Investigating Raffaele Sollecito: A Deep Dive into a Controversial Case

1. Hi! I’m Katie Couric. I hope you will join me September 18th on my new show. I will be interviewing RaffaeleSollecito, one of the accused killers of Meredith Kercher, an English student, five years ago in Perugia, Italy… …You were all probably as puzzled as I was, when last December, Barbara Walters declared "this case has a happy ending" because Amanda Knox and Sollecito were released after the first appeal court reversed their convictions. This story has a happy ending!

2. Hi! I’m Katie Couric. I hope you will join me September 18th on my new show. I will be interviewing RaffaeleSollecito, one of the accused killers of Meredith Kercher, an English student, five years ago in Perugia, Italy… …You were all probably as puzzled as I was, when last December, Barbara Walters declared "this case has a happy ending" because Amanda Knox and Sollecito were released after the first appeal court reversed their convictions. This story has a happy ending! While Knox and Sollecito have fled Italy and are "happily" promoting multimillion dollar book deals, there is no happy ending for the family and friends of the murder victim. Meredith Kercher, a beautiful, kind, and talented young woman, whose life was taken in a cruel and brutal manner, will never have the life she deserved to have.

3. We’ve caught up with Knox’s former lover, Sollecito, while he’s in the USA promoting his book, prior to the final appeal of their murder trial in Italy, set for March 2013 …. … here he is in New York, getting ready for transport to our studio. After this commercial break, I’ll see you on the set, where we’ll receive Raffaele Sollecito.

4. Well, well, I see that Dr. Sollecito, Raffaele’s father, is here to ensure that things don’t get out of hand … Please take care of my boy – just in case, here’s the list of things you can and cannot ask Raffaele. Please give the welcome that he deserves, to accused murderer (pending appeal)… Raffaele Sollecito!

5. Well, well, I see that Dr. Sollecito, Raffaele’s father, is here to ensure that things don’t get out of hand … Please take care of my boy – just in case, here’s the list of things you can and cannot ask Raffaele. PR Guidelines – Interviews with my son, RaffaeleSollecito NO questions about his alleged involvement in or knowledge of the murder of Meredith Kercher. ALL the questions you want about what movies he has seen since prison or anything that helps promote his book.

6. I have to admit, TV viewers, that this is a unique situation: I have in front of me a man accused of a violent, vicious murder, along with two others. Back in Italy, prosecutors are preparing for the final appeal – the tribunal of first instance found Sollecito and Knox guilty of murdering Meredith Kercher, a wonderful English girl studying in Perugia. Now, whomever signed Raffaele on the show, has gotten me into a journalistic dilemma… how can I be an honest journalist, searching for the facts in a balanced manner, while I am limited to asking Raffaele questions about what he has done since his release from prison while waiting for his final appeal? Let me tell you, my faithful viewers, because I don’t believe you deserve to be treated like imbeciles: I have a plan …. Watch this and you’ll see some journalism …

7. Raffaele, in order to comply with your PR contract, what I am going to say now are not so much questions, as my own observations from having done some research for your visit. I would definitely ask you to please comment or reply to anything you wish. Uurggghh!! Observation 1: Why did you admit to police – without ever complaining of brutality, all night interrogations, or not being allowed to go to the bathroom – that Amanda had told you to tell lies to them about your activities on the night of the crime? I don’t know about you, TV viewers, but that sounded like “Because they caught me contradicting myself in my alibi”

8. Ggrrrrhhhhh!! Observation 2: When the famous Double DNA Knife was confiscated from your apartment, and was found to contain both Amanda’s and Meredith’s DNA, why did you spontaneously tell a false story that you remembered cooking with Meredith using that knife and you pricked her with it? While that wasn’t a formal item of legal evidence (as defendants in Italy can’t incriminate themselves), it certainly is food for thought for those who have followed this case.

9. Observation 3: Why did your family take your defense to extra-judicial extremes, to such an extent that they have been investigated for attempting to pervert the course of justice, your sister losing her job as a law enforcement officer, and your father being recorded as stating that “money can make water flow uphill” with reference to your defense? Ooufffff!! Most parents would do anything to protect their children, but this case has shown to what ethical and moral extremes some parents go.

10. Observation 4: Most TV viewers will not understand why you never collaborated with the investigation, and, once the trials started, why you used your right to not declare with cross-examination. That wasn’t always the case: back in November of 2007 you requested through your lawyer to meet with Investigating–prosecutor Mignini. However, hours before you were to meet him, fellow suspect, Rudy Guede, was arrested and you haven’t spoken a word to Mignini since. Mmnnnppttt!! I think he’s saying that business again about wishing that he had never met Amanda Knox.

11. Observation 5: Court testimony by DNA experts underlines that there is no plausible or probable scenario to explain your DNA on Meredith’s severed bra strap. There is no basis for suggesting that it got there through “contamination” at the crime scene, in transport to the forensic labs, or in the labs. PpaahhhPaahh! Does the audience believe that the bra DNA is damning evidence?

12. Observation 6: Since you didn’t testify in court, you don’t have an official alibi, leaving the last story that you told police before being arrested: that Amanda had left your apartment between 9:00 pm and 1:00 am on the night of the crime. WWaaffllll!!! The possibility that Raffaele might go on the record in court and repeat Amanda’s absence from his apartment has terrified the Knox entourage and PR machine.

13. Observation 7: Exactly what drugs did you consume on the night of the crime, and in what quantity? Knox’s testimony that you only smoked a couple of joints does not jive whatsoever with the total loss of memory that you both seem to have suffered on the night of the crime. Sigh!! “The joint caused me to blackout” is the type of excuse that gets classified with “the dog ate my homework” except, in this case, the issue is much more serious.

14. Duummmmbt!! Observation 8: Is your book contract and royalties agreement subject to losing the civil claim for wrongful death that Meredith’s family have brought against the murderers of their daughter and sister? Maybe this is the reason that Raffaele is only planning on publishing his book in the United States … or maybe because nobody gives a hoot about him in Italy.

15. Well, that’s it for this edition of “Katie”. We had to let Raffaele go because he wasn’t willing or able to reply to any questions of substance, and that is bad for ratings. I honestly hope that I have met your expectations of professional quality journalism in dealing with the murder of Meredith Kercher and the opportunity to interview one of the suspects here. As a journalist, I live by my reputation: of being an honest and balanced purveyor of news, not a spokesperson for someone’s PR and book sales agenda. Also, from a human point of view, let’s all remember Meredith Kercher in our thoughts and prayers. She seems to have been a precious person who was brutally, criminally, and cynically murdered in quaint Perugia, almost five years ago.

16. Post Script As we discuss the ongoing legal process in the murder of Meredith Kercher, it’s important to maintain an overall perspective on the case: there were threesuspects who were brought to trial on the basis of the same block of evidence that resulted from the investigation. One of the suspects – Perugian Rudy Guede – chose the Italian option of a “fast track” trial, where the case is tried in a few short weeks only on the basis of the investigative report. He was found guilty, with the judges’ sentence basing this conviction on, among other things, Rudy’s actions being in conjunction with third persons, not as a solitary criminal. The two other suspects – Amanda Knox of Seattle and her erstwhile lover of a week, RaffaeleSollecito – decided for a longer, traditional format trial which would allow their lawyers to introduce their own witnesses and well-paid experts. In their first trial they were both found guilty of Meredith’s murder, joining Rudy Guede in prison, despite having the top lawyers in Italy. Following their initial conviction, the first level appeal saw a curious combination of new experts and legal manoeuvring, which got the two sprung from prison, but not out of the legal battle, as the prosecution has appealed the case. I do hope that all the suspects and their families are present in Italy next March to hear the results of the final appeal, and that whoever hasn’t yet reached out to the family of Meredith Kercher will do so. To help prepare for any eventuality, I suggest that the suspects’ families read up on the laudable declarations of the family of Raymond Clark following the guilty plea of their son for the murder of Yale student Annie Le. I recommend the following two sites for further information and debate concerning this case: True Justice For Meredith Kercher - Perugia Murder File Any irony or sarcasm which may be encountered in the presentation or our discussions is not meant by any means to trivialise the pain and suffering, and brutal, senseless murder that Meredith experienced, nor to reduce her memory. I can only hope that there will be one single ending to this crime, that justice is served to those responsible for each of the crimes involved in this case. - Kermit (14 September 2012) email: krmt123@gmail.com