Stranger Than Fiction

Knox's father, Curt, in an interview with NEWSWEEK ahead of the testimony, anticipated a difficult day. "These girls are very dedicated friends of Meredith," he said. "But they were not at the house when the murder took place or when the body was discovered."

Still the girls' testimony could be damaging for the defense. They claimed that both Knox and Sollecito acted strange and without much grief as the group sat in the Perugia police office during interrogations on the day of the murder. "I found Amanda's behavior very strange. She showed no emotion," Butterworth testified. "We were all crying but I didn't see Amanda crying. She and Raffaele were kissing and joking and laughing. She stuck her tongue out at him, she put her feet on him.

"The girls also called attention to comments Knox allegedly made in the police office. They testified that Knox told the group that Kercher's body was found "inside" the wardrobe covered with a duvet. In fact the body was discovered beside Kercher's bed, according to crime-scene photos. And the British witnesses were bothered by what they felt was Knox bragging about being on the scene when Kercher's body was found. "She said 'I found her. She was in the closet with a blanket on top of her,'" testified Frost. "I felt like she was proud."

So far none of the testimony given since the trial started Jan. 16 has given clarity to the confusing circumstances surrounding Kercher's murder. Neither has the conviction of Ivory Coast native Rudy Guede, who is serving 30 years in prison for his part in the crime. Testimony two weeks ago included postal police officers who were the first on the scene but who were not authorized to break down the door to the bedroom where Kercher's body was found.

Instead, it was revealed then, that friends of the Italian girls who lived in the house with Knox and Kercher kicked open the door. The prosecution had also introduced evidence about the washing machine in the villa where the murder took place. Filomena Romanelli, the Italian from whom Knox and Kercher sublet rooms in the villa, testified that the washing machine was warm when she arrived on the scene. She later identified the contents of the washing machine as Kercher's even though the Briton had been dead for at least 10 hours before her body was found, implying that someone else started the laundry.

On Valentine's Day, Knox showed up at court in a white T shirt with the Beatles mantra "All You Need is Love" across the front. Apparently no one on her all-male defense team had thought to coach her on what not to wear when on trial for murder. The jury heard testimony Saturday from the girls' other roommate Laura Mezzetti who said she saw a scratch on Knox's neck the morning after the crime. Knox's father had an explanation. "It was just a hickey," he said after court. "It backs up what she said about spending the night before at Raffaele's house."