She is being referred to as Foxy Knoxy by the Italian press, but the American college student from Seattle, Washington is 21 year-old Amanda Knox. She and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 24, are standing trial in Perugia, 115 miles north of Rome, for the stabbing murder and sexual assault of Meredith Kercher in November 2007.
Kercher, a British exchange student from Leeds University, had been in Italy for two months and was sharing a house with University of Washington student Knox, who was also part of the same exchange program.
Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini is attempting to prove that 21 year old Kercher was murdered because she wouldn’t participate in a drug-fueled sex game with Knox, Sollecito and a third man, Rudy Hermann Guede. It is believed that Sollecito restrained Kercher by her wrists and Knox poked her with a knife while Guede sexually assaulted her.
Knox and Sollecito were arrested on November 6, 2007 and have been held without bail in prison. They were charged in July 2008 and ordered to trial in October. The wheels of justice have been grinding slowly. The trial began on January 16, 2009 and has been dragging along, with sessions held mostly on weekends.
The Italian media unleashed their top crime reporters, and the case drew intense international coverage. There were at least 11 Facebook pages that were weighing in on the dilemma. Many supported Knox’ innocence.
Guede was convicted of murder in a fast-tracked trial and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Update: December 4, 2009 – An Italian jury found Amanda Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito guilty in the stabbing death of British exchange student Meredith Kercher. Knox was sentenced to 26 in prison and her boyfriend received 25 years. Both were convicted on all charges except theft. Both Knox and Sollecito will appeal the verdicts, attorneys said.
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