Police investigating the murder of English university student Meredith Kercher in Perugia have found traces of DNA belonging to the victim and her American flat-mate on a kitchen knife.
The knife, which has straight 15-cm blade, was confiscated in the home of Raffaele Sollecito, the Italian boyfriend of Kercher's flat-mate, Amanda Knox.
Sollecito and Knox, along with an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo, were arrested last week on suspicion of killing the 22-year-old student.
Kercher died on the night between November 1 and 2 after her throat was cut in the house she shared with three other girls on the outskirts of this central Italian city.
All three suspects face charges of murder and sexual assault.
Perugia prosecutor Giuliano Mignini declined to comment on the latest finding by police forensic scientists.
The traces of Kercher's DNA were reportedly found further down the knife's blade than those belonging to Knox.
The DNA was extracted from body fluids - possibly blood - which scientists found on the knife in microscopic quantities, probably because it had been carefully cleaned, sources close to the investigation said.
Tests have also shown up traces of Knox's DNA on cloths seized by police in the house where Kercher,
The DNA of Knox's boyfriend were also found on the cloths.
