Parents of Kercher murder suspects take the stand
Amanda Knox is on trial on charges of murder and sexual violence in the 2007 slaying of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, central Italy.
Her mother, Edda Mellas, took the stand yesterday.
She said there were no problems between her daughter and Kercher.
“They got along great,” Mellas told the eight-member jury. “She told me about the fun things she and Meredith did,” she said, without elaborating.
Last week, Knox testified she was shocked by the death of Kercher, whom she considered her friend.
This contrasted with previous testimony by other witnesses that Kercher had complained about Knox’s bathroom habits and had expressed surprise at her apparent promiscuity.
Knox is on trial together with her Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. Both deny wrongdoing.
Mellas also testified about three phone calls she received from Knox on November 2, 2007, the morning Kercher’s body was found in her bedroom.
“In her first call, she said she thought somebody was in the house,” Mellas said.
Last week, Knox recalled going home that morning to find the front door open. She said she took a shower and saw blood in one of the apartment’s bathrooms.
The second and third calls were made after Kercher’s body was discovered, Mellas said.
“She was very upset, it was disturbing,” Mellas said.
Also yesterday, Sollecito’s father testified his son was never violent and would not “hurt a fly”.
Francesco Sollecito also told the court that his son liked to carry “small knives” in his pockets, a habit he picked up when he was younger.
Meredith Kercher was stabbed in the neck.
Prosecutors say that a kitchen knife found at Sollecito’s apartment is compatible with Kercher’s wounds.
The knife has the victim’s DNA on the blade and Knox’s on the handle.
