Italian authorities are searching for a Bulgarian woman who may be connected to the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher, a former prosecutor has said.
The woman may have critical information regarding the fatal stabbing of the 21-year-old in Perugia, Italy while she was studying abroad, although it is not yet clear if she is a potential suspect or a witness.
Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, now retired but who helped lead the initial investigation into the murder, tipped off Italian authorities after he was approached by someone he described as a “reliable source”.
“Recently there have been developments that could prove significant,” Mr Mignini told Italian newspaper La Stampa. “A source I consider reliable gave me the name of an individual I'd never considered before.
“A person who may be implicated in the murder and who fled abroad a few days after the crime. There are indications that this person may have some involvement in the matter.”
Mr Mignini said he has reported the matter to the Perugia Prosecutor's Office, which is “handling the situation”. The Independent has contacted the office for comment.
Sources later told The Telegraph that the person in question is a Bulgarian woman who was in Perugia at the time of the killing, but that her reason for being in the town is unclear, as is whether she knew Ms Kercher or her American room mate Amanda Knox.
Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were previously convicted of her murder, but were acquitted in Italy's highest court, the Court of Cassation, in 2015.
Rudy Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was convicted of the sexual assault and murder of Ms Kercher in 2008, after his DNA was found at the scene. He spent 13 years behind bars before his release in 2021.
Meanwhile, Mr Mignini told La Stampa that he does not believe justice has been served yet, despite Guede’s conviction.
“There were miscarriages of justice, errors in favour of the defendants. I confess, it's a story that, 18 years later, I can't stomach: there has been no justice,” he said. “It's a story that has left a lot of bitterness. I'll be honest: when I think of that poor English girl, I feel a certain regret.”
The Kercher family want to know more about the fresh lead, their Italian lawyer said.
Francesco Maresca told Ansa news agency: “Once again, after so much time, people are talking about new hypotheses and other people who may have been involved, and on all this the family asks for more information.
“We remember once again Meredith’s lovely smile and her happiness at arriving in a country where she should have been studying history, art and beauty and where instead she met her end.”
