01of 091. MURDER ABROADLandov; X17 Online; Splash News OnlineOn Nov. 1, 2007, Meredith Kercher (far right), a student from England, is found dead in the Perugia, Italy, home she shares with American student Amanda Knox. Five days later, Knox and her boyfriend, Italian student Raffaele Sollecito, are arrested for Kercher’s murder; prosecutors paint them as partiers who killed the woman in a sadistic sex game gone awry.
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1. MURDER ABROAD
Landov; X17 Online; Splash News Online
On Nov. 1, 2007, Meredith Kercher (far right), a student from England, is found dead in the Perugia, Italy, home she shares with American student Amanda Knox. Five days later, Knox and her boyfriend, Italian student Raffaele Sollecito, are arrested for Kercher’s murder; prosecutors paint them as partiers who killed the woman in a sadistic sex game gone awry.
02of 092. SERIOUS SENTENCEDaniele La Monaca/LandovTwo years later, following a high-profile 11-month trial,Knox and Sollecito are convicted in Kercher’s murder, despite mishandled DNA evidence and the sentencing of Rudy Guede, a drifter who was convicted of Kercher’s murder in a separate 2008 trial. Knox is sentenced to 26 years in prison, Sollecito, 25; however, after an appeal, both arefreed and cleared of most chargesin October 2011.
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2. SERIOUS SENTENCE
Daniele La Monaca/Landov
Two years later, following a high-profile 11-month trial,Knox and Sollecito are convicted in Kercher’s murder, despite mishandled DNA evidence and the sentencing of Rudy Guede, a drifter who was convicted of Kercher’s murder in a separate 2008 trial. Knox is sentenced to 26 years in prison, Sollecito, 25; however, after an appeal, both arefreed and cleared of most chargesin October 2011.
03of 093. FREE AT LASTAKM-GSIFour years after her arrest, Knox returns home to American soil, where she attempts to lay low while rejoining society. She enjoys quiet dinners with friends and family and even reportedly has a romance with old friend James Terrano (right). In 2013, she releases a memoir about her legal ordeal, entitledWaiting to Be Heard, for which she reportedly received $4 million – most of which she used to pay back her legal fees and loans, she explained to a PEOPLE reporter in 2017.
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3. FREE AT LAST
AKM-GSI
Four years after her arrest, Knox returns home to American soil, where she attempts to lay low while rejoining society. She enjoys quiet dinners with friends and family and even reportedly has a romance with old friend James Terrano (right). In 2013, she releases a memoir about her legal ordeal, entitledWaiting to Be Heard, for which she reportedly received $4 million – most of which she used to pay back her legal fees and loans, she explained to a PEOPLE reporter in 2017.
04of 094. NOT SO FASTPA/LandovOn March 25, 2013, it’s announced that the Italian Supreme Court isruling on the possibility of a retrialfor Knox and Sollecito, at the urging of prosecutors. The next day, Italy’s Court of Cassationthrows out the former couple’s acquittalsand announces a retrial, to be held in Florence, in 2014. Knox, however, wouldn’t have to attend, as Italian courts don’t require the defendant to be present.
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4. NOT SO FAST
PA/Landov
On March 25, 2013, it’s announced that the Italian Supreme Court isruling on the possibility of a retrialfor Knox and Sollecito, at the urging of prosecutors. The next day, Italy’s Court of Cassationthrows out the former couple’s acquittalsand announces a retrial, to be held in Florence, in 2014. Knox, however, wouldn’t have to attend, as Italian courts don’t require the defendant to be present.
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5. STATEMENT OF SADNESS
Axelle Woussen/Bauer-Griffin
06of 096. GUILTY ONCE MOREABCThe second appeals trial concludes in January 2014, and Knox isonce again found guiltyof murdering Kercher, and sentenced to 28 1/2 years in prison, while Sollecito is sentenced to 25. The court explained that it re-convicted the pair partially because thenature of Kercher’s woundsindicated that Guede (who is still in prison serving a reduced16-year sentence), could not have acted alone. Inan interviewafter the verdict, Knox tellsGood Morning Americathat she “would never return to Italy” and thus never serve out her second sentence.
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6. GUILTY ONCE MORE
ABC
The second appeals trial concludes in January 2014, and Knox isonce again found guiltyof murdering Kercher, and sentenced to 28 1/2 years in prison, while Sollecito is sentenced to 25. The court explained that it re-convicted the pair partially because thenature of Kercher’s woundsindicated that Guede (who is still in prison serving a reduced16-year sentence), could not have acted alone. Inan interviewafter the verdict, Knox tellsGood Morning Americathat she “would never return to Italy” and thus never serve out her second sentence.
07of 097. OVERTURNED!Ida Mae Astute/ABC/GettyHowever, in March 2015, Italy’s highest appeals court surprisingly overturnsthe second conviction, once again exonerating Knox and Sollecito of the charges — this time for good. The court finds the police and prosecutors in the case showed “stunning weakness,” ruling, “There was no shortage of glaring errors in the underlying fabric of the sentence in question.” Knoxreleased a statementfollowing the decision thanking the Supreme Court for their decision: “The knowledge of my innocence has given me strength in the darkest times of this ordeal. And throughout this ordeal, I have received invaluable support from family, friends, and strangers. To them, I say: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your kindness has sustained me.”
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7. OVERTURNED!
Ida Mae Astute/ABC/Getty
However, in March 2015, Italy’s highest appeals court surprisingly overturnsthe second conviction, once again exonerating Knox and Sollecito of the charges — this time for good. The court finds the police and prosecutors in the case showed “stunning weakness,” ruling, “There was no shortage of glaring errors in the underlying fabric of the sentence in question.” Knoxreleased a statementfollowing the decision thanking the Supreme Court for their decision: “The knowledge of my innocence has given me strength in the darkest times of this ordeal. And throughout this ordeal, I have received invaluable support from family, friends, and strangers. To them, I say: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your kindness has sustained me.”
08of 098. LIVING IN PUBLICAmanda Knox/InstagramAfter being exonerated for the second time, Knox becomes involved with the Innocence Project and other legal effortson behalf of exonerated prisonersand the wrongfully accused. “The victims of wrongful conviction are deserving of justice and help. The dedicated persons involved in Innocence Projects throughout the United States, and now throughout the world, provide the necessary resources for those wrongfully convicted to be set free,” she writesin a 2015 op-edfor CNN. In 2017, she makesher Instagram public, revealing to followers two years worth of her day-to-day life in Seattle with boyfriend Christopher Robinson, and plenty of cat videos.
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8. LIVING IN PUBLIC
Amanda Knox/Instagram
After being exonerated for the second time, Knox becomes involved with the Innocence Project and other legal effortson behalf of exonerated prisonersand the wrongfully accused. “The victims of wrongful conviction are deserving of justice and help. The dedicated persons involved in Innocence Projects throughout the United States, and now throughout the world, provide the necessary resources for those wrongfully convicted to be set free,” she writesin a 2015 op-edfor CNN. In 2017, she makesher Instagram public, revealing to followers two years worth of her day-to-day life in Seattle with boyfriend Christopher Robinson, and plenty of cat videos.
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9. HER LIFE TODAY
Amanda Knox and Christopher Robinson.Amanda Knox/Instagram
In November 2018, Knox and her longtime boyfriend Christopher Robinsonget engaged. Knox continues to build a career as a writer, and in 2018 she launches a web series calledThe Scarlet Letter Reports, on which she interviews high-profile women who are victims of harassment, exploitation, and public shaming. She also launches a podcast calledThe Truth About True Crime.
source: people.com
