Last year, homeless dope dealer Antonio Curatolo told Italian jurors that he

Published 7:00 am Monday, March 28, 2011

Last year, homeless dope dealer Antonio Curatolo told Italian jurors that he saw Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito chatting “excitedly” in a public square near where British student Meredith Kercher was murdered. The testimony punctured Knox and Sollecito’s alibis that they were nowhere near the scene that night, and helped send the two to prison for a combined 51 years. But on Saturday, more than at any point prior, Curatolo’s narcotics-based profession and inability to remember things like “facts” and “details” came sharply into question.Like both appellants, Curatolo was roused from a prison bed in order to come to court on that day. He’s been incarcerated on heroin-dealing charges for several months, and fully admits to being a longtime habitual user himself. But it was his mixing-up of dates and details more than his penchant for opiates that was most soundly attacked by Knox’s lawyers on Saturday.For example, at the original trial Curatolo said he saw Knox and Sollecito on Nov. 1, the night of the murder. But on Saturday, he said he thought it was actually Halloween night, Oct. 31, when he saw them because there were kids dressed up in costumes everywhere. Later he apparently quibbled over it possibly being Nov. 1 or maybe even Nov. 2 when he saw the two chatting.Finally he seemed more sure of the date when he said he remembered police arriving at the scene the day after he saw the two, placing his witnessing them on the correct day of Nov. 1.But still, Curatolo’s shaky recollection certainly became an issue. His heroin use and housing status also reared its head when he reportedly told jurors that he lives in a house–until he was pressed, then he admitted that he actually lives in prison.Knox’s stepfather called the testimony “perfect” and said “it couldn’t go any better today.”Prosecutor Manuela Comodi played down the significance, saying:”What’s certain is that she couldn’t have been there on Halloween night. There is no such thing as a perfect witness, save for one who has seen the crime. What matters is that a witness doesn’t lie, and why should Curatolo lie?”But with the recent news that DNA evidence linking both Knox and Sollecito to the crime was too small to test, and now the questionable testimony of the prosecution’s star witness, it seems as if things are looking up somewhat for Team Foxy Knoxy. Follow The Daily Weekly on Facebook and Twitter.