Video disputes Knox claim

PERUGIA, Italy — A closed-circuit security camera captured images of Seattle native Amanda Knox entering her house on the night her roommate was slain, some Italian media outlets reported Monday.

The video contradicts one of the stories Knox, 20, has told police since she was arrested along with two men in connection with the slaying of her British roommate Meredith Kercher, 21.

Knox has said that on the night of the slaying, she was with Raffaele Sollecito, her 24-year-old boyfriend, who also is being held in connection with the slaying. That is the version of events that Knox's mother, Edda Mellas, told reporters after meeting with her daughter on Saturday.

But it was reportedly denied by Sollecito, who has said he did not see Knox between 9 p.m. on Nov. 1 and early in the morning of Nov. 2.

Knox also has claimed that she was in the house when Kercher's throat was cut and that she had to cover her ears to drown out the noise of the screaming from the struggle leading up to Kercher's death.

Police investigators would not comment on the security camera, citing Italian law that limits the types of information that can be released as part of an open investigation. And Knox's attorneys in both Perugia and Rome could not be reached for comment.

An Italian judge has said Knox has "confused memories" of that night because she had taken hashish. A lawyer for Knox, Luciano Ghirga, told reporters that because his client had given different versions of what happened, "it is difficult to evaluate which one is true."

Police estimate that Kercher's throat was cut around 11 p.m. on Nov. 1. There is evidence that she may not have died until up to two hours later.

Knox, Sollecito and Kercher were schoolmates at Perugia's University for Foreigners. Besides Knox and Sollecito, another man, well-known bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, is also being held. All three have denied involvement in the slaying.

Given the severity of the charges, Italian law allows all three to be held for up to two years without being charged.

Italian newspapers said Monday that police may be looking for as many as two additional people who could have been in the room where Kercher's body was found on the morning of Nov. 2.

The Turin daily La Stampa reported that police found a high-heeled shoe that did not belong to either Kercher or Knox in the room where Kercher was found. And newspapers continued to report that what appeared to be a male's fingerprints were found in the room.

La Stampa also said that while Knox's fingerprints were found in Kercher's room, none were found in her own room, sparking suspicion that someone may have helped Knox clear her room of evidence.

Other facts that trickled out Monday include news that Lumumba's identification papers misstated his age. He is 44 rather than 37 or 38, the ages reported for him previously.

Forensic reports out of Rome on Monday have shed additional light on the investigation.

The case against Sollecito includes reports that the knife used to cut Kercher's throat matches a short knife owned by Sollecito and that a bloody footprint near Kercher's body matches athletic shoes owned by the suspect.

But Sollecito's father appeared on Italian television Monday to say many types of knives could make a similar mark and that the shoes Sollecito wore were too common to base a case on.

Investigators said they are looking for DNA clues from a sweaty T-shirt Lumumba wore that night and from a hair found on his head that was not his.

Eric J. Lyman is a freelance writer based in Rome.