American Student Amanda Knox Guilty of Murder in Italy

[Walter Cronkite]

Two judges and six jurors in the Italian city of Perugia have a reached a verdict in the case of accused murderer Amanda Knox: guilty.

After nearly two years in jail, Knox, 22, was convicted on charges of masterminding the brutal murder of British roommate, Meredith Kercher, 21, in a sadistic sex game gone awry in 2007. Alleged to have acted with her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 25, Knox, a University of Washington student studying in Italy, was portrayed in the European press as an amoral, pot-smoking party girl – an "angel-faced killer," in one headline.

Prosecutors alleged that Sollecito held Kercher down while Rudy Guede, a 22-year-old Ivory Coast-born drifter, tried to sexually assault her and Knox stabbed her.

In testimony at her 11-month trial, Kercher's friends described what they considered Knox's bizarre behavior when she was brought into the police station for questioning the day after the murder. Knox began doing cartwheels and handstands and snuggling with Sollecito. "We were all crying, and I didn't see Amanda crying," said Robyn Butterworth. "She and Raffaele were kissing and joking."

But on the stand, Knox explained: "When I feel uneasy or nervous, I act a bit foolish."

According to authorities, Knox gave conflicting statements about her whereabouts on the night of the murder. Yet the prosecution was not able to link her conclusively to the killing through DNA. In a separate trial in October, 2008, Guede was convicted of Kercher's murder and sentenced to 30 years.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison.

Family members of Meredith Kercher said Saturday that they were satisfied with the verdict that found American Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, guilty in the fatal knifing of their loved one.

"Ultimately we are pleased with the decision," said Lyle Kercher, Meredith's brother. "But it was not a moment of celebration. We are here because our sister was brutally murdered."

Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years Friday for the murder of Kercher. Knox and Sollecito will appeal, attorneys said.

The two were found not guilty of theft, a charge filed because 300 euros (about $444) of Kercher's allegedly was missing.

Arline Kercher, Meredith's mother, said she believes the two are guilty.

"You have to go with the evidence," she said.

Knox's lead defense attorney, Luciano Ghirga, said when he met with his client Saturday morning, she was angry and continued to proclaim her innocence.

He told CNN the situation has been a trying experience, and Knox hardly slept last night after the verdict. She was consoled by the other prisoners, who managed get her a cup of warm milk, Ghirga said.

Knox and Sollecito were charged with murder and sexual violence in Kercher's death in November 2007. Knox and Kercher, both studying abroad, were roommates. A third suspect was found guilty in a separate trial.

The two were convicted on all charges except theft and together must pay 5 million euros ($7.4 million) to the victim's family. In addition, Knox must pay 40,000 euros ($60,000) to a man whom she falsely accused of the killing.

The jury reached its verdict after deliberating nearly 11 hours on the 11 counts.

Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of life in prison. Italy does not have the death penalty.

The Kercher family made statements at a packed news conference in Perugia, their first public comments since the highly publicized convictions.

In a written statement Friday, Knox's parents said they were "extremely disappointed" with the verdict.

"While we always knew this was a possibility, we find it difficult to accept this verdict when we know that she is innocent, and that the prosecution has failed to explain why there is no evidence of Amanda in the room where Meredith was so horribly and tragically murdered," they said.

The victim's sister, Stephanie Kercher, talked about the grief her family experiences.

"Our lives have been on hold really. You can't really carry on as normal. You have to take each day as it comes," she said.

"Luckily, we have had support from a huge number of people -- close friends and family, and people all over the world. We can just hope that strength continues and do the best we can. It's not ever going to be the same without [Meredith]."

Source: CNN

[The Real]

I like crazy women and all....but there's something about cold blooded murderers that just doesn't do it for me.

[AndySMC]

I'm curious, if there was a fair amount of reasonable doubt for this girl's innonence why wouldn't the State Department jump on this? Given Italy's had her in a cell for two years she doesn't appear to be something the State Department wants to escalate, which in turn suggests the State Department's lawyers have looked over the evidence and finds everything Italy did to be kosher.

[Sodomy]

Prosecutors alleged that Sollecito held Kercher down while Rudy Guede, a 22-year-old Ivory Coast-born drifter, tried to sexually assault her and Knox stabbed her for almost an hour with a 12 inch strap-on. She moaned from intense pleasure...

This is how the story could have gone Amanda. But no, you had to be stupid and kill her instead. I'm still going to slap off to this. I hope you have learned your lesson.

[Modern Arts]

We could put her under house arrest...at my house.



/giggity

[Kellie-Girl]

If some people took the time to look at the facts they'll see that the prosecution is a farce and what we have here is a young women who's only transgression was that she was in a drug induced haze while her roommate was being murdered (how shitty is that?). This whole case stinks of character assassination by the media, horrible evidence gathering techniques by the investigators (nearly 2 days straight being interrogated without a lawyer being present- what the hell?) and a corrupt and insane prosecutor.

This woman and her boyfriend's life are ruined because the court system in Italy is ******ed.

Oh, and did we mention they already sentenced some other guy for the murder, a man who was last seen with the victim, had sex with the victim, who fled to Germany after the murder, and whose story suddenly changed to include the other two college students? Two students with no motive (how in the fark did they make up that story?).

This whole thing is horrible. It there someone in Italy with power and a brain?

Another thing that gets me is that when they delivered the verdict, apparently a bunch of the jurors made a point to dress in the colors of the Italian flag. Being on a jury should be about finding truth, not about patriotism. Would they have dressed the same way if everyone involved had been Italian? I doubt it. They were obviously trying to make some sort of political/nationalist statement due to all the attention the trial was getting, but then one has to ask if they were also trying to serve the same statement, and not justice, when it came to arriving at their verdict.