Amanda Knox

Amanda Knox spent time walking along wilderness trails, as illustrated in this painting.

Amanda Knox (1984–  ) is an American college student, being held in custody in Perugia, Italy, on multiple charges spanning 3 years. Knox was an honors student at the University of Washington, in her sophmore year, then she moved to Italy on 20 September 2007, to attend language classes at the University for Foreigners, with money she had saved working multiple jobs around Seattle, WA. In June 2009, due to all her televised court hearings, an Italian television poll listed Amanda Knox as a bigger personality than Carla Bruni. In November 2007, she had been arrested as a suspect in the death of her roommate, then charged in October 2008, with slander against her former boss, and in January 2010 charged with defamation against the local Perugia police. Several investigators, such as Paul Ciolino or veteran FBI Agent Steve Moore, and several legal experts believe that those charges are unfounded. While in custody, Knox has continued to study Italian, German and other languages, with online college courses from Seattle University.

Student attending classes in Italy

Amanda Knox, when she moved to Italy, was a 20-year-old University of Washington language student from Seattle, Washington. She was in Perugia attending the University for Foreigners (known as Stranieri ) for one year, studying Italian, German and creative writing. On 20 September 2007, she moved into an upstairs apartment, on the edge of the hilltop town, with 3 other women, who were students at local institutions. She met Meredith Kercher, who had been in town a while longer and who showed Knox around town. In October 2007, Meredith accompanied Amanda on a job interview, when she got hired at the Perugia pub Le Chic. On 25 October 2007, Amanda and Meredith had attended a classical music concert at the university, and when Meredith left at intermission, Raffaele Sollecito first met Amanda. Amanda had both of Kercher's mobile phone numbers (for local and UK), and she had called her several times, such as on 31 October 2007, to discuss their Halloween costumes.

Trouble after 6 weeks in Italy

Amanda Knox first became known as housemate suspected in the murder of Meredith Kercher on All Saints Day (1 November 2007), which quickly became controversial when the prosecutor's unusual theory, of a 4-person sex-game-gone-bad, could not be supported by any forensic evidence or witnesses: no sexual items, or restraints, were found at the crime scene, of a so-called "sex game" (Italian: gioco erotico). During the murder trial hearings, witnesses testified that Amanda and Meredith became "fast friends" both speaking English, attending the university together, and going out to pubs in the evening. When Knox met her boyfriend at a classical music concert, 8 days before the murder, she had gone to the concert with Meredith, who left at intermission, when Knox first met her boyfriend.

The upstairs flat where Knox lived with Kercher and 2 Italian women, in the hilltop town of Perugia, Italy.

Amanda Knox was charged with the murder (and stealing her flatmate's 300 euros and 2 credit cards), even though forensic experts found none of her DNA, fingerprints, hair, fiber or shoe-prints matching her shoes, at the violent crime scene, yet a male suspect's DNA was matched to the body, clothes, and handbag in the victim's room. Instead, Knox's fingerprint was found only on a glass in the kitchen sink, and her DNA matched items in the bathroom which both girls shared. The theft/murder case remained controversial because none of Knox's clothing, linens, shoes, or items in her room revealed any trace of blood, next door to the victim's blood-soaked room, even though the apartment had been sealed as a crime scene within minutes of discovering the body from the previous night.

Main article: Murder of Meredith Kercher

The main suspect, Rudy Guede, a man originally from Ivory Coast (Africa), had claimed he had been invited in by Kercher, saying he was in a far bathroom when he heard Kercher scream, emerged, and scuffled with an Italian knifer who fled the scene. Rather than call police for help, the man claimed he left her dying (from stab wounds), fully clothed, with duvet bedspread and pillow on the bed (later found on the floor). Forensic evidence contradicted his claims, because his blood palm-print, and Nike Outbreak 2 shoe-prints, were found on the bed pillow, under the disrobed body, with his DNA matched to the bra,, severed bra strap, and vaginal swab. Judge Micheli at trial, noted the suspect claimed to touch everything in the room (including her handbag) "without explaining why his footprint is just under the corpse on the pillow, when he remembered the regular pillow on the bed" (Italian: "senza tuttavia spiegare come mai una sua impronta si trovasse proprio sul cuscino sotto il cadavere, quando egli icordava il cuscino regolarmente sopra il letto"). The CSI experts (from Rome) considered the crime to be a stabbing, followed some time later (blood patterns had set) by returning to the scene, to disrobe and move the body onto the pillow. The suspect's DNA was matched in large amounts to the back of the bra, the severed bra strap, and the handbag. Two credit cards and 300 euros ($420) were missing. At trial in October 2008, he was found guilty of murder and sexual assault, which was upheld during the first appeal trial, but with sentence reduced to 16 years.

During those trial hearings, Amanda Knox had attended as part of the indictment process. In October 2008, she said, "There was one day when I thought Rudy was going to confess, I was shouting for joy." The defense attorneys of Amanda Knox referred to this scenario, of a one-man crime, as the Lone Wolf theory. However, after 5 months in custody, Rudy had changed his story and claimed he saw Knox outside the house after the stabbing. During the Knox/Sollecito trial, Guede attended some hearings and was asked to testify about what he saw that night, but he declined to testify during their trial.

Charges of defamation

In January 2010, Amanda Knox was charged with defamation against the local Perugia police officers. On 1 June 2010, Knox appeared at a preliminary hearing about the defamation charges. During her 2009 trial, Knox had testified that Perugia police gave her "cuffs" (or small beatings), while interrogating her about Meredith Kercher's death. Knox had said that the Perugia police used the threat of physical violence to intimidate and pressure her, which led her to falsely accuse her boss, Patrick L. of involvement in Kercher's murder.

Her boss was arrested as a consequence; however, within 2 weeks, he was released, after his alibi was confirmed, that he was in his pub during the approximate time of the murder. He had sued Knox for defamation in 2009 and won the judgment.

Amanda Knox's attorneys, including Luciano Ghirga of Perugia, have challenged the involvement of the judge in the police-defamation case, because he was the same judge who had ruled how Knox and Sollecito would remain in custody in November 2007 (pending formal charges in the Kercher case). An appeals court in Perugia is expected to enter a decision on the recusal request, circa 17 June 2010. However, the next court hearing in the police-defamation case is scheduled for 1 October 2010.

Plans for the Kercher apellate trial

The 2009 Knox/Sollecito trial has been appealed, with a new trial expected in late 2010. Contending that prosecutor Giuliano Mignini and deputy prosecutor Manuela Comodi had "completely botched the case", Knox's lawyers, seeking to overturn her December-2009 conviction, filed an appeal spanning more than 300 pages on 17 April 2010. In their appeal, the defence lawyers disclosed that a new witness had been found who can prove that Knox and Sollecito were not involved in Kercher's killing. The appeal also asserts that the DNA evidence in the case was seriously flawed. The Knox defence lawyers challenge the fact that the lower court refused their request that an independent DNA expert be allowed to testify at the trial. They seek to have that additional analysis of the DNA evidence introduced during the second trial at the Court of Appeals. Alessandro Canali, an independent Italian lawyer not involved in the case commented: "The DNA is so flawed, Knox should never have been convicted."

According to one of Knox's lawyers, Luciano Ghirga of Perugia, the appeal "is a total repudiation of all points of the sentence...It includes the first days of the interrogation, the DNA evidence and the traces detected with luminol. We reiterate the innocence of Amanda and remain convinced there is no proof of her presence at the scene of the crime."

It has also emerged that the prosecution has failed to deliver to the defence all the paperwork and documentation related to the forensic testing. Chris Mellas, Knox's step-father, stated: "Our lawyers asked for everything, every file and record relating to the forensic testing. We were given some of the stuff, like what was on Meredith's shoes or a juice glass but not the full reports on the knife used or the bra-clasp." Deputy prosecutor Manuela Comodi brushed off the request for all forensic documentation and added: "They have everything they need. That is enough."

The defence lawyers have asserted that Knox, having been a suspect during the time that she was being interrogated, was denied her basic legal rights during that period and was pressured into making damaging statements. According to Anne Bremmer, attorney for the Friends of Amanda group, the appeal "attacks the sufficiency of the evidence — there was no forensic evidence to connect her to the case, not a hair, not a fibre, no DNA whatsoever." The appeal also challenges prosecutor Giuliano Mignini's constantly changing theories of motive in the case and the prosecution's "contradictory evidence."

According to the US attorney on the defence team, Theodore Simon: "The complete absence of physical evidence, including DNA, will win over a new jury...It's absolutely clear that there is no forensic evidence of any sort of Amanda Knox in the room where Meredith Kercher was tragically killed or on her person. And given the fact this was a violent murder one would think there would be."

Commenting on the disputed DNA found on a knife, Simon said: "Many people in the United States have come to believe that conventional DNA testing will convict the guilty and exonerate the innocent, and we believe that, as well. However, most of the public is unaware that the type of testing that was employed in this case was very controversial, and it was an unreliable test known as low-copy number or low-template number. This is not recognized as being truly accepted and reliable and is subject to unreliable results. So we have consulted some of the world's leading experts...we believe this is simply unreliable testing yielding unreliable results."

The lawyers for Raffaele Sollecito also filed a lengthy appeal of his conviction comprising over 270 pages. His lawyer Luca Maori said: "An innocent man has been convicted and has spent three years behind bars for something he did not do. We aim to fight this conviction and free him on appeal." The appeal will proceed as a trial de novo (new trial). This new trial is expected to take place in autumn 2010, at the Appellate Court of Assizes, presided over by Judge Emanuele Medoro.

See also

• Italian Code of Criminal Procedure
• False confession
• Falsified evidence
• Police brutality