http://bari.repubblica.it/cronaca/2011/ ... ef=HREC2-8

The supreme court ruled: Sabrina Misseri has to stay in prison!

Now I am very interested in Frank's opinion, because he mentioned this case regularly in his blog!

Yes from what I understand of this case it is another police screw up where they take a simple case and make it into a mess.

I cant read Italian and so I was dependent on Frank for news about this case.

The similarities are incredible. This time however we have a taped confession and parts of it are transcribed in the detention order. It is very clear that Sabrina's dad was coerced into naming his daughter as an accomplice. Anyone interested is seeing this document (in Italian) send me a PM with their e-mail address.

In your opinion, does this bode ill for Knox and Sollecito?

http://bari.repubblica.it/cronaca/2011/ ... -16827265/

In the previous perugia shock comments area I occasionally made a cynical joke about the carelessness of Avetrano's/Taranto's "system" to neglect the incarceration of Sabrina's mother Cosima. It got serious!!!

Allegedly cellphone activities revealed Cosima's presence in certain places during specific times. Is Cosima perhaps Avetrano's Raffaele, otherwise providing an alibi for her daughter? Is Italy a society of misogynist crime novelists seeking for the least probable crime in real world?

Simultaneously we notice, that 7 seismologists are definitely tried for manslaughter, because they failed to forecast the earthquake of L'Aquila! Really disturbing!

Sabrina's innocence is even more obvious than Raffaele's and Amanda's and the media circus surrounding the case even worse. It is almost like the cops love to pursue a case like this and the media goes crazy over it.

I've been saying this is a modern day media witch hunt. That is for the UK Tabloids anyway.

In Italy this may be more of a modern day Roman Collesium.

:/

I can't figure out what evidence they have against Sabrina Misseri besides the convoluted and retracted confession of her father Michele Misseri. Is the evidence still secret or something? At least they don't leak nearly as much as the Perugian guys.

You guys have been talking about this case for a while, and I must confess that until now I haven't dug in. I did a quick google search and except for a couple of brief AP like blurbs, all I could find in English was a summary by Barbie with the tag line...."Knox's grisley successor". For obvious reasons I am disinclined to rely on Barbie to tell me what time it is, much less report on an actual murder case that could involve an innocent young woman. Are any of you aware of any other english language summaries that might help me get up to speed on the case.

Sorry, Wald. I realize now that you meant the 'Sabrina Misseri/Sarah Scazzi case'

So I'm deleting my post.

Hi Giordano,

Jinx.

As am I....

This is absolutely unbelievable! They just released Michele Misseri. He already served the 6 months jail time for the crime of disposing of Sarah’s body, the only crime that they are accusing him with at the moment.

It doesn’t matter that he confessed initially to have killed and rapped his nice and despite of not having any proof of the contrary, for them, this theory is too simple. For the prosecutor the real murderers are his wife Cosima and his daughter Sabrina, who planned and executed the murder moved by jealousy of a 16 year old girl. I bet they will now find some incriminating DNA to validate their theory.

Meanwhile, a relentless character assassination of the two women continues in the Italian media. If these two are sent to trial they will have no chance. A déjà vu, anyone?

That's really weird? What is the perception of Italian stance on Female rights and position. Through out the trial I was uncomfortable with the female roles as ingenuous and almost forced. Cops included. That includes 2ond seat ??Coloabre?? who, by my understanding, was originally Patrick's defense lawyer. Seems like Italy is stuck on this female fatale image, and wants other females to profess it's existence. Your a BAD girl! The undertones of it all is this disregard for females as a person and their rights. Too, one must become aware of the geographic locale of Italy and it's pressure to act or be like neighboring Lybia, Syria, and our good buddy Iran! As always it is a question are you going to lead or follow? We are literally seeing machismo/master imploring their revised rendition of do as I say or else. Fear is it's father! The son of perdition dances! It is reported after Bin Ladens demise the women around him were not even allowed to speak to him! His youngest wife was a gift, as if dad owns her as a heifer calf !On the night of Amanda's conviction sentencing, I saw No "0" females in the crowd. And so?? You say. This position is the very essence of Meredith's death. A disregard for females, covered up by a LIE of protection laws. It is submission laws, not protection. We men rule, you women do as we say!

Hi there Wald,

Frank wrote and linked some stuff about this case on Perugia Shock...try a search there. Im not sure they have all the site finished yet but you can try.

Basically Michele Misseri (call him the uncle) admitted to killing and raping his 16 year old niece. He led the police to the well where he tossed her dead and nude body. Here the police became suspicious because they didn't think he could move the large stone that covered the well and so he must have had help. So they blamed his daughter Sabrina (call her the cousin) and she now faces a situation similar to AK. Nothing links Sabrina to the murder and in fact the timing makes it all but impossible and yet the police have run with the illogical.

Now Flipp tells us they just released the uncle (and real murderer)...the person who confessed to killing and raping (yes in that order) the young girl. meanwhile they hold on to Sabrina who loved this girl and had no time to commit this crime. All because the police think she helped her father (the uncle) move a rock.
Go figure.

Michele Misseri had this to say last night:

"They are wrong, the courts are wrong. I am now telling the truth and if they believe me I will say it again, the truth. These images of our country are incredible, but how could they treat Cosima like this? Why have they clapped their hands when arresting an innocent woman? And I also feel sorry for Sabrina. She has done nothing and is in jail because of me: I would now like to ask forgiveness, forgiveness of a father who has ruined her daughter's life. Forgive me, Sabrina, forgive me. It was I, she has nothing to do with the Sarah death."

Of course they don't believe him, he must be crazy. The local mayor called an ambulance and he was sent to the hospital.

This is worse than a Greek tragedy.

Giornale Di Puglia

http://bari.repubblica.it/cronaca/2011/ ... ef=HREC1-4

Originally I was concerned about the SUPREME COURT'S(!) ruling to fail to stop this nonsense of provincial morons by extending Sabrina's incarceration. But adding the craziness of Cosima's imprisonment AND Michele's release (and unrelated the trial against 7 seismologists because of the L'Aquila earthquake or the jail verdicts against 3 journalists) I begin to "realize" the fate of AKRS, but not to understand! I must be an Italian, maybe named Machiavelli, to comprehend this absurdity.

Michele Misseri was interviewed today by La Stampa, this is how he describes the crucial moment of the 26th August 2010:

That damned August 26th I was very angry because the tractor would not start and I thought everyone had something against me, I was screaming and Sarah came to see what was happening, so I thought. I told her to go away, but she had to say something, then I raised a weight, I turned to hit her. And when she gave me a kick, I exploded, I put all my rage on her. I had a rope on the fender of the tractor and I turned it twice around her neck. Sarah had the phone in her hands and it fell to the ground, breaking in two. When I released her, she fell with her neck over the compressor and when I got her of the ground her neck was broken. I didn’t wear a watch, I cannot say what time it was.

I am conscious that I must return to prison, because I know what I did and I have to pay. I wanted to kill myself before going to jail with the poison that I used to treat the olive trees. I would kill myself but I will not do it, because there are two innocent people in prison. I wanted to commit suicide on the grave. For me she was like a daughter. I wanted to get her out of that well because two days later I dreamed that she said "Uncle I'm cold." So I went to the well, I tied a rope to a stump to get her out of there but the shaft was too narrow. How can I ever ask forgiveness? I am sorry and I asked God for forgiveness, but I do not know if I will get it.

Thanks for the updates, this is simply unbelievable.

Here is a timeline from credible sources:

The girls (Cousins Sabrina Misseri and Sarah Scazzi and friend Mariangela Spagnoletti) were planning to go to the beach on the afternoon of the 26th August 2010. Mariangela was the one who had a car available. The meeting point was at Sabrina’s house.

The walking distance from Sarah’s house to Sabrina’s house is between 5 and 7 minutes. The travel time between Mariangela’s house and Sabrina’s house is around 4 minutes.

The analysis is focused on the exchange of text messages between the girls and the testimony of two eye witnesses:

2:23:31 PM, Mariangela to Sabrina: “Il tempo di mettermi il costume e vengo” (“Just the time to dress up and I’ll leave”).

2:24:03 PM, Sabrina to Mariangela: “Avverto Sarah?” (“Should I warn Sarah?”).

2:24:15 PM, Mariangela to Sabrina: “ok”.

2:25:08 PM, Sabrina to Sarah: “Mettiti il costume e vieni” (“Dress up and come”).

2:28:13 PM, Sabrina to Sarah: “hai letto il messaggio?” (“Did you read the message?”). Sarah doesn’t have sufficient credit in her mobile phone to send messages.

2:28:26 PM, Sarah sends Sabrina a phone call ring. By Sabrina, in their convention this means “I’m arriving”.

Around 2:30 PM, two very credible witnesses, a young couple passing by in a car, see Sarah walking down the street from a walking distance of one to two minutes from Sabrina’s house. Since it was very hot that day, the woman in the car asks herself: “where is this girl going this time of day with all this heat?” She remembers watching the time in the car clock. They also noticed that the streets were deserted.

The arrival of Sarah at Sabrina’s house is placed at around 2:30 PM

2:28:40 PM, Sabrina to Mariangela: “sto tentando in bagno”. Sabrina was basically saying that she was dressing up in the bathroom and running a little late. Mariangela told the police that she didn’t quite understood the meaning of this message.

2:31:44 PM, Sabrina who works as a home beautician, receives a text message from a customer but doesn’t respond right away.

2:35:37 PM, Sabrina replies with a text message to her costumer.

2:39:31 PM, Sabrina to Mariangela: “Sono pronta” (“I’m ready”).

2:40:00 PM, Mariangela arrives by car in front of Sabrina’s house where they meet.

From this timeline we note that if Sabrina was the killer, thus accepting Michele Misseri second confession, she had less than 6 minutes between 2:30 PM and 2:35:37 PM to meet Sarah in front of the house, strangle her in the garage and then run to the kitchen asking her father for help.

…Or she could have been strangling Sarah with one hand and sending text messages with the other.

Source: "Chi l'ha visto" (17-Nov-2010) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjoVdxsmI8Q&feature=related

It's so horrible, and now Sabrina is sitting in her cell, completely innocent, how must she feel like? From the beginning I thought she was innocent, and the timeline really makes her involvement especially ridicolous, a whole country seems to have gone mental …

… but I'm sure many Italians disagree with those ridiculous crime theories as well.

I very much hope Sabrina gets the same support as Amanda and Raffaele, it is more difficult for us of course due of the language barrier. But this case seems to be even more ridiculous than the one we are talking about here.

Now lets look at the details that were shown to a judge a month earlier. Look at the timestamps of the text messages, this information was used to confirm Sabrina's arrest.

The reconstruction of the disappearance of Sarah Scazzi emerged during the investigations conducted by police and magistrates. On August 26th, Sarah arrived early at Sabrina’s home, seven minutes before 14:35 as had always been assumed in the past. Not only that, Sabrina, contrary to what she said earlier, sent a text message to Sarah inviting her to meet her at the Misseri’s house to go to the beach at least ten minutes before Mariangela confirmed to have the car available.

The 7 MINUTES THAT CHANGED THE INQUIRY - The reconstruction has changed since that investigators have sifted through, minute by minute, the phone calls and exchanged text messages that have occurred between Sabrina, Sarah and their friend Mariangela on the 26th of August. Coming to a first hypothesis: Sarah was killed between 14:28 and 14:42, i.e. in a period of at least 14 minutes compared to the 7 minutes previously calculated. Also remember that because Michele, during the confession, said he strangled Sarah for five or six minutes, then, seven minutes would be too narrow to involve Sabrina.

A further seven minutes that Sabrina would have the opportunity to meet Sarah, accompany her to the garage where Michele Misseri was, assist or participate in her murder and then just go into the street where Mariangela Spagnoletti was arriving to pick the two girls to go to the beach. From that moment on, the game would be staged by Sabrina: the first phone call to Sarah, the mobile phone ringed with no answer, and then a second call where the phone was already off.

The starting point is the phone call ring signal made by Sarah at 14:28: according to the version provided by Sabrina it was the conventional signal to say "I'm leaving home." From Sarah's house to Sabrina’s house the walk time is between 5 to 7 minutes, it was initially believed that Sarah would arrive in front of Sabrina’s house no earlier than 14:35. Seven minutes later (i.e. at 14:42 when Sabrina sounds the alarm) Sarah’s phone was already off, the crime had already happened. Investigators suspect that instead, the 14:28 phone call from Sarah really meant "I’ve arrived” and so their encounter and the murder would be anticipated by exactly seven minutes.

The SMS - a factor which influences the reconstruction is not knowing at which time Sarah left home: no one in the family has been able to pinpoint the exact time. The analysis of the police is focused on the exchange of text messages between Sabrina and Sarah.

At 14:10 Sabrina sends the first text message: "Put on your clothes, we are going to the beach." Sarah does not answer the text message and Sabrina at 14:18 sends a second text message: "Have you read the message?”. Sarah still does not respond. Investigators believe that the girl (who had not even had lunch that day) went on her way to Sabrina’s house a few minutes after the first message, and to the second message she did not answer because she arrived at Sabrina’s home. If that was the case, the encounter with her cousin and then the timeframe in which the murder took place would increase by another 10 minutes. As if to say that Sabrina and Michele would have had 24 minutes, and not just seven, to kill Sarah.

As to the phone call ring signal at 14:28, according to investigators it could have been done by Sabrina to her own phone using Sarah’s phone in a cunning way to mislead the investigation. But there is a third element of suspicion: That day Sabrina invited Sarah to go to the beach ten minutes before Mariangela Spagnoletti confirmed her availability, which is essential because she was the only one to have a car available. Mariangela at 14:18 writes to Sabrina: "Get ready to go to the beach." Sabrina replied to 14:22: "Ok. Should I warn Sarah?". Strange, considering that the cousin had been warned 12 minutes before and perhaps even had already arrived at her house. And even stranger, Mariangela told the police that when she arrived at 14:40, Sabrina was on the street already alarmed (and anticipating events), said: "They took her away."

http://affaritaliani.libero.it/cronache/sarah_14minuti_omicidio_sabrina181010.html

Quoting some of Franks posts:

I have downloaded Sabrina's detention order to my docstoc page (Italian).

http://www.docstoc.com/profile/rosemontague

Thank you for the link! (I have always appreciated your collection already before the PMF translations).

How did the neighborhood even learn about Cosima's arrest? Her perp walk or running the gauntlet was an odd and shameful cruelty!
Usually (I still hope everywhere else) arrests are on principle discretely and not publicly done.

My understanding is that Cosima knew a few hours before that they were coming. Evidently the information was communicated to the press as well.

The prosecution released a list of ten reasons that form the basis of their assertion that the murder was committed inside the house and not in the garage. From here they conclude that Sabrina, Cosima and Michele must all have been involved in some way in the murder. Like in the Knox case, this reasoning is poor on facts and evidence and rich in distorted logic, negative inferences and out of context wiretaps. At least in this case they don’t seem to have fabricated evidence.

First - On the arrival of Sarah Scazzi in via Deledda there was no one in the garage: the three Misseri were inside the house. Combining the statements of Sabrina and her mother to the investigators, it is possible to place Michele Misseri inside the house in a circumscribed timeframe of 1:30 PM (Cosima's arrival from work when she saw Michele at home) to about 2:40 PM (when Mariangela arrived, where in her presence, Sabrina asked her father if he had seen Sarah. Cosima placed him in the kitchen at this time).

Second - Sarah had no reason to enter the Misseri’s garage, a rough, messy and dark place. In this regard Emma Serrano, Sarah’s aunt, stated: "I have often spoken to Cosima of this terrible affair and we all agreed that Sarah would never have entered that garage, especially if not accompanied ..."

Third - In her normal path towards her uncle’s house, Sarah passes first the house entrance gate and then the garage door and there is no reason, at least there is no record, why once you reach the entrance gate, you had to go to the garage. What could make her from entering the gate, but instead, to venture into the garage where she had never entered before?

Fourth - The murder weapon, a large flat belt with no more than 2.5 cm wide, as determined by the autopsy, could not be located in the garage, but only at home. The only belt in the garage was found inside the Misseri’s car, a Marbella, which was used in the field work. An object that is absolutely incompatible, given the width, with the marks left on Sarah's neck.

Fifth - If the murder weapon had been in the garage, as it should have been if the murder had been committed in that place, and then with the full cooperation of Michele Misseri, the police would have found it as they did with the different objects that Sarah had with her at the time of the murder, mobile phone and house keys, while this murder weapon was not found. This is important because obviously if the murder weapon had been available to him, finding himself in the garage, certainly it would have been found along with all other objects of the 15 year old girl.

Sixth - Sarah was expected by Sabrina who obviously was inside the house.

Seven - The crime scene was completely cleared of all traces probably by Cosima, who has never fully explained what she was doing on the afternoon of August 26 from 2 PM to 4 PM. Sarah frequented regularly the Misseri’s home, even in that morning till 12-12:30 PM. Is it possible that the police didn’t manage to find any traces of her regardless of the connection of those traces with the murder?

Eight – Why was the garage closed on the arrival of Sarah? Cosima Serrano said that when she arrived from work, the garage was closed. Consequently, as Cosima said that entering the house she saw Michele in the kitchen at least until she went to bed at about 2 PM (except in the statements of 18 October where perhaps she no longer sees him). Sabrina said that when she was in bed napping with her mother, Michele came into the bedroom and had spoken with her, that fact was placed after 2 PM, because Cosima said she went to bed around 2 PM and the visit of Michele was placed by Sabrina at about 10 or 20 minutes before the text message of Mariangela at 2:23 PM, it was clear that at the arrival of Sarah, that occurs before 2 PM, no one had opened the garage yet.

Ninth- Sarah's cell phone, as pointed out by the Carabinieri, was at Misseri’s home at 2:28 PM and then was moved from where the murder was committed to the garage at 2:42 PM.

Tenth- In an environmental wiretap made in his car, in October 5, Michele Misseri says, "I do not believe," a phrase that, according to the investigators, means that the murder happened during his absence. Cosima and Sabrina were putting Michele under great pressure, exploiting the fear (which he had confronting them with the situation), when the two women were trying to justify, with obvious lies, the tragic event that had occurred in order to obtain the absolutely necessary help from him in those circumstances. Therefore, it was clear that Sarah had entered the house, were the murder was committed, if Michele had been at home in a contiguous room, he would have full knowledge of what happened and the phrase "I do not believe," would have never been said.

Source: http://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/GdM_dallapuglia_NOTIZIA_01.php?IDNotizia=431891&IDCategoria=1

I wonder...do Italian police have to attend some kind of special training to concoct such lunacy? Notice this whole secenario falls apart if you remove the wrong assertion that Sara was killed in the house or the garage. Same thing they did with AK,RS. They assumed the break-in was staged.

The belt used to kill the young girl was a white belt worn by the killer. What is so hard about that? Especially given that the killer confessed. He showed the belt. He retreived the cell phone he had hidden. He led police to the well he put her in. And yet today this man walks free. I dont understand how that is not CRAZY and illogical police and court action. You can keep sunny Italy. Califorinia wine is fine for me.

Video of Cosima's arrest. She's a witch, burn her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI7ccIWFGr8

Update. Tests on Cosima's car found nothing. The "witness" is no being investigated for perjury.

This is what happens when you do not have freedom of the press,only the official line gets told the people swallow it all and can easily be turned into a lynch mob.
Up until the Meredith Kercher case I thought Italy was a modern democracy now I know it is a police state,where innocence is no bar from being arrested and jailed without charge when you eventually get your day in court,it will be a kangaroo court,if you persist in claiming your innocence the police will also charge your family.I have no doubt that if Edda or Deanna or Curt Knox were in Perugia at the time of Merediths murder,in the absence of an airtight alibi they would be arrested.
I think the governments of the European union should advise their citizens that Italy's criminal justice system makes it an unsafe tourist destination

It appears the Italians are ready for another witch burning?

This is still a fascist country. Cretins.

Cosima and Sabrina Misseri remain in jail
Review court rejects defense request for release

Cosima Serrano, Michele Misseri's wife, and her daughter Sabrina will remain in prison for the murder of Sarah Scazzi. The court's review of Taranto tonight rejected the appeals of the defenders of the two suspects against the order of detention made last May 26. The reasons for the court's decision will be known in coming days.

ansa.it

This is appalling!!!

The Italian cops are simply nuts!

Searching facebook for Sabrina Misseri the pages are mostly negative!! I can't believe that the Italians swallow all this sh*t!!

It's also a weird coincidence that this case is happening where Raffaele is from.....

If you thought this case couldn’t get any stranger, check this out. Tomorrow the prosecutor will try to add additional kidnapping charges. Cosima and Sabrina are already charged with Sarah’s murder and hiding her body. This charge is based on a supposed witness, a Florist, that apparently told two other people, including one of his employees, to have seen Cosima forcing Sarah to enter her station-wagon in the afternoon of the murder. When the prosecution heard of the story, they called the Florist in. Now this guy told the prosecutor that he was recounting a dream he had the night before, it wasn’t real! The Prosecutor was not convinced and charged him with false testimony. They are now bending backwards to get the testimonies of the people who heard the guy’s story. The Florist ex-employee now works in Germany were a complex international procedure, a letter rogatory, must be put in place to get this witness statement.

It seems that the prosecution intends to close the investigation early next month. All of these charges must be validated by the GIP and finally by the GUP before the case goes to trial. The Supreme Court already bounced Sabrina’s first order of detention. Let’s see what happens.

13 CHARGED IN AVETRANA MURDER CASE

(AGI) Taranto - Thirteen people have been charged by the Taranto public prosecutors Pietro Argentino and Mariano Buccoliero for the murder of Sarah Scazzi, the 15-year-old from Avetrana killed and then buried in a well in the village suburbs on August 26th last year. Two of the 15 people charged have now been cleared, the flower seller Giovanni Buccolieri and friend Michele Galasso, who have been now charged with providing false information. Sabrina Misseri and her mother Cosima Serrano, are charged with being accomplices in a murder.
Michele Misseri has been charged with concealing a body together with his wife and daughter, and his brother Carmine Misseri. The date for a preliminary hearing will be established very soon . .

agi.it

Other news sources indicate that the GUP, judge Pompeo Carriere, will set in the coming days the preliminary hearing sometime between August 29 and September 5.

Turn in the Scazzi case: Supreme court: Lack of evidence against Sabrina and Cosima! (Nevertheless still in custody!?):
http://www.corriere.it/cronache/11_otto ... ad6b.shtml

Some details about the facts of May, 31 2011:


At 7:20 pm (Italian time) Michele Misseri, the man who had initially confessed to raping and killing his niece Sarah Scazzi was released from prison. His confession had not convinced anyone. At the exit of the prison a small crowd applauded and encouraged Misseri. Apparently They were citizens of Avetrana who know him as a gentle person and incapable of any violence. Obviously, these people are convinced that the absurd behavior of Misseri (who before accused himself of the murder and after crashed into a contradiction after another) was motivated by a clumsy and desperate attempt to protect his wife and his daughter.


At 11.30 pm (Italian time) Michele Misseri was transported by ambulance to the psychiatric ward of the Hospital of Taranto.

An earlier version said that the man, after being left alone in his empty house ( his wife and his daughter were in jail) would begin to cry and scream. The Mayor of Avetrana, warned by the neighbors, would have called the 118 (Italian 911) fearing a desperate gesture.

But at 2 am (Italian time) news agencies have released a completely different version.

Misseri was not alone, with him were his daughter Valentina and another man (probably his brother Carmine Misseri). Valentina said that her father was calm in her company when the paramedics arrived and took him away by force.


Hard to know what really happened.





Believe me: in Italy the "obvious" does not exist.

Before the disappearance of Sarah 98-99% of Italians had never heard of Avetrana. When the media were interested in the case the journalists (who knew nothing of that small town) have described an anonymous town with zero crime, where nothing ever happens.

But in recent months, many details have been focused.

So gradually it was learned that Avetrana is a small town, very closed, where its 8,000 inhabitants speak a particular dialect (unintelligible to the inhabitants of nearby villages) and are linked among them by solid relationship.

After the disappearance of Sarah all the inhabitants of Avetrana have contributed to the research, all reported what they had seen that day but nobody (not even the Mayor) said nothing about old rivalries that creep in the town.

In recent months, investigators have found that among families Scazzi and Misseri there is a bitter rivalry for economic reasons.

Root of the conflict a legacy of which Concetta Serrano Spagnolo (mother of Sarah) would be appropriated damaging her sister Cosima Misseri Serrano (Sabrina's mother) and, indirectly, the whole family Misseri (brothers, cousins, nieces, etc. etc.).

Poor Michele Misseri is accused by his two brothers of ineptitude for failing to defend the interests of the family. Giacomo Scazzi, father of Sarah, would have fled to Milan to avoid dealing with the clan Misseri.

These events would be known throughout the town but no one has talked to investigators. This situation has been discovered only thanks to the investigations of the "Guardia di Finanza" (the Italian police force that deals with business surveys/economic crimes).

In this situation it is easy to think that May, 31 night the inhabitants of Avetrana when they saw that Michele Misseri was alone with his brother (a person feared in the area) have called the Mayor for help. And the Mayor with an ingenious excuse has managed to escape Michele from that house to shield him from possible violence.

Investigators are now convinced that Sarah was not killed by a maniac (every rape was excluded by autopsy ) and they do not believe she was killed during a fight between girls. Investigators believe that Sarah is a "collateral victim" in a conflict between families that lasts for years. Carabinieri are investigating for months over 3 men of the clan Misseri. It seems so far they have made little progress. For this reason, with little evidences collected so far they have brought only the arrest of two women of Misseri's

Thanks for that information Broken English. Is there a site in Italy which discusses this information that you've put forward? At first glance this information contradicts the relationship between Sara Scazzi and Sabrina Misseri who were organizing their day at the beach. Maybe the young cousins were friendly but there were problems with the previous generation.

At the moment what we have is 3 people charged with disposing of a dead body, but nobody that carried out the murder. Cosima and Sabrina are still in prison because they the charge of disposing the dead body has not been dropped. The Cassazione has basically said that the evidence against Sabrina and Cosima for murder is not clear, that the prosecution have changed their narrative, and so they cannot yet be charged for murder. In other words, the prosecution MUST DO BETTER.

That youtube video above showing Cosima being arrested seems fairly representative, I'm finding out, of how Italians think of murder cases. They are VERY quick to judge. I was listening to the Italian radio station RADIO DEEJAY yesterday evening and they had a call-in on the matter. From all messages received from the public, 90% said they believed Cosima and Sabrina to be guilty of murder. When one caller was asked why he believes they did it, his response was "I believe they are guilty, because I believe they did it" and that was as much as he could say. One lady did call in to say that she believed in Michele Misseri's original version and so he was guilty, but when asked about the disposal of the body, she was unsure.

It seems that this whole case revolves around the cellphone usage and the local cellphone stations that were being used by the phones of Cosima and Sabrina. It seems this is very unreliable evidence.

I feel really bad for Cosima and Sabrina. The problem is that they, like Amanda and Raffaele, only have each other for an alibi. In Italy that seems to mean that you are guilty. You've no idea how many times I've read in Italian commentary "how come they don't have an alibi? Then they must have done it!". I find the narrative that Sabrina was arranging a day at the beach with her cousin and friend, and that she then instead went and killed her cousin, to be ridiculous. The fact is that they've been imprisoned now for about 1 year, and still no trial. Is it time to pack my bags and return to the UK?

I'm going to follow this case closely from here on in. I wish there was more information out there, however. It's not easy to find.

Change of venues denied:
http://www.ilgiornale.it/cronache/scazz ... comments=1

Here is a blog writer who writes a lot about the Scazzi case. He is very good. Anyway, this one article is about the magistrates of Taranto. It's scary!

http://albatros-volandocontrovento.blog ... .html#more

Here is my summary in English:

Between 1994 and 1997 in Puglia there were 15 almost identical murders of old ladies. The murderer was the Tunisian Ezzedine Sebai, which was proven by the fact that his house contained items stolen from the ladies.

It turned out that before moving to Puglia he had already attacked a women in Potenza knifing her 10 times. His brother was a priest who managed to get him released under a new nationality and identity. After his release two old ladies in the region near Potenza were found murdered. He then went to Puglia.

For the murders in Puglia, some investigators for some reason didn’t believe it was the work of a serial killer. So what did they do? They investigated each case on its own merits, by taking a closer look at the people close to the victims. In doing this, they arrested and condemned 8 people! Some of these people always protested their innocence, but there were some, after long and tiring interrogations that even confessed! Because of this, Ezzedine Sebai was found guilty of only 4 murders when caught.

Those wrongly imprisoned continue to protest their innocence. Unfortunately one of them commits suicide after 7 years of prison. Then Sebai asks to be heard, and confesses to all the murders. So now those innocents in prison will be released? No... the magistrates decide that each case has to be heard one by one, meaning a lot more time in prison for them before they are finally released.

In another case tried out of Taranto, let’s go back to 1991. Domenico Morrone was arrested for a double murder. He had a full alibi, which was supported by Caribiniere and the members of a family where he had been working in their house. These people were all imprisoned for bearing false witness! While Morrone was given 21 years of imprisonment. He remained there 15 years until some others came forward to admit the crime.

Unbelievable. How long before Italians take their criminal justice system in hand?

That says it all tabjustice! Thanks.

Just an update:
http://www3.lastampa.it/cronache/sezion ... tp/426923/

Latest news is that a psychologist and a psychiatrist of the prison where Michele Misseri was incarcerated both testified in favour of the defence yesterday. Both say that Michele Misseri always maintained his guilt even during the period when he changed story to accuse his daughter Sabrina. One of these said that Michele claimed to have been under the influence of pharmaceutical drugs (tranquillizers possibly) that had caused him to be less lucid on the day that he accused his daughter. However, it's already on the record of 4 other witnesses including 2 nurses of the prison that say that he was refusing his tranquillizers in that period. It has been clearly shown that Michele Misseri's lawyer, assisted by a well known Italian criminologist (Bruzzone), pressed hard for some time to convince Michele to change his story. Question is, why?

I think one of the reasons they went looking for Sabrina and her mother is because Michele's original story did not add up. He made 2 statements that proved to be false i) that he had sex with Sara Scazzi's dead body, but the autopsy revealed this did not happen, so Michele later changed his story to say that he wanted to but couldn't manage it; and ii) that he strangled Sarah with a rope, when the autopsy clearly shows that a belt was used as Sarah's neck had the marks of the belt holes.

The other problem for Sabrina is that some of her testimony is contradicted by her friend Mariangela. Mariangela's version of events of that day are a little different to Sabrina's (e.g. she says Sabrina was standing on the road when she arrived, not up on the terrace, and that Sabrina said "She's been taken" when she arrived, and not later when they had already done some round trips after failing to find Sarah). Mariangela also contradicts Sabrina's version of the argument between Sarah and Sabrina a few days earlier, indicating that it was more serious than Sabrina was stating. It seems Sabrina lied about her relationship with Ivano Russo - the story is that Sabrina made a sexual advance towards Ivano that was refused. Sabrina then told slightly different versions (it seems) of this to Mariangela and Sarah. Sarah then blabbed this to her brother, who then blabbed to Ivano, and so there was a clear-the-air talk between Sabrina and Ivano - at this point Sabrina was angry with Sarah for not keeping a secret and this would be the motive for the prosecution. When interviewed by the judges, Sabrina did not reveal her advance towards Ivano. I think this makes Sabrina look like a liar in front of the judges and prosecution. However, to her defence is the fact that the timing of events on the day of the murder makes it very difficult for Sabrina to have committed the murder.

We are now at the stage where the prosecution have to decide by 28th November whether to release or take to trial, Sabrina. She could well be freed, but only if the prosecution and the judges are willing to admit that they have made a mistake.

It's a weird case. One question I have is Sabrina in a prison or is she under house arrest.
New way to get a way with murder. If your caught confess to it but give the wrong murder weapon.

Sabrina and her mother are in prison sharing the same cell. According to the latest news the judge will decide next Monday or Tuesday if mother and daughter will be tried for murder. There is a strong possibility that they will be set free and charges dropped due to the lack of serious evidence against them.

After keeping Sabrina more than a year in prison, if set free, this is going to be another huge fiasco for the Italian judiciary. Comparisons will be made with the Knox/Sollecito case.

http://lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/notizia.php?IDNotizia=468904&IDCategoria=1

Actually she is detained in the Prison of Taranto, it's a new prison and the living conditions should be good. In last months she has obtained a diploma after completing a course as a facialist/beautician in prison.

In these days she might go free, or she could get house arrest. If judge of the preliminary hearing does not issue a verdict by the end of November, she will however be freed for the expiration of the terms of preventive detention.



Not a "tiny" problem.

Carabinieri began the investigations on Sabrina and the Clan Misseri the same day in which Sarah vanished.

They did so because that day Mariagela said to them that Sabrina seemed upset by the fact that Sarah was late for their appointment. According to Mariangela, Sabrina shouted "They have taken her. They have taken her..." by saying that the little cousin had been kidnapped. Mariangela was very surprised by that reaction that seemed exaggerated because Sarah was delayed a few minutes. Mariangela also believed exaggerated and suspect the reaction of Sabrina because usually Sarah was always late to every appointment.

Mariangela said this to the Carabinieri, which is why the Carabinieri immediately began the search even though Sarah was gone only by 30-40 minutes. (Usually they wait at least 24 hours before considering a person "vanished").


Carabinieri aren't the "Polizia di Stato". The Carabinieri make no representations, the Carabinieri do not do filter rumors. The Carabinieri do not speak with press. The Carabinieri do not speak (to no one).

Their motto is "Obey in silence and die in silence".

You will never see a reporter with a microphone in his hand chasing a carabiniere to get a statement.

If the reporter did this the carabiniere would ask him to show his documents and then informed him that obstruct a Carabinieri's investigation is a crime. Whether the reporter would persisted in his behavior the carabiniere would accompany him to the Carabinieri's barracks and would reported the fact to the judicial authority.

They aren't policemen, they are soldiers.

Amanda was questioned by "Polizia di Stato" and the day after all the newspapers reported her statements. Mariangela was questioned by Carabinieri and her statements remained secret for months, until they were communicated to the lawyers of the defendants.

Sabrina has not been arrested over allegations of Michele Misseri. Sabrina has been arrested for the Mariangela's statements.




I partially agree with this comment. It seems obvious to everyone that the solution of the case is still far. But my impression is that for the moment the main objective of the Carabinieri is put pressure on the clan Misseri. Apulia, the region of Sarah and Raffaele, is an area of south Italy free of "organized crime". I have the impression that the Carabinieri want to nip in the bud any phenomenon of Mafia or Mafia-like.

I've written:



For the moment we do not know who killed Sarah but surely the action of the Carabinieri has calmed the Misseri. Sarah's father will return to Avetrana and put flowers on the grave of his daughter without fear of ending up in a well too.


One last point: in Italy the media almost always confuse prosecutors with the judges, and the charges with the sentences. So, too often, people accused of a crime are described as "guilty" before the verdict (which, however, often absolves the defendant).

This has not happened to Sabrina. After the disappearance of Sarah dozens of journalists went to Avetrana. Many of them became friends of Sabrina, Sabrina worked for months with the main Italian tv-program of crime: "Who saw him?" On the website of "Who saw him?" you can still see the old episodes where Sabrina works with the crew and with the reporters.

After the arrest of Sabrina the general reaction among journalists was "surprise" and not "condemnation".

Bad news for Sabrina and Cosima, the GUP Pompeo Carriere rejected the motion to release filed by the defense teams last week. The judge considered that strong evidence exists against mother and daughter and that they could kill again, tamper with evidence or escape justice. The judge seems convinced that the murder was committed due to familiar disputes and although the murderer is unknown at this time, he considers impossible that the two women didn't knew what really happened that day inside their home.

This decision probably means that Judge Pompeo Carriere will indict the two woman next Moday. They will be tried for murder and will remain in prison during the trial.

http://www.tgcom.mediaset.it/cronaca/puglia/articoli/1027967/sabrina-e-cosima-restano-in-cella-perche-possono-uccidere-ancora-e-fuggire.shtml

This seems rather dubious to me:

- who else could they possibly kill? Mariangela? They would be primary suspects;

- tamper with evidence? after so many months? keep them away from Michele if necessary;

- escape justice? where? in Seattle?

This is a rather standard formulation used with too much lighthandedness, in this and in other cases.

If in doubt, keep in prison! And so we have overcrowded prisons.

Anyway, I know too little and probably it's too early (not enough reliable info) for myself to form a clearcut opinion on this case.
After Perugia I don't want to make any judgement before having real and reliable evidence.

It's incredible that the judge thinks it's OK to keep Sabrina and Cosima in prison because "being at the house they must have known or have been involved" and yet Michele Misseri is sitting at home claiming he did it all by himself. For some reason Michele Misseri is not going to tamper with the crime scene, he's not going to murder again, and he didn't know what happened in the house.

I'm not certain of Sabrina and Cosima's total lack of involvement in this murder, because there is a fair bit of conflicting testimony. However, I find it incredible that Michele is free awaiting trial for getting rid of the corpse, while Sabrina has been 1 full year in prison. Just incredible.

Italian custom:
http://www.thefrontpage.it/2011/11/15/p ... colpevoli/

Thanks for the link. I noticed the detention order can be downloaded from there as well.

The decision is out, Sabrina and Cosima sent to trial. First hearing of the Corte di Assise di Taranto on January 10th, 2012.

http://www.tgcom.mediaset.it/cronaca/articoli/articolo1028640.shtml

Here's another interesting article that strongly criticizes Taranto's judiciary, requesting the intervention of the new justice minister.

A real autocratic and self-referential forum, that on more than one occasion showed a narrow attachment to the prosecution views, systematically practicing the policy of "all in", ie, those opposed to the ideas of the investigators pay the price. A Court not worthy of a democratic country. A fact that leads many to predict, like Cassandra, that the defendants in the Scazzi process will be handed harsh sentences in the first and second grade at the Taranto's courts before being acquitted (after years spent in prison) by the Court of Cassation. This is a very plausible prospect.

http://ildemocratico.com/2011/11/20/alcune-considerazioni-sul-foro-di-taranto-appello-al-neo-ministro-prof-paola-severino/

Got your chair ready? Popcorn and soda? The Sarah Scazzi trial is set to begin.

http://albatros-volandocontrovento.blog ... i-non.html

Is this something else I am going to discover everyone but me knows about?

Jesus Mary and Joseph, what is this all about?

Another case, very similar to the Knox case. No real evidence, the murderer confessed but was deemed not to be the murderer by the cops and was let go. More media in Italy than even the Kercher murder. Mom and daughter in jail and about 20 people charged with various crimes including lawyers and journalists.

That blog I linked to is a good one for some background on the case. The primary evidence is a dream one of the witnesses had and an official autopsy report that had this to say:



http://translate.googleusercontent.com/ ... IJo_f9KxWg

It's also got Guede's lawyer. I have subscribed to the blog but now have to learn Italian.

Another "trial of the century", only that all the characters are Italian so it will probably have little fame outside Italy.

It is the Scazzi/Misseri case and Frank Sfarzo talked about it on PerugiaShock, months ago.

Synthetically:

Fifteeen years old Sarah Scazzi was found dead in a well on October 2010 after having been missing for 42 days.
The murder happened in Avetrana, Puglia (the same region of Raffaele), originally Michele Misseri, father of Sabrina Misseri and uncle of Sarah Scazzi confessed that he had strangled Sarah, then, through a very strange path of investigation, involving dreams, witnesses who change versions, confessions, priests and so on, the Prosecution finally decided that Sabrina Misseri had killed Sarah out of jealousy, with the help of her mother Cosima.
The very strange situation is that Sabrina and her mother, who are shouting their innocence, are in jail, while Michele Misseri, who is shouting his guilt, is free, since the Prosecution doesn't believe him anymore.

Sabrina and Cosima have been the target of public hatred as much as and probably even more than Amanda was.

During the hearings they will be closed in a cage behind bars, something usually reserved to terrorists and Mafia men.

Italy rocks.

The prosecution actually has quite a bit of persuasive evidence in this case. Sabrina's cellphone was turned off at the time of the murder, 4 days after the murder she did a handstand and, to cap it all off, two days after the murder she bought underwear. A solid case!!

What "evidence" (if there is any) is public in this case? I have to admit, that I skipped most of the related posts on perugia shock, catching up with the Knox/Sollecito trial, but from what I recall it's just as strange. I suggest a sub-forum (like the one dedicated to Jason Puracal) on this case (I think Frank will provide any information he has). It's one way to move on to injustice anywhere. (and to counter the prejudice that IIP are either bewitched by Amanda or paid by some multi-million-dollar PR campaign;-)

There is plenty of evidence, just a lack of evidence for guilt. One thing we do have that is different is some of the interrogations tapes and transcripts:

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/ ... tSzS30ZnjQ

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/ ... Cmlpq63TIA

A sub-forum would be nice now that the trial is approaching, if any are interested.

As it was heading into the Knox case we also have a detention order as well as a Supreme Court ruling, both of which I will try to attach to this post. In addition there are many news accounts and photos's out there as many or more (Italian news sources) than in the Knox case. Frank had several posts on the Scazzi case as well.

I cant put my mouse on one of these at the present time, where did I put tht thing?

Thank God, that don't have a cell phone *g*
Rose, I'm taking on that google-translates (I'm not a native, when it comes to the english language, obviously).
A sub-forum would be more than nice now that the trial is approaching, because who else knows? Amanda was thrown into the public, because she's an american girl, Sabrina may be forgotten, because no one cares?

Well, I would be - but is it a miscarriage of justice case yet?

Maybe if we can convince the Avetrana authorities that a PR supertanker is heading their way?

Not sure how much help we can be. Amanda was in prison long before she was found guilty and we were speaking out then. Sometimes it is helpful just having people support you, regardless of what country you are from or what language you speak.

Thanks for the bump. This trial will be televised and is a huge case in Italy. If any of our Italian speakers/residents can chime in occasionally it will be helpful.

Hi Rose, and everybody. Rose, do you speak Italian? I am guessing not. So what's with this Google translation stuff? Do you need live text and is the result intelligible, or do you just get a splitting headache reading it? I am not sure how long I will last if the Italians unreasonably insist on conducting this case in their own language.

LOL.

You must understand that I read Massei several times via Google before PMF ever translated that thing.

I have downloaded the google translate app, which doesn't seem to work. So I used the online version and got a pretty decent account of the article linked in the threa opener. Remarkable. Like the Babel fish. Instant Italian.

Totally insane case. Bill will need something stronger than 'Wow'.

From the first court session we already can see what will be the main points of the prosecution. They seem to lack some confidence in the weight of their case.

Prosecutor Mariano Buccoliero took the floor and addressed the judge panel: "The innocence of Sabrina and Cosima lies on the guilt of Michele Misseri. If you decide that the two women did not kill Sarah, then you must condemn Michele." And again: "This process revolves around Sabrina Misseri. The truth lies in the behavior shown in the aftermath of the murder. Sabrina had an obsession with Ivano Russo. She had a fit of jealousy over the attention that Ivano gave Sarah."
"It will be fundamental - the prosecutor added - the viewing of the interviews footage in prison. And the technical report of the analysis of the mobile phones", because "Sarah Scazzi left her house before Sabrina's message. That SMS was the first attempt to sidetrack the investigation."

repubblica.it

I think what we have here is the prosecution trying to fit the facts around Sabrina - so for this reason they have worked hard in having Sarah Scazzi leave home earlier, and they've done this by convincing her family and home-helper to revise their testimony to fit the earlier timeline. This earlier timeline gives Sarah enough time to reach the Misseri house such that Sabrina could have orchestrated the murder. Otherwise, it's simply too difficult because Sabrina has too much SMS activity at the later time.

What they don't have against Sabrina:
forensics of any sort
a confession
reliable witness testimony

All they have is:
supposedly the motive of jealousy (with regards to Ivano)
the testimony of her friend that contradicts her in some of the details, but IMO not extremely significant because it's one person's word/memory against another's
Her father's testimony that has since been recanted
some dubious, possibly out-of-context statements made while her conversations were being wire-tapped
Some statements that are contradicted by other witnesses, but these are not specific to the events directly surrounding the murder

"Broken English" up thread has some interesting ideas on this case that I haven't read anywhere in the mainstream press - regarding this being a killing motivated by family rivalries going back a long way and being extended beyond the Misseri Michele, Sabrina and Cosima.

The Italian police have this persecution complex - all these devious criminals with infinite forethought trying to fool them!

Evidence is not evidence - it is someone trying to confuse them... except they don't need confusing, they are completely beyond help, crazy in every way.

This case was an easy one but the cops and the public wanted a tough case with a female killer in a crazy, diabolical scenario that is pure fantasy. For most Italians, it is a soap opera, pure entertainment, watching the witch trial.

300 (yep that is three hundred) witnesses scheduled to testify, the vast majority of who have no real evidence to offer, but want to take part in the witch hunt.

http://98.139.168.220/babelfish/transla ... trana.html

Today's main news is a photo of the victim in PJ's that makes Sabrina see even more guilty but it is not explained why. It just does.

The PJ photo story is bizarre, as if they've discovered something that's blown open the case. They brought in the IT wizards (perhaps they could have been used in Perugia) who recovered Ivano's deleted cellphone photos. Oh my god, why would he have deleted such a photo? What is he hiding ? He must surely be involved somehow! That photo shows nothing, nada, zilch - if anything, it shows that Sarah, Sabrina and Ivano were all happy. Sarah in PJs looks modest - she could have been fully clothed and we wouldn't have noticed the difference. Clutching at straws.

One thing Google doesn't do is translate audio (yet). I can't wait for that one. LOL.
In any case here are some of the interrogations:

http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/r/IlSecoloXIX ... n%20AG.MP3
http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/r/IlSecoloXIX ... 201%5E.MP3
http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/r/IlSecoloXIX ... 0Ivano.MP3
http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/r/IlSecoloXIX ... 20Sabr.MP3

In order they are Michele, Cosima, Ivano, and Sabrina.

Some transcripts

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/ ... Cmlpq63TIA

and the original detention order I could not locate yesterday

I am watching this case with interest; since I don't know Italian I appreciate updates here. It's a tragic situation that sheds light on what happened to Amanda and Raffaele; if Cosima and Sabrina are convicted it shows this is an Italy problem not just a Perugia problem. (This is an exception to the general consensus that this forum will be about people unjustly charged or convicted in countries other than their own, but it's appropriate here because of the parallels to the Kercher case.)

Does anyone know of any history of Cosima and Sabrina personally involved in wrongdoing involving the family rivalries, such as mentioned by Broken_English and Newcomer, or are they just being presumptively associated with the past acts of less close relatives?

Information, summary, timelines, opinion and quotes can be found here:

http://www.controtuttelemafie.it/libro% ... scazzi.htm

To large to translate via Google the entire thing, but toolkit as word document has this result attached.

Thanks Rose, that blog is enlightening. The insanity in this case is far greater than I thought.

This sounds like another soap opera/railroading trial. The more illogical the better for tv I guess especially if the killer is female. Do the Italian TV use ratings like American? Where the only that matters is the number of viewers especially in a certain age range?

Yes we use TV ratings and they are very important, because cost of advertising time is proportional to ratings, so from ratings depend the incomes of the network.
As it happened at Perugia, the hearings are not directly broadcast, but excerpts are seen in various TV news hours and show.
From what I've read there is a single camera in the court and the defendants will not be on video, according to their own request.
But certainly what make the ratings are the "experts", the theories, the great babbling made around the trial and its protagonists.

Sabrina Misseri hasn't got (by far) the same allure of Amanda, both physically and as a media-built character, nor the same level of culture.
It's the whole "environment" of this case which is far distant from the one in Perugia: instead of international glamour and students we have people coming from a very small (7-8000 inhabitants as opposed to 160000 in Perugia) and rather closed community; in the Kercher case most characters were able to speak (with more or less proficiency) two or more languages, here some of them like Zio Michele have serious troubles even with Italian.

If Perugia was parochial and conservative, I don't know how could be defined Avetrana, but let's say that Avetrana stays to Perugia as Perugia stays to New York City.

I get it: the sort of place where everybody is everbody else's cousin - and many are probably half-siblings but don't know it?

I think ratings have a big impact on TV news. At least in the US that's why almost all TV trials either involve white female victims or possibly the accused. The other possibility is celebrities or very wealthy. Well Sabrina Misseri clearly doesn't have the looks of Amanda Knox but clearly Sarah Scazzi is very good looking. In the US this trial would possibly be in the TV news mainly for the victim IMO. Although clearly this case probably doesn't have much appeal outside of Italy (or at least in the US) except for people on sites like IIP or PMF. In the US I'm pretty sure only a single camera is used. And it's not the networks controlling it. One thing interesting about US trials is if you watch them on TV you can see alot of debate over evidence that the Jury does not get to see. Also I don't think the Jury is shown. But some of the TV trials have lots of coverage in the courtroom. Basically the whole trial.

More or less so, and in such a small place prejudices and old feuds between families can easily split between colpevolisti and innocentisti much more than evidence analysis.

Caso Bianzino:
Another famous and STILL PENDING case from Perugia in 2007 with some "old acquaintances":
http://www.umbria24.it/bianzino-scontro ... 77483.html

Twitter feed from journalist Maria Corbi live from Taranto's courtroom

https://twitter.com/#!/mariacorbi

Thanks Flipp, that's great! So, from the tweets so far today:
Sabrina and Cosima have been allowed to sit with their lawyers, and not from behind the bars.
Today they are questioning Ivano, the supposed motive for the killing (jealousy)
Sabrina holding back the tears. Cosima looking like she's ready for a fight.
oddly, the jury is made up of 10 women and 3 men
Michele Misseri sitting behind his wife and daughter, who avoid eye-contact

If they learned anything from the Kercher case they should appoint an independent expert. Unless they think the prosecutions expert is wrong. LOL. This one is interesting as well.

This is great, a live twitter feed. I wish I had a better than Google understanding of it. This journalist seems to be on the side of innocence, am I reading that correctly?

According to Giangrande's blog, Corbi is one of the few that has defended Cosima and Sabrina in the press.

Report on todays hearing here:

http://translate.google.com/translate?s ... QsIE6Fjp-A

The prosecution is going to try and prove a motive of jealousy with the first few witnesses. The detention was extended until may 2013, not good for Sabrina and Cosima. On the positive front the court allowed some letters from Michele into the record where he claims he alone is responsible.

Rose, on the contrary, the judge rejected a prosecution motion requesting the suspension of the end date of the precautionary detention measures. The prosecution wanted to extend the detention period further but that was denied. So, if by the 21st of May the trail is still going on, Cosima and Sabrina must be released.

But there's also the three Supreme Court rulings that were favorable to the defense every time. If the lower courts can't present a convincing motivation with clues of guilt, they must relax the precautionary detention measures as requested by the defense appeals. The ball is in the lower court's field, but I can't find the next decision date in this process.

Sorry, that was a bit confusing as they say 2013 instead of 2012????

One tweet from the journalist listed above is also in contrast to the article I linked to:

mariacorbi maria corbi
De Luca : Sabrina non mi ha mai confidato di essere gelosa di Sarah.
21 hours ago

It looks like the trial resumes tomorrow with Ivano's testimony.

It sounds like the prosecution is wanting to use something shown on TV. This is opposed by the defense.

Latest tweets, Google translation