Is Amanda Knox innocent?
On November 2, 2007, Meredith Kercher, a British student from the University of Leeds studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, was found stabbed to death in a shared apartment. For two years, the prosecution has been trying to tie two other students – Amanda Knox from Seattle, Washington, and Raffaele Sollecito from Giovinazzo, Bari, Italy – to the murder. Rudy Guede, 20, from the Ivory Coast, was arrested after fleeing to Germany and has been found guilty in the murder of Kercher.
The trial for Knox and Sollecito started on 16 January 2009. Rudy Guede, who was a close friend of Knox and Sollecito, declined to testify in the trial. Knox testified for the first time in June, saying that she was innocent and was at Sollecito’s flat on the night of the murder. For a more extensive history on the trial, see this Wikipedia article.
According to the prosecution, Knox and Sollecito’s modus operandi was a sex game turned deadly. According to Speigel Online, Kercher was upset that Knox had brought home the two men – Guede and Sollecito – something Knox had apparently done before. An argument broke out between the two women over the differences in lifestyle. (Kercher is described as an “innocent angel”, one that wasn’t prone to bring home strange men and be promiscuous).
This is how the prosecutor’s animated film depicts the murder: Kercher falls to the floor and the three others begin to undress her. Kercher struggles, Sollecito pulls out his pocketknife and Knox gets a knife from the kitchen. Guede tries to rape Kercher, Sollecito injures her and Knox finally kills her by slitting her throat. The three flee the apartment. Later, Knox and Sollecito return to clumsily stage a burglary and wipe away their fingerprints.
The indictment against the two is based on circumstantial evidence and very little, if any, witness testimony. The defense is arguing that there is no clear proof, no confession, and no motive. The verdict is supposed to be announced at the end of this week.
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