Continuation Part 2 - Discussion of the Amanda Knox case

[Onofarar]

Contingency Fees

Seriously? He actually said that? Is that even possible, being as this case must be taking up a huge percentage of his ability to serve clients, is he independently wealthy or something? Contingency basis perhaps?

Also to Chris C in the next post:
IIRC - only two countries allow contingency fee payments to lawyers -
1.) USA
2.) Nauru

If he is working pro bono he must have one heck of a book deal (with a big advance ). Does he do "exclusive" interviews with the media - that might be lucrative for this case.
He could also be working "on account" where he has a huge accounts receivable balance for fees billed and due from the Kerchers' whenever they can afford to pay (but then what is he living on now?) He might be able to find someone who would advance him funds against these receivables.

Overall, everything points to a big future payday for this ambulance chaser if he can make the verdict stick - explains a lot of his actions in the appeal.

 

[Alt+F4]

Greg Hampikian interview last night (starts about 19 minutes into the podcast).

http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=577&a=25064&p=10&n=Northwest

Thanks for the link.

Gosh, the host of the show is such a fool. He acutally said:

The DNA found on it [the bra clasp] was exactly what you would expect from a guy like Raffaele being in that house.

Dr. Hampikian said nothing new: bra clasp is contamination, knife being opened up.

 

[Chris_Halkides]

cooking

Why would he bring that knife to the women's apartment to use when they had knives there already?

RS's father also said that his son's DNA on the bra clasp may be there since the women shared bras. I don't believe anything he says.

Alt+F4,

Are you sure that Raffaele's father said that they did, and not maybe they wore each other's bras. As for the knife, it sounds to me as if the elder Mr. Sollecito is merely repeating what his son told him. And I don't know that anyone disputes the fact that Raffaele cooked at Amanda's flat, only that a knife would be transported. I doubt that the knife ever left Raffaele's apartment.

 

[CDHost]

Gee,
I was going to remark on the fashionable coats. Never mind.

http://www.daylife.com/photo/06VobNfdbhaGU?q=Amanda+Knox

http://www.daylife.com/photo/01Z666t6AMeT3?q=Amanda+Knox

Those are good looking coats. Amanda and Raffaele are graduate school age. He's wrapping up his PhD essentially, she seems to be aiming for something like MIIS. Very hard to get into, but she's going to be able to do the celebrity route. I started wearing wool in graduate school, though pea coats were popular when I was in HS.

Anyway I saw your title. Don't know what part of the US you live in, but London Fog has gone way downhill. They are a Macy's brand, they don't sell good wools much anymore, they are low end wools just trading on the name. Now you want to buy a good wool, I have one of the best wool stores in the US in long walking distance, Landau.

 

[Alt+F4]

If Raffaele had gone to Amanda and Meredith's cottage to prepare a meal for them, it would be reasonable for him to take a knife that he knows the condition of so he doesn't end up facing a drawer full of utensils that can barely cut butter.

Seriously Dan, do you really think anyone believes that?

I agree with Nails, the knife never left RS's apartment. After seeing the news story on TV that Meredith's DNA was found on the knife he made up the lie (like father, like son) that he pricked her with it. Why? He knew he murdered her but was so high/loaded he couldn't remember all the details.

Remember, this lie did not come under police interrogation, he offered it freely.

 

[RoseMontague]

Also to Chris C in the next post:
IIRC - only two countries allow contingency fee payments to lawyers -
1.) USA
2.) Nauru

If he is working pro bono he must have one heck of a book deal (with a big advance ). Does he do "exclusive" interviews with the media - that might be lucrative for this case.
He could also be working "on account" where he has a huge accounts receivable balance for fees billed and due from the Kerchers' whenever they can afford to pay (but then what is he living on now?) He might be able to find someone who would advance him funds against these receivables.

Overall, everything points to a big future payday for this ambulance chaser if he can make the verdict stick - explains a lot of his actions in the appeal.

When I looked into this previously I was under the impression that Maresca was originally hired to stop a second autopsy and to get the body released back to the family for burial in England. At some point his role changed and I am not sure how he is being paid. I think it is clear that the family feels the truth has already been determined and his primary function now is to protect the first court's judgment.

 

[Katody Matrass]

But where did the bras fail when they were ripped off? I would guess that most did so at the hook area (as the one I tried did), not at the fabric of the clasp. I don't disagree at all that a bra could be ripped off, I just think it's very unlikely that it would fail in that particular area.

Thanks for the great experiment, katy_did
It looks like the hooks are much weaker points then the seams of the clasp. Though in your photo there's a hint of a seam failure in one spot, too.
What made me agree with Hendry was that the clasp itself doesn't look cut. There's also something looking like a seam (hem?) on the bra strap where the bra clasp was. But the bra pic in the pdf is still of too low resolution to see any obvious signs of cutting. It's a pity we don't have close-ups as good as those of the clasp.
From what I know so far I must agree with you, though I think some possibility exist that the bra ripped in such unlikely manner. After all it was pulled hard, that's undisputed.

The whole point was Hendry's credibility - it still looks strong to me, his reconstructions are very good. If he had better resolution photo of the bra he may still be right about it, too.

 

[RoseMontague]

I did a little bit of research on plastics and color and some bleeding does occur in both the dyed and colored plastics in some cases. Temperature is one factor that can increase bleeding.

 

[Dan O.]

What I'm saying is that RS's father is lying when he says that the pricking of Meredith (to explain her DNA on the knife) happened in the women's apartment.

The prosecution would do well to accept any alternate explanation that is offered to them. When the review of the knife comes back saying that this knife could not have been the weapon that pierced Meredith's neck and the review of the computer logs prove that Raffaele could not have been at the cottage that night, the prosecution is going to be in a pretty tight spot to explain the DNA results that they presented at the first trial. Note that I said "When" and not "If".

Personally, I have not changed my opinion of the knife story from the first time I read it. Given the timing that this was written in a diary three days after hearing about the DNA results and Raffaele's mental condition those days which he also discusses in his diary, My opinion is that the story confabrication of multiple events that were brought together by stress and thinking about this DNA result. At the time Raffaele wrote the passage he probably believed it. Today he would know if it were true or not. What Raffaele's father is saying is either a supporting hypothesis with no basis or he is relaying the facts from Raffaele. We don't know which it is and it really makes no difference.

 

[Katody Matrass]

I agree with Nails, the knife never left RS's apartment. After seeing the news story on TV that Meredith's DNA was found on the knife he made up the lie (like father, like son) that he pricked her with it. Why? He knew he murdered her but was so high/loaded he couldn't remember all the details.

Interesting, so how do you think Meredith's DNA got there? Was it a contamination? Or planting ?

 

[Alt+F4]

Are you sure that Raffaele's father said that they did, and not maybe they wore each other's bras.

Well according to Candace Dempsey he said they probably shared the same bra.

 

[Alt+F4]

Interesting, so how do you think Meredith's DNA got there? Was it a contamination? Or planting ?

I don't think it's on there at all but the important thing is RS did.

 

[Alt+F4]

Given the timing that this was written in a diary three days after hearing about the DNA results and Raffaele's mental condition those days which he also discusses in his diary, My opinion is that the story confabrication of multiple events that were brought together by stress and thinking about this DNA result. At the time Raffaele wrote the passage he probably believed it. Today he would know if it were true or not. What Raffaele's father is saying is either a supporting hypothesis with no basis or he is relaying the facts from Raffaele. We don't know which it is and it really makes no difference.

Well I guess we'll never know as RS has refused to make a statement in years. He appears to me to be a semi-literate moron who has trouble speaking and reading his own language. He has his lawyers and father make up his continuously changing story (I mean lies).

At least Amanda had the guts to take the stand in her own defense. As the prosecution didn't really give her many hardball questions, I think she did rather well.

 

[Katody Matrass]

I don't think it's on there at all but the important thing is RS did.

Ok, you don't think it's there. Why do you think Stefanoni said it's there?

 

[Justinian2]

Well I guess we'll never know as RS has refused to make a statement in years. He appears to me to be a semi-literate moron who has trouble speaking and reading his own language. He has his lawyers and father make up his continuously changing story (I mean lies).At least Amanda had the guts to take the stand in her own defense. As the prosecution didn't really give her many hardball questions, I think she did rather well.

Kind of a stoning with words, eh?

Personally, I would rather stone the people doing the stoning. I find it more challenging & victory even sweeter...

 

[Onofarar]

When I looked into this previously I was under the impression that Maresca was originally hired to stop a second autopsy and to get the body released back to the family for burial in England. At some point his role changed and I am not sure how he is being paid. I think it is clear that the family feels the truth has already been determined and his primary function now is to protect the first court's judgment.

Hi Rose

Do you agree that between his court time, prep time, phone calls to keep the family informed plus assistance from associates on legal research, interviews of prospective witnesses etc. that Maresca has hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of billable hours?
If he alone has 1,000 billable hours at a very modest $100 per hour that = $100K US. Even in sterling that is a lot of dinero.
If the Kerchers are paying him anything close to these sums I feel very sorry for them in more ways than one. In addition to the grevious emotional trauma they have suffered and continue to endure, they are being scammed by a legal rascal.
Also, if they have paid out this kind of sum or will be unable to pay what they owe without collecting from AK & RS on their previously warded judgement, could make it more difficult for them to recognize the weakness of the convictions and what the future holds - reversal and freedom for AK and RS.

 

[Alt+F4]

Ok, you don't think it's there. Why do you think Stefanoni said it's there?

Because she made an error, it does happen. But that's boring compared to making up a wild conspiracy theory involving planted evidence, Hitler-like prosecutors, depraved police officers all with a single mission: to keep Saint Amanda, the patron saint of Seattle, in prison forever....


....just cause she's beautiful!

 

[Alt+F4]

Kind of a stoning with words, eh?

Don't worry about it Justianian, since he is a semi-literate moron in his own language I don't think he'll be able to read this forum.

 

[Matthew Best]

Personally, I have not changed my opinion of the knife story from the first time I read it.

Neither have I. I think Sollecito made up the story in desperation at being presented with a scenario (that there was Kercher DNA on the blade) that he couldn't explain (as he knew he hadn't stabbed Kercher with the knife). It was a silly thing to do, and undoubtedly counts against him in the court of public opinion (as well as the court of law), but in my mind doesn't amount to convincing evidence of his guilt.

 

[Alt+F4]

Do you agree that between his court time, prep time, phone calls to keep the family informed plus assistance from associates on legal research, interviews of prospective witnesses etc. that Maresca has hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of billable hours?

Although we have no evidence of it, I agree with another poster who said he might be doing all this pro bono. The amount of publicity generated will be worth more than hundreds or thousands of billable hours.