Amanda Knox: Meredith Kercher Murder Trial in Italy was 'Correct'

NY Daily News: Amanda Knox, the 22-year-old American exchange student who was convicted of murdering her roommate, says her trial was "correct."

According to ABC News, Knox spoke to Italian Parliament member Walter Verini four days after a jury found her guilty on the weekend of killing Meredith Kercher on Nov. 1 2007.

Verini, who represents Umbria, the region where Knox is jailed, told ABC that Knox was polite and "apparently calm."

He found the Seattle native in a track suit, reading in her cell, when he visited the Capanne prison outside of Perugia.

Knox allegedly told Verini that her trial was "correct" and that she "still has faith in the Italian legal system," to whom her lawyers will appeal the ruling.

"I asked her if she had seen how her country had reacted to the verdict," Verini told ABC News. "She was evidently aware of everything that was happening, but did not say what effect she thought it would have on her legal situation."

After receiving a prison sentence of 26 years, Knox was moved to a cell she shares with a 53-year-old American named Laura, her mother, Edda Mellas, told ABC News.

American commentators criticized the verdict, suggesting that the court was subject to anti-Americanism and the tabloid coverage of the trial.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state, released a statement implying that the jury was negatively influenced by the Italian media and by anti-Americanism. She said she would bring her concerns about the Italian justice system to Secretary of State Clinton. For her part, Clinton said she had not gone over the Knox case but would meet with anyone who had concerns about it.

But Knox's lawyer, Luciano Ghirga, has rejected claims that his client's trial in Perugia was tainted in an way.

"Amanda's rights were respected during the trial," he told ABC News. "She had a fair trial."

Ghirga, however, did bring up the fact that Knox's rights were not respected when she was questioned without a lawyer in the investigation following Kercher's death.

"We made that point very strongly in the trial," he said.

Kercher, 21, was found on Nov. 2, 2007, with her throat slit in the apartment she shared with Knox. Knox; her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, and Ivory Coast citizen Rudy Hermann Guede (in a separate trial) were convicted of sexually assaulting and killing Kercher.

Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years in prison, and both he and Knox were ordered to pay 1 million euros to each of the victim's parents and 800,000 to each of her Kercher's three siblings.

Both parties plan to appeal in a process set to begin March 5.



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Feds want 150 years, $170B from Madoff

NEW YORK (CNN) -- As prosecutors asked to jail Bernard Madoff for 150 years, a U.S. District Court judge Friday entered a preliminary order calling on the convicted Ponzi schemer to forfeit more than $170 billion in assets, prosecutors announced.

Madoff's wife, Ruth, will be allowed to keep $2.5 million in funds "in settlement of the claims she would have otherwise brought against the property," acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin said.

Madoff, who pleaded guilty to 11 counts, including fraud, money laundering and perjury, is to be sentenced Monday. The forfeitures amount to all of his assets.

Included in the forfeitures are millions of dollars in loans made to family members, employees and friends, all personal property, including paintings, jewelry and furniture, millions of dollars in investment and banking accounts and several pieces of property.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to sell a $7.5 million co-op apartment in New York, a $7 million property in Montauk, New York, and a $7.45 million property in Palm Beach, Florida, along with several cars and boats.

Meanwhile, Dassin filed paperwork with the court Friday asking that Madoff be sentenced to 150 years to ensure that the former NASDAQ chairman would remain in prison for the remainder of his life and "promote general deterrence."

Madoff's multibillion-dollar Ponzischeme is said to have defrauded thousands of investors under false pretenses. The scheme, which spanned decades, has generated a fraud loss of more than $13 billion.

"This is more than thirty-two times the baseline level of loss that would carry a sentence of life under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines," Dassin wrote.

Madoff promised his clients a high return with limited risk, but in reality early investors were paid with later investors -- and nobody realized huge gains. Some of the victims of the scheme included individuals and nonprofit organizations.

"His so-called 'investment business' was a fraud; his frauds affected thousands of investors in the United States and worldwide," Dassin wrote.

Madoff pleaded guilty on March 12 and has since been in jail at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.

Madoff's lawyer believes his 71-year-old client should serve only 12 years in prison.

Woman Indicted in Son's Park Death and Playground Burial

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The woman, who admitted to police that she killed her son and buried him in the sand at an Albuquerque playground, was officially indicted Monday.

A grand jury indicted Tiffany Toribio, 22, on five charges: first degree murder, child abuse leading to the death of a child under 12, tampering with evidence, failure to report a death and concealing her identity.

The first two charges each carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, which is classified as a life sentence under New Mexico law.

Police said Toribio suffocated her 3-year-old son Tyrus Toribio twice. The second time she placed her hand over his face until he stopped breathing.

She then buried him in Alvarado Park. They young boy's body was unearthed a few days later.

On Monday, State District Judge Bob Schwartz doubled Toribio's cash only bond from $250,000 to $500,000.

District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said the increase was a significant order by the judge.

Toribio will be arraigned in the next 10 days.

Police are still probing the involvement of the Toribio family.

Police: Mom Killed Boy, Buried Him in Playground Sand

(CNN) -- A 23-year-old woman suffocated her son and then buried his body beneath the sand of a playground, police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said Thursday.

Police arrested Tiffany Toribio about 4 a.m., just hours after they said they wanted to speak to her about her missing 3-year-old son, Ty.

Family members had contacted authorities, saying her son matched the description of a boy found Friday at an Albuquerque playground.

Police Chief Ray Schultz said she confessed to killing the boy soon after being apprehended.

"She placed her hand over her son's mouth and nose and suffocated him. She had second thoughts about what she did. She performed CPR on her son, brought him back to life and then decided to go forward with that original act she had started to commit," Schultz said.
Watch Schultz describe the alleged killing »


"What makes this story especially sad is, when asked the reason why she took Ty's life, Tiffany said that she did not want him to grow up with no one caring about him, the same way that she had grown up where nobody had cared about her."

An emotional Schultz added that Toribio has tried to kill herself since her arrest. She was being held in isolation at a detention facility and kept under observation, he said.

He added, "As you can see, this case has been very emotional for everybody in the department."

Toribio was charged with first-degree murder and an array of other charges, including abuse of a child under 12 that caused death.

The discovery of the body at Alvarado Park on Friday shocked the community, which dubbed the boy "Baby Justice" and "Baby Angel" as they rallied around his case.

Police released a composite image of the boy Tuesday, hoping to garner more leads in the case. They weren't able to release a photo of the boy because his body was so disfigured by the sand's heat.

Schultz said that after killing her son, Toribio dug a hole under gym equipment at the playground, moved the body and buried him in the shallow grave.

"Since that time, she's been walking the streets of the city of Albuquerque," he said.

The boy was wearing Arizona brand clothing, size 3T: nylon black running pants with red stripes, a red shirt with a monster truck on it and black, gray and lime green Skechers sneakers.

Toribio did not comment Thursday morning after her arrest as she was put in a police car.

Schultz said there had been no reports of child abuse filed against Toribio. But he said family members indicated that she did not express the typical love of a mother for her child.

"She did not show the normal relationship that you would see with a mother, son," he said.

This week, police had gone to residences where she had lived previously, but she wasn't there, Schultz said. Police had gone there after family members expressed concern because "they did not like the way Ty was being treated," the police chief said.

Police Release Composite Photo of Boy Buried In Playground Sand

(CNN) -- Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, released a composite image Tuesday of a young boy found buried beneath the sand of a local playground.

The boy was discovered on Friday by a passerby who saw a tiny black and lime shoe protruding from beneath the playground sand.

It led police to the body of a boy, who had been buried there in a shallow grave less than 48 hours earlier.

On Tuesday, police still had no answers as to what happened at Alvarado Park -- or even who the boy was.

His name is unknown, though the community has dubbed him "Baby Justice" or "Baby Angel." Nobody in the area has claimed his body, and nobody has reported a child of his age missing.

Before the composite image was created, police weren't able to release a photo of the boy because his body was so disfigured by the sand's heat.

Police say the Native American or Hispanic boy was between 3 and 5 years old, 38 pounds, 38 inches in height, with brown eyes and dark quarter-inch hair. When he was found, he was wearing Arizona brand clothing, size 3T -- nylon black running pants with red stripes, a red shirt with a monster truck on it and black, gray and lime green Skechers sneakers.

Police aren't sure how he died.

Albuquerque Police Department spokesman John Walsh said a preliminary autopsy didn't reveal a cause of death. Walsh said there were no obvious signs of bruising on the boy.

"We have canvassed the entire adjoining neighborhood," Walsh said. "We're knocking on every door. We've been broadcasting and pleading for tips from the community. But still, nobody has come forward."

Though police have received numerous tips from the public, Walsh said nothing has come from them.

Albuquerque police are working with other local, state and nationwide law enforcement officials to try to piece together what happened.

Until then, members of the community have spent hours at memorials for the boy -- who none of them knew -- praying for him and raising money.

French Mortuary, in the town, has offered to pay all funeral costs for the boy.

Resident Rachel Lesperance told CNN affiliate KOAT-TV she spent her weekend collecting $3,600 for the boy. Her money, and the donations raised by others, will go toward a plaque at the park in the boy's honor, buying extra lights for the playground and to a fund toward finding out what happened to the little "Baby Justice."

"He doesn't have a family," Lesperance told KOAT-TV. "We're his family now, and we want him to be taken care of like one of our own."

Please, Find the Identity of Baby Justice..

(CNN) -- Walking through an Albuquerque, New Mexico, park a passerby made a startling discovery -- a tiny black and lime shoe protruding from beneath the playground sand.

It led police to the body of a young boy, who had been buried there in a shallow grave less than 48 hours earlier.

That was Friday.

On Tuesday, police still had no answers as to what happened at Alvarado Park -- or even who the boy was.

His name is unknown, though the community has dubbed him "Baby Justice" or "Baby Angel." Nobody in the area has claimed his body, and nobody has reported a child of his age missing.

Police said they couldn't even show a photo or give a sketch of the boy because his body was so disfigured by the sand's heat.

All they have is a description based on how they found him.

Police say the Native American or Hispanic boy was between 3 and 5 years old, 38 pounds, 38 inches in height, with brown eyes and dark quarter-inch hair. When he was found, he was wearing Arizona brand clothing, size 3T -- nylon black running pants with red stripes, a red shirt with a monster truck on it and black, gray and lime green Skechers sneakers.

Police aren't sure how he died.

Albuquerque Police Department spokesman John Walsh said a preliminary autopsy didn't reveal a cause of death. Walsh said there were no obvious signs of bruising on the boy.

Walsh said the department is working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to create a forensic reconstruction of what the boy may have looked like in hopes that someone will recognize him.

"We have canvassed the entire adjoining neighborhood," Walsh said. "We're knocking on every door. We've been broadcasting and pleading for tips from the community. But still, nobody has come forward."

Though police have received numerous tips from the public, Walsh said nothing has come from them.

Albuquerque police are working with other local, state and nationwide law enforcement officials to try to piece together what happened.

Until then, members of the community have spent hours at memorials for the boy -- who none of them knew -- praying for him and raising money.

French Mortuary, in the town, has offered to pay all funeral costs for the boy.

Resident Rachel Lesperance told CNN affiliate KOAT-TV she spent her weekend collecting $3,600 for the boy. Her money, and the donations raised by others, will go toward a plaque at the park in the boy's honor, buying extra lights for the playground and to a fund toward finding out what happened to the little "Baby Justice."

"He doesn't have a family," Lesperance told KOAT-TV. "We're his family now, and we want him to be taken care of like one of our own."

Pictures are of the shirt found on the boy and the shoes worn by this poor boy. Please hope this helps...