Knox's Mom Says Daughter, Victim Got Along
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 on Friday. 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.
Knox's father, Curt, told CBS' The Early Show from Seattle that his ex-wife's testimony conveyed the real "shock" their daughter was in at the time of the murder.
"We're now getting a new side of the story," he said.
Last week, Knox testified she was stunned 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 Nov. 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 on Friday, 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.
Kercher was stabbed in the neck.
Prosecutors say that a kitchen knife found at Sollecito's apartment is compatible with Kercher's wounds. Knox's DNA was found on the knife's handle and trace amounts of DNA found on the blade might be the victim's. But an analysis of the case by 48 Hours Mystery questioned those claims, finding serious irregularities with how the evidence was collected and disagreeing with the conclusion that the knife matched the victim's wounds.
Police have testified that Sollecito carried a different knife to the police station after the killing.
Prosecutors believe Knox, Sollecito and a third person already convicted in a separate trial went to Kercher's home the night of the murder and killed the British woman in what began as a sex game.
Sollecito, 25, has said he was at his own apartment the entire night of Nov. 1. He said he does not remember if Knox spent the whole night with him or just part of it.
Knox said she spent the night at Sollecito's apartment and went back to her place the following morning.
Both suspects have been jailed since shortly after the slaying.
The third person involved, Ivory Coast national Rudy Hermann Guede, denied wrongdoing but was convicted of murder last year and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The Amanda Knox Case Was Investigated By 48 Hours Mystery In April
PREVIOUSLY ON CRIMESIDER
June 15, 2009 - "Always A Crescendo:" Amanda Knox Talks About Murder Investigation On Stand
June 12, 2009 - Knox's Alibi: Sex, Drugs And Sleep
June 12, 2009 - Amanda Knox Finally Tells Her Side Of The Story
June 8, 2009 - Amanda Knox Set To Testify In Italian Murder Trial
June 5, 2009 - Victim's Family To Testify In Amanda Knox In Italian Murder Trial