This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/8096980.stm
The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
Kercher accused 'under pressure' | |
(30 minutes later) | |
An American woman accused of killing UK exchange student Meredith Kercher has told her Italian trial she felt "under pressure" when questioned by police. | |
Amanda Knox, 21, giving evidence for the first time, said she wrongly implicated ex-bar owner Patrick Lumumba in the murder because she was confused. | |
Ms Kercher, 21, of south London, was found stabbed to death at the flat she shared with Ms Knox in November 2007. | |
Ms Knox and her ex-boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, 24, deny murder. | Ms Knox and her ex-boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, 24, deny murder. |
Giving evidence to a packed courtroom, Ms Knox explained why she had originally pointed the finger of blame at Mr Lumumba. | Giving evidence to a packed courtroom, Ms Knox explained why she had originally pointed the finger of blame at Mr Lumumba. |
"Everything [I] said was said in confusion and under pressure," she said. "They [the officers questioning me] were suggesting Patrick Lumumba so the first thing I said was 'OK, Patrick'." | "Everything [I] said was said in confusion and under pressure," she said. "They [the officers questioning me] were suggesting Patrick Lumumba so the first thing I said was 'OK, Patrick'." |
Throat cut | Throat cut |
She told the court that before she named Mr Lumumba, officers had accused her of trying to protect someone. | She told the court that before she named Mr Lumumba, officers had accused her of trying to protect someone. |
"When I denied that, they called me a stupid liar," she said. | "When I denied that, they called me a stupid liar," she said. |
The [police] declarations were taken against my will Defendant Amanda Knox | |
Ms Kercher, a Leeds University student, had been studying and living in the Umbrian university city of Perugia when she was killed on 1 November one-and-a-half years ago. | Ms Kercher, a Leeds University student, had been studying and living in the Umbrian university city of Perugia when she was killed on 1 November one-and-a-half years ago. |
She shared a house with Ms Knox, who was on a student exchange from Seattle's University of Washington. | She shared a house with Ms Knox, who was on a student exchange from Seattle's University of Washington. |
Ms Kercher's body was discovered in the bedroom of the house on 2 November. Her throat had been cut. | Ms Kercher's body was discovered in the bedroom of the house on 2 November. Her throat had been cut. |
In court, Mr Lumumba's lawyer, Carlo Pacelli, asked Ms Knox why she had implicated his client. | |
"They told me try to remember what I apparently, according to them, had forgotten," she said. | |
"Under the amount of pressure of everyone yelling at me and having them tell me they were going to put me in prison for protecting someone that I wasn't protecting, that I couldn't remember. | |
"I couldn't understand why they were so sure that I was the one who knew everything and so in my confusion I started to imagine that maybe I was traumatised, like what they said. | |
"The declarations were taken against my will." | |
A third person, Rudy Guede, has been jailed for 30 years for the killing. | A third person, Rudy Guede, has been jailed for 30 years for the killing. |