Did Giuliano Mignini Contribute to the Contamination of Evidence?
Did Giuliano Mignini Contribute to the Contamination of Evidence? (this page)
Click the links below to read more about improper collection procedures.
The body of Meredith Kercher was discovered November 2, 2007 when the door to her room was kicked open in the presence of two Perugia Postal Policemen. After a Postal Policeman entered the room and determined that Meredith was dead, they quickly ushered everyone out of the cottage.
The Carabinieri (Italian Police) soon arrived and set the cottage up as a crime scene. It was
fortuitous for the police investigation that the intruder who murdered Ms. Kercher had locked the door to her room and its opening occurred in the presence of the Postal Police. As such, the crime scene consisted of three tiers which were inside Meredith Kercher’s room, inside the rest of the upstairs cottage flat, and outside the cottage. One could also say that the inside of the downstairs flat was a fourth crime scene tier. One could argue that new shoe covers should be required for any and all authorized persons entering the upstairs cottage flat and that still new covers required for any and all authorized persons entering Meredith Kercher’s room.
Word of the crime circulated fast and news organizations quickly set up camp on the shoulder of the road overlooking the cottage. Early videos show police officers and officials outside the cottage engaged in cell phone conversations. One of these calls was apparently to lead Prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, whose initial arrival in the afternoon of November 2, 2007 was captured by news video cameras. The first eight photos shown below are still photos from published videos.
In the photos Mignini is in the green coat and in front of him is a heavyset woman in light coat and large handbag believed to be policewoman Lorena Zugarini. Mignini is greeted by police officials as he passes and heads to the entrance to the cottage. Of special interest is that both Mignini and the woman believed to be Zugarini never break stride once they reach the entrance and don’t stop to put on shoe covers before entering the upstairs cottage flat where the murder occurred.
The Grand Entrance
By Ron Hendry
Sometime after his initial arrival, Mignini is later seen outside the downstairs flat entrance when Policewoman Lorena Zugarini kicks open the window so that the flat can be checked out. He is also seen outside the upstairs flat door entrance and out in the parking lot. At all times when his feet can be seen, he has protective shoe covers. This begs the question about what he did once he put on the shoe covers. Did he walk in and out of the cottage and also Meredith’s room multiple times without getting new shoe covers each time he entered? And did Mignini possibly contaminate the crime scene with his poor procedure?
Then, too, we have video still photos of the Scientific Police in their white coveralls standing around outside the upstairs cottage entrance and one photo that shows one reentering the flat. Did they contribute to the contamination of the crime scene by moving back and forth in this manner? Lest we forget, the all important severed bra clasp will not be recovered from the crime scene until December 18, 2007. Luminol testing was done on the evening of December 18, 2007. How could any test results from the floor ever be accurate after the heavy foot traffic the floor had endured in the weeks leading up to the testing?
a website detailing the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox & Raffaele Sollecito
Sloppy Evidence Collection Procedures and Contamination