Amanda Knox's Family Prepares Her Appeal, Report: No Malice Found

Report: Knox Jurors Found No Planning, Malice In Kercher's Slaying


Jurors believed American Amanda Knox played a role in the slaying of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, but thought the death came about without any premeditation or animosity, according to a report released Thursday.

The 427-page report, written by Judge Giancarlo Massei and Assistant Judge Beatrice Cristiani, explains the reasons behind jurors' determination in December that Knox was guilty in the November 2007 stabbing death of exchange student Kercher while the two roomed together in Perugia, Italy.

The report blames "random contingencies" and "the combination of various factors" for Kercher's death.

"It is a crime that happened ... without any planning, without any animosity or rancorous feeling against the victim that in some way could be seen [as] a preparation and predisposition to the crime," it said.

Knox, 22, of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced to 26 years in prison for Kercher's death. Knox's ex-boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, was sentenced to 25 years. A third man, Ivory Coast native Rudy Guede, was tried separately and was initially sentenced to 30 years, but an appeals court later reduced that to 16 years.

Knox's family issued a statement, saying they had "asked Amanda's lawyers to immediately begin the process of appeal."

"We know she is innocent as there is no forensic evidence that puts her in Meredith's room, no evidence of her at the scene of this horrible crime," the statement said. "Meredith was Amanda's friend. They liked each other and spent time together when not in school. Amanda would not hurt Meredith."

The family said the appeal would detail what they said was "a lot of conjecture in these motivations, a number of discrepancies as well as a number of inconsistencies and contradictions; as well as conclusions not supported by evidence."

Sollecito is also expected to appeal; both have denied involvement in Kercher's death.

During the 11-month trial of Knox and Sollecito, prosecutors argued Knox was a resentful American so angry with her British roommate that she exacted revenge during a twisted sex misadventure game at the students' home. They said Knox directed Sollecito and Guede to hold Kercher down as Knox played with a knife before killing her.

Defense attorneys for Knox and Sollecito said Guede acted alone. Knox testified in court that she was not home at the time of the slaying. She told jurors during her trial that she is not a "killer."

However, jurors rejected both of those theories, according to Thursday's report. They found Guede the main instigator -- not Knox, as prosecutors hypothesized.

The jurors believed that Guede went into Kercher's room and attempted to have sexual contact with her, but Kercher pushed him away. Knox and Sollecito then came into the room and attempted to help Guede have "his way" with Kercher, the report said. Sollecito held Kercher while Guede fondled her, the report said, but things spiraled out of control.

Sollecito poked Kercher with a knife, inflicting one wound measured at 4 cm (1.5 inches), and Knox poked her with a bigger knife after she screamed, inflicting a larger 8-cm (3-inch) wound, jurors found.

"The most plausible hypothesis is that Rudy decided by himself to enter Meredith's room," the report said. "The reaction and refusal of the girl must have been heard by Amanda and Raffaele, who actually were probably disturbed and intervened, given the unfolding of events. They backed Rudy, whom they allowed to enter the house" and ultimately became Kercher's killers because of events that followed, according to the judges.

All three, the jurors believed, were under the influence of drugs. "The motive is therefore of erotic sexual violent nature, which originating from Rudy's choice of evil, found its active collaboration from Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito."

While both Knox and Sollecito denied being at the crime scene, jurors noted that Knox's blood was found in the bathroom and Sollecito's DNA was found on Kercher's bra. The two cannot prove they were at Sollecito's home until the following day, as no evidence puts them there, according to the report.

A knife found in Sollecito's house, with Knox's DNA on the handle and Kercher's DNA on the blade, was the murder weapon, jurors believed, according to the report.

Both Knox and Sollecito must have felt remorse, the judges wrote, because they covered Kercher's body and closed the door of the room where she lay. Police had to force it open the next morning. The judges said that was "significant behavior."


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Hillary Clinton Drawn Into Amanda Knox Case...U.S. Backlash

U.S. backlash grows as Hillary Clinton is called in over the jailing of "Foxy Knoxy"


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been drawn into the battle to overturn Amanda Knox's conviction.

Amid a growing U.S. backlash against the verdict, the American Secretary of State has agreed to meet a senator from 22-year-old Knox's home state of Washington.

On Friday night, Knox was found guilty of the drug-fuelled sex murder of British student Meredith Kercher and jailed for 26 years.

Her conviction, alongside her Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, came in tense late-night scenes in the Italian town of Perugia at the end of a year-long trial. Sollecito, 25, was jailed for 25 years.

Last night, Miss Kercher's family told of their anguish for the first time since her killer was jailed.

Her mother Arline, 64, said the entire family had been given a 'life sentence' and were 'living in a nightmare' for the two years since she was slain.

She also revealed how they keep the 21-year-old's bedroom exactly as it was when she left in the vain hope she will one day come home.

Miss Kercher's semi-naked body was found in November 2007 in a pool of blood in the bedroom of the home she and Knox shared in Perugia.

The court heard that Miss Kercher, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was subjected to a terrifying ordeal when she returned to her Italian home after an evening with friends.

Knox, Sollecito and another man, drifter Rudy Guede, attempted to involve the Leeds University student in a sex game, cutting her throat when she refused and leaving her to die in 'slow agony'. Guede, 22, was convicted of murder and sexual assault last year and jailed for 30 years.

After the verdicts, Knox's furious father Curt Knox vowed to fight to clear his daughter's name and spoke of his 'anger and disbelief' at the Italian justice system.

His campaign seems to be gaining support on Capitol Hill. Senator Maria Cantwell, from Washington state, declared there were 'serious questions about the Italian justice system'.

She said she was concerned there had been an 'anti-American' feeling at the trial and said she would be raising her concerns with Mrs Clinton.

'The prosecution did not present enough evidence for an impartial jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Miss Knox was guilty,' she said. 'Italian jurors were allowed to view highly negative news coverage about Miss Knox.'

She said Knox, who called herself Foxy Knoxy on a web page, had been a victim of 'harsh treatment' and branded handling of evidence 'negligent'.

Mrs Clinton was asked about the trial in an appearance on a U.S. news programme.

She said: 'Of course I'll meet with Senator Cantwell or anyone who has a concern but I can't offer any opinion about that at this time.'

She said she had not expressed any concerns to the Italian government. Last night, Knox's Italian lawyer distanced himself from the senator's claims. Luciano Ghirga said: 'That's all we need, Hillary Clinton involved. I have the same political sympathies as Hillary but this sort of thing does not help us in any way.'

Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini said: 'This senator should not interfere in something she has no idea about. I am happy with how the trial went.'

Knox plans to appeal against her conviction, but if it is unsuccessful she is likely to have to serve the bulk of her 26-year sentence inside an Italian jail. As in Britain, prisoners can be released on licence, but Knox is unlikely to be eligible for even day release for at least 20 years.

She could make an application to serve her sentence in the U.S.

On Saturday, Knox's father, mother Edda Mellas, her sister and half-sisters visited her at Capanne prison, just outside Perugia.



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What's Next For Amanda Knox?

Parents visit Knox. She sought comfort from visiting family members on her first day in prison since being convicted of murdering her British roommate. NBC’s Keith Miller reports.

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Amanda Knox's father calls her guilty verdict "a travesty of justice".

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Amanda Knox's Next Move



After a grueling, 11-month trial, the young American co-ed was found guilty of murder by an Italian court. Barbie Latza Nadeau on how she'll try to shorten her sentence.

Amanda Knox put her face in her hands when she was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering Meredith Kercher. Then she turned to her lawyer and wept in his arms. “Condannato” said the judge after deliberations that had begun around 10:30 that morning finally ended just after 9 p.m. “Amanda Marie Knox is condemned to 26 years in prison.”

The reaction in the courtroom was nothing short of explosive. As the judge read out the sentences for sexual assault, murder, staging a crime scene, and criminal defamation, Knox’s younger sister Deanna’s cries filled the room. At one point the stepmother of Raffaele Sollecito, Knox’s former boyfriend who was sentenced to 25 years for his part in the murder, yelled out “Fuck you,” then cried loudly in a fit of hysteria. Knox’s family cried and hugged. The family of Meredith Kercher sat stoically, at one point staring in awe at the parents of the woman who was just convicted of killing their daughter.

It wasn’t the life sentence with nine months of isolation that the prosecutor had asked for, but it was a harsh penalty for the 22-year-old American whose trial in the small city of Perugia, Italy, had captivated the world for 11 months. The prosecutor presented forensic evidence and painted a circumstantial caricature of Knox as a beautiful young woman capable of murder. The defense tried its best to sow seeds of uncertainty with words like “contamination” and “reasonable doubt.” But in the end, the two judges and six lay jurors trusted the sanctity of the DNA evidence, and doubted the words of Knox and Sollecito.

The case has been a media sensation ever since Kercher’s bloodied corpse was found in the apartment she shared with Knox in November 2007. For those who believed that Knox was guilty, the most damning evidence was the presence of her DNA mixed with Kercher’s blood in the house, and her statement that she was in the house at the time of the murder. Those who believed she was innocent have maintained throughout that the evidence was fabricated or contaminated. But for the family of Meredith Kercher, tonight's sentence offered a modicum of closure. “This is the justice we were looking for,” said Francesco Maresca, lawyer for the Kercher family, after the hearing. “The family is satisfied.”

The Knox family is not. They have vowed to continue to fight for her innocence. When asked if they would fight this in appeal, her father Curt Knox responded, “Hell, yes.”

Italian cases are automatically appealed and Knox may be able to shave a few years off her lengthy sentence during the process, which will take place within a year and a half. Until then, she will spend her days in prison a convicted murderess. “We were expecting this, but that does not make it easier,” said Knox’s lawyer Luciano Ghirga.

Despite the verdict, many still believe it does nothing to clarify exactly what happened the night Kercher was killed.




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Amanda Knox - Meredith Kercher Virtual Murder Scene

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Amanda Knox's Family Immediately Plans To Appeal Her Conviction

(Video from Europe) Amanda Knox found guilty. An Italian court convicted American student Amanda Knox, 22, of murdering her British roommate in a drunken sex game two years ago. NBC's Keith Miller reports from Perugia.

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An American Defense Attorney explains the Italian Criminal Justice System.

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Victim’s family satisfied with Knox conviction


The family of a slain British woman said Saturday they were pleased with the murder conviction of American student Amanda Knox but said there was no sense of celebration.

Meredith Kercher's relatives made their first comments since a jury in Perugia, Italy, announced early Saturday that they had convicted Knox and sentenced her to 26 years in prison for the 2007 murder.

The court also convicted Knox's co-defendant and former boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, and gave him a 25-year jail term.

"Ultimately we are pleased with the decision, pleased that we've got a decision, but it's not a time for celebration," Lyle Kercher, the victim's brother, said.

Kercher's sister, Stephanie, said the verdict "does bring a a little bit of justice, for us and for her."

"Life will never be the same without Mez," she said.

Kercher, 21, was Knox's roommate while they studied in Perugia.

Her body was found in a pool of blood with her throat slit on Nov. 2, 2007 at the apartment they shared. Prosecutors said the Leeds University student was murdered the previous night.

Knox, family react to verdict

As soon as the judge read the verdict just after midnight following some 13 hours of deliberations, Knox began weeping and murmured, “No, no,” then hugged one of her lawyers.

Minutes later, the 22-year-old Knox, who is from Seattle and the 25-year-old Sollecito, were put in police vans with sirens blaring and driven back to jail.

Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment, Italy’s stiffest sentence. Courts often give less severe punishment than what prosecutors demand.

The American’s father, Curt Knox, asked if he would fight on for his daughter, replied, with tears in his eyes: “Hell, yes.”

“This is just wrong,” her stepmother, Cassandra Knox, said, turning around immediately after hearing the verdict. Her family had insisted she was innocent and a victim of character assassination.

One of Knox’s lawyers, Luciano Ghirga, was asked if she was desperate.

“Yes, I challenge anyone not to be,” he replied.

A group of local youths who gathered outside the courthouse shouted insults and “assassin” at the Knox entourage as they walked in to hear the verdict.

The family said Knox will appeal the verdict.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., blasted the Italian legal system.

"I am saddened by the verdict and I have serious questions about the Italian justice system and whether anti-Americanism tainted this trial," Cantwell said. "The prosecution did not present enough evidence for an impartial jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Knox was guilty."

"Italian jurors were not sequestered and were allowed to view highly negative news coverage about Ms. Knox," Cantwell said. The senator also cited the "harsh" treatment of Knox after her arrest and "the negligent handling of evidence by investigators."

Seattle friends, relatives react

Relatives and friends in Seattle clasped hands as they watched TV and waited for the verdict. Her uncle, Mick Huff, cried, "Oh God, no" when it was announced.

Other friends buried their faces in their hands and shook their heads.

"They didn't listen to the facts of the case," said Elisabeth Huff, Knox's grandmother. "All they did was listen to the media's lies."

Madison Paxton, a friend of Knox's, said: "They're convicting a made-up person. They they're convicting 'foxy Knoxy.' That's not Amanda."

In a statement, the family said: "We are extremely disappointed in the verdict rendered today against our daughter. ... It appears clear to us that the attacks on Amanda's character in much of the media and by the prosecution had a significant impact on the judges and jurors and apparently overshadowed the lack of evidence in the prosecution's case against her."

Fumes of drugs

The prosecutors contend on the night of the murder, Knox and Sollecito met at the apartment where Kercher and Knox lived. They say a fourth person was there, Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivory Coast citizen who has been convicted in the murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Guede, who is appealing his conviction, says he was in the house the night of the murder but did not kill Kercher.

The prosecution says Knox and Kercher started arguing, and that Knox joined the two men in brutally attacking and sexually assaulting the Briton under "the fumes of drugs and possibly alcohol."

Throughout the trial, prosecutors depicted Knox as a promiscuous and manipulative she-devil whose personality clashed with her roommate's. They say Knox had grown to hate Kercher.

During the trial, the most intimate details of Knox's life were examined, from her lax hygiene — allegedly a point of contention with Kercher — to her sex life, even including a sex toy.

Knox said Kercher was a friend whose slaying shocked and saddened her.

Defense lawyers have described the American, who made the dean's list at the University of Washington, as a smart and cheerful woman, at one point even comparing her to film character Amelie, the innocent and dreamy girl in the 2001 French movie of the same title.

That is the film Knox and Sollecito say they were watching at his home on the night of the murder, where they say they smoked marijuana and had sex. Knox said she went home the next morning to find the door to the house open and Kercher dead.

The prosecution maintains that a 6 1/2-inch knife authorities found at Sollecito's house could be the murder weapon; they say Kercher's DNA was found on the blade and Knox's on the handle. However, defense lawyers argue the knife was too big to match Kercher's wounds and the amount of DNA collected was too small to determine with certainty whose it was.

Violence is purposeless

The defense maintained there was not enough evidence for a conviction and no clear motive.

However, prosecutor Manuela Comodi said violent crimes can lack a motive. "We live at a time where violence is purposeless," she told the jury.

Knox gave contradictory versions of the night of the slaying, saying at one point she was home and had to cover her ears to block out Kercher's screams and accusing a Congolese man of the killing. The man, Patrick Diya Lumumba, owns a pub in Perugia where Knox worked. He was jailed briefly but was later cleared and is seeking defamation damages from Knox.

Knox later contended that police pressure led her to initially accuse an innocent man.



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Amanda Knox Found Guilty! 26 Year Sentence!

Amanda Knox found guilty. Msnbc’s Ed Schultz talks with criminal defense attorney Theodore Simon about the conviction of Amanda Knox for the murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Italy.

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Knox's father buys daughter plane ticket home. Amanda Knox's dad said he was "hopeful" his daughter would soon be returning home. ITV's Robert Moore reports.

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Amanda Knox accused of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher makes an emotional plea in her defense.

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Amanda Knox guilty of murdering Meredith Kercher


American student Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend have been found guilty of murdering her flatmate Meredith Kercher after an 11-month trial in the Italian city of Perugia.

Knox, 22, and 25-year-old Raffaele Sollecito were in the dock to hear the jurors deliver their verdict.

The pair are expected to appeal agaisnt the decision.

Meredith Kercher, 21, from Coulsden, Surrey, had been studying at Perugia's University for Foreigners. She was found dead on 2 November 2007 in the bedroom of the house she shared with fellow student Knox.

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 October 2008 Guede was given a 30-year sentence for the murder after opting for a fast-track trial. He is appealing against his conviction.

Knox, from Seattle, denied murdering Kercher, and on Thursday appealed to the jury not to convict her, saying she "was confident my conscience is clean".

Using the fluent Italian she has learned during two years in jail, Knox said: "I could be pulling out my hair, taking apart my cell but I don't do these things. I just take a breath and try and be positive in moments like this." Turning to the judges and jury, she said: "Now it's your turn and I thank you."

Prosecutors claimed that Knox's DNA was found on the handle of the likely murder weapon – a kitchen knife found in Sollecito's house – and that traces of Kercher's DNA were on the blade.

Knox said she had spent the night before Kercher's body was found at Sollecito's flat, and was shocked when she realised police suspected her.

Knox and Sollecito were remanded in custody shortly after the killing, when they gave conflicting statements over their whereabouts on the night of the murder.

Sollecito said he was at his flat in Perugia using his computer, and he did not remember whether Knox spent the whole night with him or just part of it.

During the trial, Knox claimed that she had been mistreated by Italian police who questioned her. She said a policewoman hit her on the head twice during interrogation.

Knox claimed police pressure initially led her to name Diya "Patrick" Lumumba as the culprit. Lumumba, a Congolese man who owned a pub in Perugia, was held briefly in the case but later cleared. He is seeking damages from Knox for defamation.

"It was always a crescendo," Knox told the court. "When I said I was with Raffaele all the time they told me I was a liar. I was scared, I thought: maybe they are right."




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Amanda Knox Trial: Prosecution Rests...Life Sentence Sought

Prosecution makes final push in Knox trial. Closing arguments are underway in the Italian murder trial of American college student Amanda Knox. NBC’s Michelle Kosinski reports from Perugia with the latest.

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Life sentences sought in Amanda Knox case


Prosecutors on Saturday requested life in prison for Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend, who are accused in the fatal stabbing of her British roommate during a drug-fueled sex game — charges the U.S. woman dismissed as "pure fantasy."

In their closing arguments, the prosecutors said Amanda Knox and Italian Raffaele Sollecito should be convicted on charges of murder and sexual violence for the 2007 slaying of Meredith Kercher.

They deny wrongdoing.

Knox, who is from Seattle, took a deep breath when Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini requested life imprisonment — Italy's stiffest punishment. She then addressed the court, saying that the accusations against her were "pure fantasy."

"Meredith was my friend, I didn't hate her," she said in Italian, fighting back tears.

The Briton's body, her throat slit, was found in a pool of blood on Nov. 2, 2007, in the apartment she shared with Knox in the central Italian town of Perugia.

Prosecutors argued that Knox resented her British roommate and killed her, together with Sollecito and Rudy Hermann Guede, of Ivory Coast, under "the fumes of drugs and possibly alcohol."

They said Knox hit Kercher's head against a wall, then tried to strangle her, as Sollecito held her and Guede sexually assaulted her.

Guede was sentenced to 30 years in prison last year for the killing after a fast-track trial he had requested. He also denies wrongdoing and is appealing his conviction.

"The murder and the sexual violence were carried out for futile reasons," Mignini said. "Meredith will never come back."


Verdict expected in early December

He requested nine months of daytime solitary confinement for Knox and two months for Sollecito. A verdict by the eight-member jury is expected in early December.

Knox, 22, and Sollecito, 25, have been jailed for more than two years since being arrested shortly after the slaying.

According to prosecutors, a knife with a 6 1/2-inch blade, with Kercher's DNA on the blade and Knox's on the handle, was found at Sollecito's house.

Defense lawyers argue that the knife is too big to match Kercher's wounds and that the amount of what prosecutors say is Kercher's DNA is too low to be attributed with certainty.

Prosecutors also maintain Sollecito's DNA was found on the clasp of Kercher's bra, although his defense team contends that the evidence might have been inadvertently contaminated during the investigation.

During Saturday's hearing, prosecutors showed an animated video reconstructing what they say were the different phases of the murder, with cartoon characters representing the defendants and the victim.

Photos showing Kercher's wounds and bruises also were shown in the video. Knox kept her head down during the presentation, while Sollecito watched it intently.

In their closing arguments, prosecutors also reviewed technical data on the use of Sollecito's computer the night Kercher was slain.

According to Knox, who took the stand last June, she spent the night of Nov. 1 with Sollecito at his home, watching a movie on his computer and smoking pot. Witnesses for the prosecution have argued that there was no sign of the defendant using his computer during the hours 21-year-old Kercher was stabbed to death.

Mignini also asked the court to convict the defendants on lesser charges, including staging a break-in and the theft of cash and Kercher's cell phones. He said Knox and Sollecito staged a burglary in the apartment by breaking a window in a bedroom in an attempt to sidetrack the investigation.

Knox also is being tried on charges of defamation for allegedly accusing Diya "Patrick" Lumumba — a Congolese man who owns a pub in Perugia where she worked — of being the killer. Because of her accusation, Lumumba was briefly jailed. He was later cleared and is seeking damages from Knox.

Defense lawyers will make their own closing arguments beginning late next week.



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