Kercher Inquiry: 'Glaring Errors' By Police

Police forensic scientists made a series of glaring errors during the investigation into Meredith Kercher's murder, the appeal trial of accused Amanda Knox has heard.

Knox , 24, is serving 26 years for the brutal sex murder of British student Meredith Kercher, 21, who was found semi-naked with her throat cut in her bedroom of the house the two shared.

She and her co-accused, former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 26, were convicted on two key pieces of evidence, a 30cm kitchen knife and a clasp from Ms Kercher's bloodied bra.

Their original trial heard how DNA from the victim was found on the knife blade and that of Knox was found on the handle, while DNA from Sollecito was said to be on the clasp.

But their appeal in Perugia has now heard from two independent court-appointed experts, professors Carla Vecchiotti and Stefano Conti, who were damning in their appraisal of the methods used by police forensic teams.

Professor Conti showed a brief clip of two officers collecting the bra clasp - pointing out how it had been found six weeks after the murder and in a different place.

There were audible gasps from the public gallery as the two officers were seen picking up the clasp, passing it from hand to hand, dropping it, picking it up and then placing it on the floor again.

Professor Conti said that although gloves were worn, grubby dirt marks could clearly be seen on the thumb and forefinger of one of the officers and he said: ''We can see from these circumstances proper protocol was not followed.''

He also highlighted how instead of putting the clasp into a paper bag it had been placed into a plastic bag adding that the risk of contamination was ''significant'' as a result of how it had been collected.

They also pointed out how the clasp had been kept in such a poor way that it was covered in rust and further testing was futile - with both stressing how they had worn masks, gloves, paper suits and used sterile knives and scissors during their re-testing at Rome's La Sapinenza University.

With regard to the knife, Professor Vecchiotti said their tests had showed negative for blood on the knife and that the DNA said to have been Ms Kercher's was so low it could not be examined again with any conclusion.

The two also added that from studying the original report it was clear ''numerous people had been in and out of the crime scene'' and that ''objects had been moved'' which again put all evidence at risk of contamination.

In a damning point-by-point deconstruction, both added that because of the errors made by the police during the original investigation, the evidence against them should be considered "inadmissible".

Both Knox and Sollecito listened intently as the experts put forward their case bringing fresh hope to them that they will be freed when the court gives its verdict in September.

During a break in proceedings Knox's mother Edda Mellas, said: "To us this is not earth shattering because we have been saying it all along since the original trial but it was just ignored.

"It really does beggar the question how they were found guilty in the first place when you see the mistakes that were made during the original investigation.

"You can quite clearly see the glove of one of the officers is dirty - there is a hair at the end of the finger so it just destroys their claim that they used clean gloves all the time.

"They are being very specific in their detail and showing point by point where the mistakes were made - this is a good day for us and hopefully the judge and jury will see this."

At the end of the hearing, Mrs Mellas added: "The lawyers have told me that today went better than even they could have expected but for us it's no surprise.

"We have been saying all along that the methods used to collect the evidence and examine it were incorrect - to see on the video just how badly it was handled is incredible. It's very powerful.

"At the end of the hearing I just managed to tell Amanda 'I love you' and she said 'I love you too' and that was it but it was a good feeling today, it went well and we are confident."

The Kerchers' lawyer Francesco Maresca revealed how the family were "very worried" with the latest developments of the appeal.

He said: "They have seen and heard in recent weeks, that the work of the scientific police has not been carried out seriously and in a proper fashion.

"As far as I am concerned all we heard today was the same arguments as we have already heard before - in the next hearing I will clarify the confusion that has arisen.

"The family hopes that the court will reach its verdict in a sober and reflective manner in order to arrive at a just outcome."

University of Leeds student Ms Kercher from Coulsdon, Surrey, was discovered with her throat slit in November 2007, in the hilltop town of Perugia, just two months after she arrived in Italy during her year abroad.

A third defendant, small-time drug dealer Rudy Guede, an immigrant from the Ivory Coast, was also jailed in connection with the brutal killing.

He was handed a 30-year sentence for murder and sexual violence following a fast-track trial in October 2008 which was later cut to 16 years.

Knox and Solelcito, who is serving 25 years were found guilty in December 2009.

The appeal hearing has now been adjourned until Saturday.