Stefanoni tells Massei about 4 routes of bra-clasp contamination
I'm curious why you are confused Dan? The existence of the DNA on the bra clasp was not confirmed by Conti and Vechiotti as Stefanoni stored the bra clasp in a plastic bag and the clasp rusted. So in fact all the prosecution put forward was a claim that Stefanoni found Raffaele's DNA on the bra clasp.
Am I making sense now?
Judge Massei shows how Stefanoni "fudged" her way through the reporting of what was found on the clasp and hooks. It is either that, or Judge Massei himself did not accurately report what Stefanoni testified to.
Massei p. 205 said:
On trace B, from the clasp, a mixed genetic profile was found: the victim plus Sollecito and that result was further confirmed by the Y profile of Raffaele Sollecito, also found on the hooks.
Then there's this little ditti from Massei where the collection method/timing is recounted. What Massei is summarizing here is that the piece of bra with the clasp and hooks on it, although observed on Nov 3, wasn't collected until Dec 18 because (and read this carefully), Stefanoni had said, "We already had collected the whole bra."
Massei p. 205 said:
The little piece of fabric with the clasp had been found at night, around 2 AM on November 3, according to what emerged from the video of that inspection. The clasp was immediately brought to her attention and photographed. It wasn’t however, catalogued during the course of that first search, because, although important, being a missing piece of the bra, there was the fact that ‚however we had taken the entire bra‛
!?!?!?!?!?!
But to continue with Massei's summarizing Stefanoni on what exactly was found on the clasps.....
It's not enough that Stefanoni under oath can neither confirm nor deny that she, herself, had toughed the hooks with her obviously dirty glove,
Stefanoni admits that another investigator had touched the hooks!!!!
Massei p. 213 said:
Returning to the examination of the piece of bra, she confirmed that the investigator who was shedding light on it had also touched the hooks which were on that piece of bra. She stressed that the investigator, immediately before having touched said hooks, changed his protective gloves ‚both he and I were going in, let’s say, in the room, for the sole purpose, at this stage, to look for the clasp. So we had just changed, and he was looking for where it could be, with the flashlight so he was looking, let’s say, more attentively‛.
Remember, this is the sole piece of evidence tying Raffaele Sollecito to this crime. There is now an admission of a possible
double contamination of the bra-hooks, duly recorded by Judge Massei, who then discounts that it has any relevance.
Speaking to the possibility that Stefanoni herself could have contaminated the hooks, she says that she'd just changed her gloves.... but then incredible uses those very same gloves to pick up Meredith's socks! Are we now to believe her in saying that these were fresh gloves in picking up the bra-hook, esp. when the video her staff took of the event shows that they were dirty?
And then there is a third act of potential contamination - Stefanoni replaces the bra-hooks to the floor!!!!! But Massei sluffs this off too.....
Massei p. 213 said:
With reference to the fact that at a certain point the clasp was placed on the floor to be photographed, without a precautionary examination of the cleanliness of the floor, Dr Stefanoni stated the irrelevance of that circumstance. Firstly, she pointed
out that the piece was merely placed [on the floor] and that, due to what previously explained, it wouldn’t have been possible that the act of simply placing it there, could result in something being transferred unless there had been some liquid on the floor.
By now, does anyone need to be convinced that Stefanoni actually testifies to the sloppiness by which she collected the clasp? How would someone define sloppiness other than this? And Massei is there to give the obvious, admitted sloppiness judicial factuality and justification.
Massei justification concerns that the clasp was found in Meredith's room, so contamination could only have come from outside the room. What is missing is any discussion of Stefanoni's own admission of a possible triple contamination of either Meredith's floor, or the various investigators who Stefanoni admitted touching the hooks, she herself with obviously dirty gloves.
I'll stop here. The discussion in the Massei report concerns the identification of the hook DNA with Raffaele.
But wait.... Stefanoni testifies to a fourth possible method of contamination. Yes, a fourth one.
Massei p. 290 said:
On November 2nd, after the door had been broken down and after everybody had been made to leave the house, at around 13:30 pm, the personnel from the Questura of Perugia arrived: Dr. Chiacchiera, the inspector Monica Napoleoni and others. Dr.
Chiacchiera reported that he stood in front of Meredith's room without entering; Napoleoni drew near to Meredith's room together with the assistant Buratti. They remained at the door, and Napoleoni took a step inside the room when the doctor from 118, who had arrived, uncovered the body. Deputy Commissioner Napoleoni stated that everyone who entered wore gloves and shoe-covers except for the personnel from 118, who, even without the precaution of shoe-covers and gloves could not have contaminated the clasp, it is observed, since it was well-hidden and, one might say, protected by Meredith's body and by the pillow under which it was found.
Stefanoni doth protest too much, and Judge Massei is covering up for her sloppiness.
One of the reasons why the Florence conviction on Jan 30 could happen, was because Cassazione said that contamination must be proven by the defence.
Yet, here in the Massei report, we have the judge simply taking Stefanoni's word for it, trusting Stefanoni's hypotheticals. In the face of judges who simply believe Scientific Police on their say-so, how do defence counsel "prove" contamination.
Stefanoni herself gives four possible routes of contamination to judge Massei. What more do they want?
