Bob the Donkey writes:
So, where did Raffaele's DNA come from to be spread around? Besides the cigarette butt in the kitchen that had been collected 46 days prior, none of the other swabs tested positive for DNA from Raffaele.
I don't know where it came from, but he had been in the house, and he left his fingerprints on the outside of her door. And the investigators, including Stefanoni, were complete slobs in handling the evidence.
The real question is, what happened that night? Do you believe the latest official story, that Amanda and Raffaele slipped off to his room to have sex while Rudy sat on the toilet, and then Rudy decided to rape Meredith, and instead of helping her, Amanda and Raffaele decided to help Guede?
I don't find that narrative believable. But what is more important is that it is pure speculation. The evidence tells the story of what Rudy did. Rudy left a bloody handprint on the victim's pillow. Rudy left DNA inside the victim's body, on her clothing, and on her purse. Rudy left a trail of bloody shoe prints leading down the corridor. And Rudy left the footprint on the bathmat when he took off his shoe to wash it in the bidet after the murder, which is why a trace of the victim's blood was found in the drain of the bidet.
It all adds up. But, if you try to work in luminol footprints and Raffaele's DNA on the bra fastener and Meredith's DNA on the kitchen knife, there is no scenario that makes the least bit of sense. Then, if you add in the speculative BS about a cleanup with bleach that preserved the Rudy evidence and the dust on the floor while selectively extracting every trace of Amanda and Raffaele, it gets even more confusing and improbable.
Actually, the scenario I most subscribe to is this:
Rudy, Raffaele and Amanda had spent time together before. Maybe Amanda wanted to pull a prank on Meredith, similar to the one she's rumored to have pulled in the past. Maybe it started with the 3 of them at Raffaele's flat. They got a little drunk, a little high...Amanda decided she wanted to pull the prank that night. So they grab one of Raffaele's kitchen knives and head off to Amanda's cottage.
Once there, maybe they start with Amanda and Raffaele restraining Meredith - and Rudy starts by toying with her manually. As he claims, Rudy gets sick from whatever he ate earlier that day (kabobs, I believe) and runs to the toilet. While doing his business, Amanda and Raffaele up the ante with their knives. Whether by accident, or in the drunken stupor of the moment (whichever), Meredith is cut badly. Maybe the knife is being held with the point at her throat and she slips and falls on it, maybe it's thrust into her - doesn't really matter at this point other than to determine intent. Regardless of intent, the knife pierces Meredith's throat. She lets out a scream, Rudy hears it, runs to the bedroom where Amanda and Raffaele are already fleeing from. He rushes back to one of the bathrooms to grab towels to help Meredith (as he claims). Gets back with the towels, does what he can but realizes there's no hope for her. Grabs his stuff and exits via the front door.
Meanwhile, Amanda and Raffaele have dumped Meredith's phones and headed into the square to be seen for a potential alibi/whatever.
The two of them return to Raffaele's flat, clean the knife as best they can (nearly cleaning the entire thing of Meredith's DNA...missing only a tiny crack). Maybe they sleep, maybe they don't. Either way, early the next morning, they return to the cottage. Arrange Meredith's body, break the upstairs window (whether from inside or outside doesn't matter, there's no real evidence of a burglary - just the appearance of one and any of the 3 could have broken the window). Do their best to mop up what little evidence remains of their presence in Meredith's room the night before.
That, actually, fits all the evidence and, to be dreadfully honest, doesn't seem all that far-fetched an explanation.
