Perugia Murder: Tests Confirm New Suspect Had Sex With Victim

PERUGIA, Italy. Nov. 23, 2007 — -- Forensic tests carried out by the Italian police confirm that Rudy Herman Guede, the man detained in Germany in connection with the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, had sex with her the night she was killed.

According to police sources, Guede's DNA matches the DNA traces found by police on Kercher's body and in her bathroom after she was killed, the night of Nov. 1 in the Italian town of Perugia.

Fabio Giobbi, chief of forensics for the Perugia police, told ABC News that both DNA samples are identifiable as Guede's. However, he said, they are still trying to establish wether this was consensual sex or rape.

"We are now waiting for important results from the DNA found on the bra, which was ripped off the victim after the stabbing," Giobbi said. He said investigators believe the bra was ripped off after Kercher was stabbed because it has blood on it and was found near the bedroom door, not close to the victim.

Guede, 20, a native of the Ivory Coast, was arrested on a German train Nov. 19. Italian police issued a warrant after they say they matched his fingerprints, which they had on file, to ones found at the crime scene.

A German judge today ruled Guede must remain in jail in Germany while he awaits extradition to Italy.

Italian press reported today that Guede admitted to the police in Germany that he was in Kercher's house the night of the murder. He reportedly told police that he met Kercher at a disco Halloween night. The next day, Nov. 1, she took him home with her and they made love, according to the reports.

Then, he went to the toilet as he was feeling unwell and while there he heard screams. He rushed into Kercher's room, fought with "a dark-haired Italian man with no glasses," tried to revive Kercher, but then ran away because he was scared.

Beaten by Italian Police

In other developments in the case, American student Amanda Knox, who is also a suspect in the case, alleged in a jailhouse letter that she confessed to involvement in the crime only after she was beaten by Italian police. Knox claims she was hit on the head after not knowing the answer to a question.

This allegation came to light in a long, rambling handwritten note Knox wrote after her arrest at police headquarters in Perugia; a copy was obtained by ABC News.

In the statement, Knox writes that her previous confession was flawed, because it was made "under the pressures of stress, shock and extreme exhaustion."

The 20-year-old student from Seattle wrote, "In regards to this confession I made last night, I want to make clear that I'm doubtful of the veracity of my statements. … Not only was I told I would be arrested and put in jail for 30 years, but I was also hit in the head when I didn't remember a fact correctly."

In the four-page letter Knox apparently wrote in her jail cell, she writes: "All I know is I didn't kill Meredith."

Describing what went on that night, she writes, "I saw myself cowering in the kitchen, with my hands I cover my ears because in my head, I could hear Meredith screaming. But I've said this many times so as to make myself clear: These things seemed unreal to me, like a dream, and I am unsure if they are real things that happened or are just dreams my mind has made to try to answer the question in my head and the questions I am being asked. But the truth is I'm unsure about the truth."

Knox also writes about her state of mind and says the police hit her on the head during questioning: "I want to make clear that I'm doubtful of the veracity of my statements because they were made under the pressure of stress, shock and extreme exhaustion. Not only I was told I would be arrested and put in jail for 30 years, but I was also hit in the head when I didn't remember a fact correctly. I understand that the police are under a lot of stress, so I understand the treatment I received. However, it was under this pressure and after many hours of confusion that my mind came up with these answers."

Italian television today showed video of Knox and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who is also a suspect in the case, shopping the day after Kercher's body was found. A security camera inside a clothing shop showed the affectionate young lovers as they looked through the racks. Knox reportedly bought sexy underwear, and, according to the owner of the shop on Italian TV, Sollecito talked about going home and having wild sex.

Nov. 30, a court in Perugia will meet to decide whether Knox and Sollecito can be released from jail while the investigation continues. They have not been formally indicted, but are being held while under suspicion.

Congolese pub owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba was released Tuesday from the jailhouse in Perugia where he had been detained since Nov. 6 in connection with the murder. His lawyers had been lobbying for his release, arguing that there was a lack of evidence to hold him.

According to police sources, no forensic traces were found linking Lumumba to the crime scene, and he has always maintained that he didn't visit the house where the murder took place.

Investigators are still trying to piece together the puzzle of what happened that night in the little house on Via della Pergola in Perugia, and who murdered Kercher.

Additional reporting by ABC's Phoebe Natanson and Ann Wise.