The Italian court has announced that Amanda Knox's DNA could not be found in the bedroom where Meredith Kercher was stabbed to death.

This was what was presented on Amanda's first day of retrial. However, the court did also say that there was ample DNA evidence from Rudy Guede, the drifter who is currently serving 16 years in prison for the murder of Meredith Kercher, as well as for charges of sexual assault on the same woman.

Very few traces of the DNA of Raffaelle Sollecito were also found on Meredith Kercher's bra strap. The strap was torn when Meredith Kercher apparently struggled, moments before she was killed. However, forensics only discovered the bra strap about 47 days after the murder.

The dense lawyers of the case have said that the strap probably had too much DNA contamination that it should not be presented as evidence against Sollecito, as it is not reliable.

The court of appeals agreed to the request of the prosecution that fresh testing be conducted on a minute trace of DNA on the knife that was supposedly used to stab Meredith Kercher. The knife was not examined before by forensic experts. The knife's handle did contain some of Amanda Knox's DNA, but her lawyers did not express any surprise to this, saying that was to be expected as the knife was retrieved from the kitchen drawer of Ms. Knox's ex-boyfriend's apartment.

The judge for the case also agreed to hear the testimony of Luciano Aviello, who claims that it was his brother who killed Meredith Kercher and not Knox.

None of the Kercher family was present at the first day of the retrial. Amanda Knox, as well as ex boyfriend Raffaelle Sollecito were also not present at the trial.