Amanda Knox guilty of murdering Meredith Kercher

[Chris]

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.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison and Sollecito 25. The pair are expected to appeal against the decision.

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.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/04/amanda-knox-meredith-kercher-murder


Wow.  I hadn't heard about the other two convictions... I thought the girl could have been found innocent.  Yikes.

[Chris]

I thought the address sounded familiar.  Coulsden is less than five miles from where my cousin lives with her family.

[bijou]

American college student Amanda Knox was found guilty of murdering her British roommate and sentenced to 26 years in prison early Saturday after a year-long trial that gripped Italy and drew intense media attention.
Her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito also was convicted and sentenced to 25 years. They were also found guilty of sexual assault in the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old student from England.
Knox burst into tears and murmured, "No, no," after the judge read the verdict shortly after midnight following some 13 hours of deliberations. She 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 can give less severe punishment than what prosecutors demand. ...
http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=265557

[cavegal]

Amanda Knox makes brief court appearance in Italy

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/11/23/knox-chance-appeals-opens-italy/?test=latestnews

PERUGIA, Italy –  Amanda Knox briefly returned to court in Italy on Wednesday for the start of her appeals trial, about a year after the American student was convicted of killing her British roommate in a case that drew global attention.

The hearing, devoted mainly to procedural matters, lasted 15 minutes and the case was adjourned until Dec. 11.

[Thor]

Jail in Italy is nothing like jail here in the US. Things may have changed since the 70s, but then, either one's family paid for sustenance or the convict didn't eat.

[cavegal]

Amanda Knox appeal: 'This is all an enormous mistake'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8196007/Amanda-Knox-appeal-This-is-all-an-enormous-mistake.html

Tearful Amanda Knox today insisted she was innocent of the murder of Meredith Kercher and that an "enormous mistake" was being made by keeping her in jail at the start of her appeal hearing.