How reliable is the forensic evidence?
An allegedly damning trace of DNA was found on Kercher’s bra fastener and is claimed by the prosecution to belong to Sollecito. This is fiercely contested by his lawyers, both on grounds of the tiny amounts of biological material involved and the possibility of contamination. The fastener was only found and bagged on 18 December 2007 – more than seven weeks after the murder. However, if it can be shown that the DNA really is Sollecito’s, his lawyers will have to come up with some way in which it could have got on to the fastener during that period or earlier. The room was sealed off by the police immediately after the discovery of the body and Sollecito is not known to have visited Meredith’s room before. One possibility is that a forensic technician who also examined Sollecito’s flat might have carried the trace to Via della Pergola 7 when it was examined for a second time. But Judge Micheli checked the police records and found that none of the officers who worked at Sollecito’s apart
