Alleged Murder Weapon in Amanda Knox Trial Shown in Court

PERUGIA, Italy, Sept. 19, 2009 — -- The alleged murder weapon was shown today for the first time in court at the trial of American student Amanda Knox in Perugia, Italy. A large kitchen knife found in the apartment of Knox's co-defendant and former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, was removed briefly from the white box and plastic evidence bag and was examined in court by forensic experts wearing gloves and surgical masks.

Knox and Sollecito were present in court, but they did not show any particular reaction at the sight of the knife, which appeared new and clean. Both claim they are innocent.

Investigators say Knox's DNAwas found on the handle of the knife and Kercher's DNA on the blade. Lawyers for both defendants have contested these findings, saying the amount of DNA found on the blade is too small to be reliable; they also say that the knife in question is too big to have caused some of the cuts in the victim's neck.

Amanda Knox, 22, a former University of Washington student who was on a year abroad in Perugia, is accused, along with Sollecito, 25, of sexually assaulting and murdering her roommate, British student Meredith Kercher, 21. Kercher was found semi-naked, in a pool of blood, on Nov. 2, 2007.

A third person, Rudy Guede, 22, was convicted in November 2008 for his role in the killing and sexual assault of Kercher. Guede has appealed his conviction.

A panel of three forensic experts appointed in February 2008 by a previous judge involved in the investigation were called to testify on Saturday about their findings regarding the time and cause of death, and sexual assault.

Forensic expert Mariano Cingolani, who had focused on the cause of death, told the court today that kitchen knife in question was "not absolutely incompatible" with the wounds in the victim's neck, but said that it would have been difficult for one of the smaller of the three cuts to have been made by a knife with a 6½-inch blade such as evidence item 36, the kitchen knife.

But, "considering the dynamic nature of events," Cingolani said his team felt it could not completely exclude the knife as the murder weapon. He added that "many other knives are much more compatible with that wound than that knife."