30 year old Amanda Bennett died from a gunshot

Police find four people dead in Austin house 30 year old Amanda Bennett died from a gunshot

AUSTIN, Ind. (WISH) - The Scott County Coroner has completed the autopsies on four people found dead in a southern Indiana home Friday afternoon.

At 4:21 p.m. Friday, Austin City Police forced their way into a house in the 300 block of New York Street in Austin, Ind. to check on the people in the home. When police entered, they found “parts of the home had been burned,” Indiana State Police officials say.

Indiana State Police are investigating the deaths. They say 30 year old Amanda Bennett died from a gunshot wound to the head area and smoke inhalation. Her two daughters, 14 year old Jasmine Abbott and 9 year old Katelynn Bennett also died from gunshot wounds to the head area, as well as her son, 4 year old Ryan Bennett. Katelynn also suffered from smoke inhalation.

At this time detectives are not ready to release any more information about the investigation and are continuing several interviews.

School administrators from the Scott County School District #1 say they will have extra counselors at the schools on Monday to help anyone cope with the tragedy.

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Amanda Knox appeals trial Experts to review evidence

Experts to review evidence at Amanda Knox appeals trial

Independent forensic experts will have 90 days starting next month to review crucial evidence linking American student Amanda Knox to the murder of her British roommate, an appeals court said Saturday.

Knox was convicted in 2009 of sexually assaulting and murdering Meredith Kercher, and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Her co-defendant and ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was also convicted and sentenced to 25 years. Both have denied wrongdoing.

Their lawyers have disputed DNA traces used to back up their convictions and obtained an independent review at the start of the appeals trial.

The experts appointed by the appeals court, Stefano Conti and Carla Vecchiotti from Rome's Sapienza University, were formally sworn in at a hearing Saturday, the first of the new year. They will begin their review on Feb. 9 at a university lab, conclude by May 9 and report their findings to the court on May 21.

Kercher was stabbed to death the night of Nov. 1, 2007. Her body was found in a pool of blood the following day in the apartment the 21-year-old shared with Knox. They were both exchange students in Perugia, a university town in central Italy.

Prosecutors maintained in the first trial that Knox's DNA was found on the handle of a kitchen knife they believe to be the murder weapon, and that Kercher's DNA was found on the blade. They say Sollecito's DNA was found on the clasp of Kercher's bra.

The defense says those DNA traces were inconclusive and that they might have been contaminated when they were collected and analyzed.

The two independent experts can either make new analyses on the DNA traces that were found, or, if that isn't possible, review the analyses that had been carried out by previous forensic experts and assess whether they are reliable. Experts appointed by both the prosecution and the defense will be present during the review.

While the evidence review is being carried out, the trial will continue with witnesses sought by the defense aimed at challenging the reliability of a key prosecution witness who said he had seen Knox and Sollecito by the house the night of the murder. Knox and Sollecito insist they were at Sollecito's house.

The next hearing is on March 12.

News From: www.kansascity.com