Gumleaf
November 13th, 2007, 12:29 AM
Tuesday Nov 13 09:00 AEDT
By ninemsn staff
A picture showing the lifeless body of murdered British woman Meredith Kercher in her bedroom following her brutal attack has been published.
The 21-year-old university student was discovered in a house in the Italian town of Perugia only weeks ago, semi naked and with her throat slashed.
The grainy picture — a black and white photocopy from official police photographs — shows Ms Kercher's bedroom.
Her lifeless body appears in the middle of the photo, covered only by a blanket next to the bed, while her foot can be seen beneath.
Numbered pieces of paper litter the bloodied bedroom, indicating the police search for any clues that could led them to answers about the murder.
Italian newspapers were the first to publish the gruesome picture, which was then broadcast on television.
Meanwhile, Ms Knox has been caught on CCTV entering Ms Kercher's building on the night of the savage attack, the Times Online reports.
The footage shows Ms Knox entering the building at 8.43pm on the night of the killing.
Forensic experts have estimated the brutal attack happened between 8.30pm and 11pm.
Police say Ms Knox was visible because of her light-coloured clothing, whereas others may not have been picked up on camera because of darker clothing.
The American student has maintained her innocence throughout the investigation, saying that she was not even present when the murder happened.
But police in Perugia have said the American student's image is "clear cut", which contradicts her latest alibi.
The 20-year-old had said she was with her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito on the night of the murder and was not at the apartment she shared with Ms Kercher.
However, this is the third time Ms Knox has changed her story.
On the weekend, she told her mother Edda Mellas that she had been at her boyfriend's apartment at the time police say the murder took place.
She later changed her story during an interrogation, admitting she had been at the cottage and heard the screams of a dying Ms Kercher — who she said was being killed by Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, a Congolese bar owner and musician.
Ms Knox later denied that version to her mother, saying it was "untrue" and she had been with her boyfriend.
Meanwhile, police allege that she was inside the bedroom as Ms Kercher was being murdered, saying it is likely Ms Knox held her down as her throat was being cut.
Investigators are continuing their hunt for a fourth person who may have been in the room with Ms Knox, Mr Sollecito and Mr Lumumba.
They believe a North African man may have been present, but reports suggest that it may have been another woman in the room which would correspond with a mysterious high heel imprint found at the scene.
Last week, a leaked judge's report into the case described the horrific crime scene that awaited detectives when they first arrived at the shared apartment.
The report said: "With the door opened there was a chilling scene in so far as the room was found in disorder with blood stains everywhere, on the ground and on the walls, and also under the duvet of the bed a foot could be seen."
By ninemsn staff
A picture showing the lifeless body of murdered British woman Meredith Kercher in her bedroom following her brutal attack has been published.
The 21-year-old university student was discovered in a house in the Italian town of Perugia only weeks ago, semi naked and with her throat slashed.
The grainy picture — a black and white photocopy from official police photographs — shows Ms Kercher's bedroom.
Her lifeless body appears in the middle of the photo, covered only by a blanket next to the bed, while her foot can be seen beneath.
Numbered pieces of paper litter the bloodied bedroom, indicating the police search for any clues that could led them to answers about the murder.
Italian newspapers were the first to publish the gruesome picture, which was then broadcast on television.
Meanwhile, Ms Knox has been caught on CCTV entering Ms Kercher's building on the night of the savage attack, the Times Online reports.
The footage shows Ms Knox entering the building at 8.43pm on the night of the killing.
Forensic experts have estimated the brutal attack happened between 8.30pm and 11pm.
Police say Ms Knox was visible because of her light-coloured clothing, whereas others may not have been picked up on camera because of darker clothing.
The American student has maintained her innocence throughout the investigation, saying that she was not even present when the murder happened.
But police in Perugia have said the American student's image is "clear cut", which contradicts her latest alibi.
The 20-year-old had said she was with her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito on the night of the murder and was not at the apartment she shared with Ms Kercher.
However, this is the third time Ms Knox has changed her story.
On the weekend, she told her mother Edda Mellas that she had been at her boyfriend's apartment at the time police say the murder took place.
She later changed her story during an interrogation, admitting she had been at the cottage and heard the screams of a dying Ms Kercher — who she said was being killed by Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, a Congolese bar owner and musician.
Ms Knox later denied that version to her mother, saying it was "untrue" and she had been with her boyfriend.
Meanwhile, police allege that she was inside the bedroom as Ms Kercher was being murdered, saying it is likely Ms Knox held her down as her throat was being cut.
Investigators are continuing their hunt for a fourth person who may have been in the room with Ms Knox, Mr Sollecito and Mr Lumumba.
They believe a North African man may have been present, but reports suggest that it may have been another woman in the room which would correspond with a mysterious high heel imprint found at the scene.
Last week, a leaked judge's report into the case described the horrific crime scene that awaited detectives when they first arrived at the shared apartment.
The report said: "With the door opened there was a chilling scene in so far as the room was found in disorder with blood stains everywhere, on the ground and on the walls, and also under the duvet of the bed a foot could be seen."