The Twisted Case of Amanda Knox: Twice Convicted, Twice Acquitted in Meredith Kercher’s Murder.

American college student Amanda Knox faced two trials in connection with the 2007 murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Italy, ultimately being acquitted. Since then, she has transitioned into a career as an author and activist.

Amanda Knox has one last opportunity to prove her innocence as Italy's highest court is set to hear her appeal on Thursday regarding a slander conviction. This conviction stems from her false accusations against a Congolese bar owner in connection with the 2007 murder of her British roommate. "I've been having nightmares about getting a bad verdict and just living the rest of my life with a shadow hanging over me. It's like a scarlet letter," Knox said recently on her Labyrinths podcast.

The decision is expected to conclude a dramatic 17-year legal battle involving Knox and her former Italian boyfriend, who faced a series of convictions and acquittals in the violent murder of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. Ultimately, they were cleared of all charges by Italy's highest court, the Cassation Court, in 2015, according to the Associated Press.

The slander conviction against Knox is the final legal blemish on her record. It withstood several appeals, and in June, she was reconvicted after a European court determined that Italy had infringed on her human rights, paving the way for a retrial. Now 37, Knox will not be present at the Cassation Court hearing, according to her defense attorney, Carlo Dalla Vedova. Even if the high court affirms the conviction and the three-year sentence, Knox will not face additional jail time, having already spent nearly four years during the investigation, the initial murder trial, and the first appeal. Knox's goal is to completely exonerate herself of any criminal charges.

"Living with a false conviction is horrific, personally, psychologically, emotionally," she said on the podcast. "I'm fighting it, and we'll see what happens." Knox returned to the United States in 2011, after being freed by an appeals court in Perugia, and has established herself as a global campaigner for the wrongly convicted.

Who Is Amanda Knox?

Amanda Knox was put on trial and found guilty for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, who was fatally stabbed in the apartment she shared with Knox in 2007. Both Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted of Kercher's murder, receiving sentences of 26 and 25 years in prison, respectively. However, in October 2011, they were acquitted and released. In March 2013, Knox was ordered to face trial again for the same crime, as Italy’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, annulled their previous acquittals. In February 2014, both Knox and Sollecito were once again found guilty, with Sollecito receiving a 25-year sentence and Knox a 28½-year sentence. Ultimately, in 2015, the Supreme Court of Italy overturned their convictions.

 Early Life

Amanda Marie Knox was born on July 9, 1987, in Seattle to Edda Mellas, a math teacher, and Curt Knox, who worked as a vice president of finance at Macy’s. She has a younger sister named Deanna, along with two step-sisters, Ashley and Delaney Knox. Her parents separated when she was just a toddler. Raised in a middle-class neighborhood, Amanda enjoyed playing soccer, and her athletic talent earned her the playful nickname “Foxy Knoxy,” a name that would later carry significant implications. In 2005, Amanda graduated from Seattle Preparatory High School and enrolled at the University of Washington that fall, intending to study linguistics.

 Studying Abroad in Italy

To many, Knox seemed like a typical college student. She hosted lively parties, made it onto the Dean’s List, and juggled multiple jobs to cover her tuition expenses. Friends remember her as a warm and gentle person. In pursuit of her linguistics degree, 20-year-old Knox left Washington for Perugia, Italy, where she planned to spend a year at the University for Foreigners. In Perugia, she shared an apartment with Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old student from London who was also studying linguistics abroad. Shortly after arriving in Perugia, Knox and Kercher attended a classical music concert, where Knox met Raffaele Sollecito, a 23-year-old Italian computer engineering student. The two quickly began dating.

Murder of Meredith Kercher

On November 1, 2007, Amanda Knox was scheduled to work at a pub named Le Chic, where she held a part-time position. After receiving a text from her boss, Patrick Lumumba, indicating that her services were not needed, Knox decided to spend the night at Raffaele Sollecito’s apartment. The following day, around noon, they returned to her place and discovered the front door ajar, windows shattered, and blood in the bathroom.

Knox attempted to call Kercher’s phone but received no response. She then reached out to their other roommate before finally calling her mother in Seattle, who advised her to contact the police. Two officers, who specialized in postal crimes rather than homicides, arrived at the scene. They entered the apartment and forcibly opened the door to Kercher’s bedroom, where they found her lifeless body on the floor, covered by a blood-soaked duvet.

Knox and Sollecito were taken to the police station, where they faced five days of intense questioning. Knox later claimed that no interpreter was provided and that she experienced bullying and physical abuse during her detention. Despite her mother’s advice to leave the country, Knox opted to remain in Perugia, wishing to connect with Kercher’s family. Eventually, Sollecito conceded that Knox might have left his apartment while he was asleep.

When detectives confronted Knox with this suggestion as an accusation, she became overwhelmed. She ultimately signed a confession stating that she had returned to her apartment on the night of November 1 and had been in the adjacent room while Lumumba fatally stabbed Kercher. On November 6, 2007, Italian authorities announced that they had identified Kercher’s murderers, leading to the arrest of Knox and Sollecito. Lumumba, however, had an alibi, as he was confirmed to be bartending at Le Chic on the night of the crime.

Two weeks later, a forensics lab released the findings from their analysis of DNA evidence collected from the crime scene. The results did not implicate Knox or Sollecito; instead, they pointed to Rudy Guede, a friend of the Italian men who resided in the apartment below Knox and Kercher. Guede had faced accusations of multiple burglaries but had no prior convictions. He was swiftly apprehended in Germany and acknowledged being present at the murder scene, although he claimed he did not kill Kercher and insisted that Knox and Sollecito were not involved.

Murder Trials and Acquittals First Conviction

Guede chose to undergo a fast-track trial. In October 2008, he was convicted of the murder and sexual assault of Kercher, receiving a 30-year prison sentence. Meanwhile, Knox and Sollecito opted for a full trial and were tried together. The prosecutor from Perugia, Giuliano Mignini, portrayed Knox in a negative light, depicting her as a promiscuous marijuana user who led her boyfriend into a dangerous sexual encounter that resulted in Kercher’s death, even labeling her a “she-devil.” On December 29, 2009, Knox was sentenced to 26 years, while Sollecito received 25 years.

Knox’s family and numerous supporters, primarily from the U.S., protested the verdict. With a young woman at the center of the case, it captured international attention. Supporters criticized the Italian legal system for its perceived flaws and argued that Knox faced discrimination due to her American nationality and her attractiveness. First Acquittal In April 2010, the lawyers for Knox and Sollecito filed appeals, challenging the evidence and the reliability of the witnesses.

The appeal process commenced in December 2010. Forensic experts later testified that the DNA evidence from the initial trial was questionable. In June 2011, the defense presented a witness who claimed that Guede had stated in prison that Knox and Sollecito were not involved in the murder.

They received backing for their appeal from the Idaho Innocence Project, a legal organization dedicated to using DNA testing to exonerate the wrongfully convicted. On October 3, 2011, two years after their initial trial, the murder convictions of Knox and Sollecito were overturned. However, Knox’s earlier conviction for defaming Patrick Lumumba was upheld, resulting in a three-year sentence and a fine. When the verdict was announced, cameras captured Knox in tears. She then traveled from Rome to London and finally returned home to Seattle.

Shortly after getting back home, Knox resumed her studies at the University of Washington, focusing on creative writing. In a surprising twist in March 2013, both Knox and Sollecito were summoned to stand trial once more for the murder of Kercher by the Italian Supreme Court. The Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest court, had reversed their previous acquittals. Knox issued a statement soon after discovering she would be facing murder charges again.

Second Trial

Following the overturning of the acquittal, the new trial commenced on September 30, 2013. Due to insufficient space in the Perugia court, the trial was relocated to Florence, Italy, with Judge Alessandro Nencini presiding. Amanda Knox chose not to attend any part of the proceedings, while Raffaele Sollecito was present for the conclusion when the verdict was announced. During the trial, a new piece of evidence, labeled evidence 36-I, was scrutinized.

This small fragment was discovered on a kitchen knife that Italian prosecutors claimed was the weapon used in the murder of Meredith Kercher. Although new tests did not detect Kercher’s DNA on the knife, experts did find traces of Knox’s DNA on the handle. Knox’s defense team highlighted this finding, arguing that it indicated she had only used the knife for cooking purposes. “It shows that Amanda took the knife solely for culinary use, to keep in the kitchen and utilize it,” Knox’s attorney Luca Maori told the Associated Press.

“This is significant. It’s illogical to suggest it was used in a murder and then returned to the drawer.” In a ruling that sent shockwaves worldwide in early February 2014, both Knox and Sollecito were once again found guilty of Kercher’s murder after nearly 12 hours of deliberation by an appeals court jury, which upheld the earlier 2009 ruling against them. Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Knox, who was also convicted of slander alongside murder, received a sentence of 28½ years.

“I am frightened and saddened by this unjust verdict,” Knox wrote of the verdict. “Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system. The evidence and accusatory theory do not justify a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt... There has always been a marked lack of evidence.” The 26-year-old added: “This has gotten out of hand. Most troubling is that it was entirely preventable. I beseech those with the knowledge and authority to address and remediate the problems that worked to pervert the course of justice and waste the valuable resources of the system.”

Murder Case Closed

In March 2015, the Supreme Court of Italy annulled the 2014 convictions of Knox and Sollecito. This ruling marked the final chapter in their case, with more details about the court's decision being shared in June. Upon hearing the news, Knox expressed her feelings in a statement, saying she was “tremendously relieved and grateful” for the outcome.

Although Knox was cleared of the charges related to Kercher’s murder, an Italian court found her guilty of slander in June 2024 concerning her earlier testimony and signed confession that implicated Lumumba in the crime. Due to her previous time spent in Italian custody, she will not face any additional prison time.

Life After the Trials Once she returned home, Knox completed her degree and started her career as a freelance journalist. She authored a best-selling memoir titled Waiting to Be Heard, which was published in 2013. Reports indicate she received $4 million for her book, although a significant portion went towards settling her legal expenses.

In August 2017, Knox shared her intentions to revisit Perugia the following year for a sequel to her memoir, but the trip did not materialize as she had hoped. In January 2019, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, ruled that Italy owed Knox 18,400 euros (approximately $20,000) for not providing her with legal assistance and an independent interpreter during her interrogation after her roommate's murder in 2007. Beyond her writing endeavors, Knox participates in events for the Innocence Project, an organization that supports individuals wrongfully convicted.

She accepted an invitation to speak at the Criminal Justice Festival in Modena, Italy, in June 2019. On Twitter, she noted, “The Italy Innocence Project didn’t yet exist when I was wrongly convicted in Perugia. I’m honored to accept their invitation to speak to the Italian people at this historic event and return to Italy for the first time.”

Husband and Children

Knox celebrated her wedding to her longtime partner, Christopher Robinson, with a unique Renaissance and Star Wars-themed ceremony on February 29, 2020. The couple had initially secured a marriage license on December 1, 2018. In a press release from August 2019, Knox explained, “We filed paperwork to be legally married in December of last year to simplify our taxes and insurance.”

Together, they have two children: a daughter named Eureka, who was born in August 2021, and a son named Echo, born in September 2023.

In October 2020, Knox and Robinson launched a podcast called Labyrinths, where they explore their relationship and engage in “compassionate interviews, philosophical discussions, and playful debates with intriguing guests.” By June 2024, they had released over 100 episodes. Previously, Knox was engaged to her childhood friend and musician Colin Sutherland in 2015, but they eventually parted ways.

Documentary Movie In 2016, Netflix premiered a documentary titled Amanda Knox, featuring interviews with Knox and other significant individuals involved in the case. In March 2024, CNN announced that Hulu had started production on an eight-episode dramatized series about the case, with actress Margaret Qualley set to portray Knox. However, in April, Deadline reported that Qualley had to withdraw from the project due to scheduling conflicts.

Quotes

• This has gotten out of hand. Most troubling is that it was entirely preventable. I beseech those with the knowledge and authority to address and remediate the problems that worked to pervert the course of justice and waste the valuable resources of the system.
• Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system. The evidence and accusatory theory do not justify a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt... There has always been a marked lack of evidence.
• I believe that any questions as to my innocence must be examined by an objective investigation and a capable prosecution. The prosecution responsible for the many discrepancies in their work must be made to answer for them, for Raffaele’s sake, my sake, and most especially for the sake of Meredith’s family. Our hearts go out to them.

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