It's rubbish the knife could have been contaminated. Gill gets his 'shoe box' thesis from Vecchiotti and the Friends of Amanda lawyers, desperate to try any old 'glove-doesn't-fit' defence tactic.
The real story of the collection and handling of the knife is here:
From Massei (Wiki, English translation, page 106): Testimony of Armando Finzi, chief inspector of the Flying Squad of Perugia, confirmed by Stefano Gubbiotti and assistant Zugarini Lorena at the hearing of February 28, 2009.
“As soon as the knife was picked up he (Finzi) put it in a new paper bag that he had with him and then in a folder.
The sealed bag with the 31 centimetre knife inside was handed over to superintendent Gubbiotti. The bag the knife was put in was new and had never been previously used; in the same [bag] there was never any other item.”
“He (Stefano Gubbiotti) said that upon returning to the police station, inspector Finzi handed him the material seized in the home of Sollecito Raffaele. The first thing he handed over was the knife which was inside a new bag that was well wrapped and submitted closed and thus had no contact with the exterior. He specified that when handing over such knife he had new gloves on, which he had not used on other occasions and which he took from the office.
Therefore, with those gloves, he removed the knife from the bag and put it inside a box that he sealed with scotch-tape. He specified that such box previously contained a desk diary and no other items apart from “the new desk diary offered” by a bank. This box was then sent, along with other findings, to the Scientific Police in Rome.”
Needless to say no shoe box addressed to Meredith was involved.
