter of her own:

A lack of motive and unreliable forensic evidence led to Knox and Sollecito being cleared by a jury.

Mr Kercher adds:

“Knox and Sollecito changed their alibi, I think, nine times….How could one judge turn around and say the break-in wasn’t staged, when another judge spent eight pages in his original report explaining that it was? It doesn’t make sense.”

Bannerman asks a question: “What does he think happened?”

And you know what he says? He says:

“No idea.”

But Bannerman presses on:

Does he believe Amanda Knox killed Meredith?

Bloody hell. He answers:

“Guess. I don’t want to be vindictive. All I know is that there’s no other evidence of any other people being in that flat at that time.”

He says of Guede:

“…That is the one puzzling thing. He has watched Knox and Sollecito walk free. Why has he never said anything? It is baffling. It is surreal. You can’t believe it is happening to you. Even now, I don’t…”

And the book?

Any proceeds from the book will go to a foundation they are setting up in Meredith’s name. They are considering whether it might support bereaved relatives who find themselves, like they did, embroiled in financially draining legal procedures overseas.

Meredith’s case is still not over. Five judges at the Supreme Court are examining whether the law has been applied correctly in the acquittal. Their decision is expected in the autumn. They can uphold the acquittal, finally bringing the case to a close. They can reinstate the convictions, which would trigger a prolonged extradition battle Knox is unlikely to lose. Or they can order a retrial of the evidence.

John Kercher has had his words printed by the Daily Mail:

Throughout the trial, pressure from America had mounted. It began to feel as if some of Knox’s supporters had created a groundswell of noise and opinion. Meanwhile, my family and I, still upset that the media frenzy was focusing on Knox, felt as if we were a tiny, quiet voice crying out in the wilderness.

When a person is murdered, who else would media and living focus on? You cannot alter a life already gone.

As the accusations and insults were traded, I was becoming increasingly upset at the way Knox had been accorded almost minor celebrity status throughout her time in prison. As ever, Sollecito had been sidelined by the media and seemed to have been sentenced to anonymity – but the appetite for more stories focusing on Knox seemed insatiable.

Did she want it?

A site called Ground Report tells us below the headline “Amanda Knox: Running Scared?”:

The Honorable Judge Mike Heavey, a King County(Washington State) Superior Court Judge continues to advocate for the innocence of Amanda Knox.  Judge Heavey is often a guest speaker; he speaks as an American Citizen with the First Amendment Right to the Freedom of Speech.

Judge Heavey is continuing his crusade against the injustice of the false conviction and four-year imprisonment of Amanda Knox.  Informal surveys that Judge Heavey has conducted show that up to 40% of his audiences (40% of Americans?) still believe Amanda was either directly responsible or participated in the brutal murder of Meredith Kercher.

And despite hearing Mr Kercher say he does not know what happened to his daughter, a site called WorldCrunch notes:

A freelance journalist, John Kercher remains convinced that Amanda Knox is “unmistakably guilty” of his daughter’s death, despite an Italian court clearing the American woman and her Italian boyfriend of sexual assault and murder charges. Kercher says Knox’s “publicity stunt” is making it “much harder” for his family to grieve.

Meredith by John Kercher is published today by Hodder & Stoughton at £16.99.

Anorak

Posted: 26th, April 2012 | In: News Comments (17) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink