best attorney-Former Mayor

Amanda Knox Convicted Again

Amanda Knox and Boyfriend Found Guilty of Murder by Italian Court

After reading Amanda Knoxs book, Waiting to Be Heard, most people, especially Americans, would probably agree that she was simply living in the wrong place at the wrong time. Most people would probably also agree that maybe the way she handled the situation when she first found out her roommate had been murdered was not the most appropriate. But most people would also further agree that she was young and immature, and therefore did not handle it the way a more mature adult would have handled it.

The Italian court, however, has believed that Amanda Knox was living in Italy that semester as a sexual deviant, sleeping with men she didnt know, and participating in orgies that ultimately ended in the death of her own roommate, Meredith Kercher. They called it a sex game gone wrong. The Italian court has also believed that the behavior she displayed after Kerchers body was discovered was the behavior of a killer. Kissing her boyfriend, and being affectionate as investigators began to process the crime scene was none other than an act of a guilty person, they have maintained.

Meredith Kercher, Amanda Knoxs roommate in Italy, was from England who was also studying abroad in Italy that semester. She got along well with Amanda and the rest of their roommates, and never as much as had a small quarrel with any of them in the six weeks they had been living together. On the night of November 1, 2007, All Saints Day in the Italian Catholic culture, Meredith was found stabbed to death, naked on the floor of her room in the apartment she shared with Amanda and two other young women.

On the night of November 1st, Amanda had maintained that she went over to her boyfriends house to have dinner, and that she had spent the night with him. In the morning, she went back to her apartment and noticed a few drops of blood in the bathroom that she shared with Meredith. She figured that perhaps Meredith had nicked herself while shaving in the shower.

Amanda noticed that in the toilet was human feces, which she thought was a little out of the ordinary, since it was customary for the roommates to always flush the toilet after use. It would later come out that the feces did not belong to any of the women in the house, but to the killer. She says that from there, she grabbed a mop and headed back to her boyfriends apartment to clean up a leak in his sink.

When she returned a few hours later, police were swarming the villa, and crime scene tape was surrounding the property. She still had no idea that her roommates bludgeoned body was discovered inside of her bedroom. Afraid and unsure, her boyfriend comforted her outside as she waited to go back inside her apartment. News cameras were starting to zoom in on the villa, which was now declared a crime scene.

Those images captured on camera of Amanda and her boyfriend would soon become the focal point of the Italian courts outrage against her. Cuddling and kissing her boyfriend were the moves of a guilty killer, they said.

Instead of sealing off the villa and processing it correctly, authorities came and went, allowing people who not part of the investigation in and out, which contaminated the crime scene in the process. From the beginning, they figured that Amanda was the one to have killed Meredith because she was her spoiled, sex-crazed, American roommate that was up to no good from the beginning.

criminal lawyerWhen Amanda was brought down to the police station for questioning, she maintained her claim that she had nothing to do with this murder and that she simply was not there. When she was asked who could have done it, she said she did not know. After hours of investigating, which continued into the night, investigators grilled her and tried to get her to confess to the crime. After hours passed, she felt like she was being manipulated as they asked, If you could name one person who could have done this, who could it be? Slapping her upside the head, they asked, Imagine yourself at the crime scene. What happened? A tired Amanda started describing what she think happened, which was later turned into a written statement in Italian that she signed that they took as a confession to the murder.

In Amanda’s first trial, despite her alibi and defense, the Italian court found both her and her boyfriend guilty of the murder of Meredith Kertcher. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison and her boyfriend was sentenced to 25 years. The prosecution claimed that both Knox’s DNA, along with that of her boyfriend, were found on Merediths bra clasp that was discovered six weeks after the murder. They considered the contaminated bra clasp their smoking gun in the case, even though Amanda lived in the same house as Meredith, so of course her DNA would be present.

Both Knox and her boyfriend appealed their guilty verdicts and in 2011, their convictions were overturned by the Italian appellate court and they were released from prison.

Though the appeals court had overturned the conviction, and another arrest and confession had been made relating to Kertchers murder, the appeal was overturned and Knox and her boyfriend were set to be tried again for the murder. At the end of the second trial, both Knox and her boyfriend were found guilty, though they were not ordered to be present in their trials. Knox says that she is not planning to ever willingly go back to Italy, and would be willing to become a fugitive from Italian authorities if that is what she has to do to keep herself out of prison. It has not yet been announced of extradition will be ordered.

For help with your appeal, contact the appeal attorneys at Brownstone PA, 855-776-2773

Tags: ,

Speak with a appellate lawyer