DNA gives police lead in student's death

ROME -- Police found DNA traces from two people on a kitchen knife believed to be the weapon in the killing of a 21-year-old British student: the victim's on the tip, and her American roommate's on the handle.

Police said Meredith Kercher died fighting off a sexual attack, while the coroner said she was stabbed in the neck. Her body was found Nov. 2 in the apartment she shared with Amanda Marie Knox.

The DNA matching Kercher and Knox, 20, of Seattle, came from a knife found in the home of Knox's Italian boyfriend in Perugia, where all three were students.

"This is a fairly relevant clue to link Meredith's death to the actions of these people," Francesco Maresca, a lawyer for Kercher's family, told The Associated Press. "It shows that evidently something did happen among them."

Knox, her 24-year-old boyfriend Raffele Sollecito and Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, a 38-year-old Congolese resident who owns a bar where Knox worked, were arrested Nov. 6. All three have denied involvement.

Sollecito's lawyers and family said in a written statement Thursday that his DNA was not found on the knife that contained traces of DNA from Kercher and Knox.

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said that Kercher's DNA was found on the tip of the 6½-inch blade, while Knox's was on the handle. Repeated attempts to reach Knox's lawyer for comment were unsuccessful.

"A knife nails the couple," Il Messaggero, a Rome daily, said in a front-page headline.

The circumstances of the killing remain unclear. The case has shocked Perugia, a small Medieval city in central Italy that hosts two major universities and draws thousands of foreign students every year.

Kercher's body was found under a quilt in her room in the apartment she shared with Knox.

Police said Kercher had bruises on her neck and face and her body showed signs of sexual violence. A court document said she died after a "rather long agony," possibly bleeding to death.

No charges have been filed. But the Italian judge who upheld the suspects' detentions said last week that there were "serious indications of guilt" -- enough to keep them behind bars for up to a year.

Police and lawyers said Friday that forensic experts were testing items collected at Sollecito's house, such as other knives and shoes. The suspect's computer was also to be checked, since Sollecito told magistrates at one point that he had spent the night of the murder at his home working on his computer.

"We are awaiting the results from forensic police with great serenity," said his attorney, Luca Maori. He said he filed a new appeal Friday to try to get Sollecito released from jail.

Knox has changed her account several times, according to her own lawyer and court documents. At one point she accused the Congolese suspect and said she had to cover her ears to drown out Kercher's screams from next door.

In another version, she said she was not at home the night of the murder, according to the judge's ruling upholding her detention. But a street camera caught her entering her home that evening, according to Italian reports.

Lumumba claimed that he was at the bar he owns in downtown Perugia, but it is not clear if the bar was open and the suspect was there at the time. Investigators believe he might have gone there late to give himself an alibi.

A witness cited by the defense -- a Swiss professor confirming Lumumba's alibi -- failed to convince investigators, the reports said.

"The crime is still recent, forensic tests require time," said Maresca, the Kercher family lawyer. "Better to wait a little longer than having things done poorly."