Hendry's used photographs to conduct his analysis, not the actual fabric. You have read the arguments by myself and katy_did which are grounded in observable facts about bras, as well as a long history in wearing and handling them, with an actual experiment thrown in and you still cannot believe Hendry can be wrong about this. A bra clasp simply cannot be torn off at this point Charlie.
As I said, I can go either way on this.
I think he is wrong about the boots under the bed being the same pair that Meredith's head rested on in a pool of blood. Rinaldi's report shows another pair of boots which Meredith owned which resemble those under the bed more closely IMO. Show me a much higher resolution photo which proves they are indeed one and the same and I'll believe it. In the photos on Bruce's site they look more like her other pair of boots.
Both Hendry and I have examined the photos with great care. Take a look at this composite:
http://www.friendsofamanda.org/boots.jpg
In the lower left you see the photo of the boots under the bed as it appeared in the pdf of Hendry's analysis, which I prepared. I tweaked the gamma to make the contour easier to see. Therefore, I have inserted the un-retouched photo above the edited photo, so you can see I'm not trying to mislead anyone.
The upper right photo from Rinaldi's report shows the bloody boots. The lower-right photos show the sharp-toed boots. You can see that the sole of the boot under the bed is that of the bloody boot, not the darker sole of the sharp-toed boot. The sharp-toed boots appear in the foreground of the photos on the left. One of them is partially covered with other shoes.
I'm pretty sure I've never suggested Kermit is "the only reliable forensic authority with regard to this case" or anything even remotely close to that. In fact the only time I think I referred to Kermit was to correct him on a dimension of the window frame he made in a post here long ago.
As far as what others write, experts or not, I believe what makes sense to me. Hendry's claim on the bra clasp doesn't, and in this regard I think I know a little more than him about bras.
As far as the others you mentioned, I don't think I've ever referenced either one in a single post. Hardly fair.
OK, I accept that my rhetoric is a bit overdone. But I'm trying to make a point: a lot of genuinely independent experts have examined this case and have concluded that the case against Amanda and Raffaele is bogus. Hendry, in particular, has mapped the bloodstains and other evidence in the crime scene photos to a specific scenario that makes perfect sense. Certain details - was the bra cut, or was it ripped apart? - are open for debate. But others are not:
- There can be no doubt that Meredith was standing next to her bed when the first wound was inflicted.
- There can be no doubt that the skirmish moved diagonally across the room, to the area between her desk and the window.
- There can be no doubt that she was on her knees, facing her wardrobe, when the fatal wound was inflicted by an assailant who was behind her, holding the knife in his right hand.
- There can be no doubt that she was dragged and disrobed after she had ceased to struggle, but while she was still gasping for breath.
Could two other people have been present, watching and rooting for this homicidal maniac, and possibly aiding him? I can't prove they weren't. But I can tell you the crime scene photos, the pathology, and the physical evidence all point to a swift, brutal murder committed by one individual armed with a small pocketknife.
