Amanda Knox

Amanda Knox Reconvicted in Slander Trial

On June 5, 2024, a panel comprising two judges and six jurors reconvicted Amanda Knox of slander in an Italian court, undermining the 36-year-old’s aspirations of fully exonerating herself. This marks the sixth occasion on which Knox has been found culpable for incorrectly attributing the 2007 murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, to the owner of a bar where she was employed part-time.

Knox contends that her statements to law enforcement were coerced through intimidation during her interrogation, during which she was without legal representation or a translator. She has faced multiple legal battles regarding Kercher’s murder, having been twice convicted and subsequently acquitted.

Importantly, Knox will not face additional imprisonment as a result of this latest slander conviction, having already completed a three-year sentence during her previous detentions in Italy. Present at the hearing alongside her husband, Christopher Robinson, Knox displayed no apparent emotion as the verdict was announced. Her attorney, Carlo Dalla Vedova, expressed surprise at the ruling, stating, “Amanda is very embittered. We are all very surprised at the outcome of the decision.” Reports indicate that Knox and her defense team plan to appeal the verdict to Italy’s highest court.

Who Is Amanda Knox?

Amanda Knox gained international attention following her trial and conviction for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, who was found dead in their shared apartment in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. Kercher died from multiple knife wounds, and both Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were initially found guilty of the crime. They received prison sentences of 26 years and 25 years, respectively. However, in October 2011, Knox and Sollecito were acquitted and released from prison. The case took a dramatic turn in March 2013 when Italy’s Court of Cassation ordered a retrial, ultimately overturning their acquittals. In February 2014, both were found guilty once more, with Knox receiving a 28½-year sentence and Sollecito a 25-year sentence. Ultimately, the Supreme Court of Italy overturned their convictions in 2015.

Early Life

Amanda Marie Knox was born on July 9, 1987, in Seattle, Washington, to Edda Mellas, a math teacher, and Curt Knox, a vice president of finance at Macy’s. She has a younger sister, Deanna, and two step-sisters, Ashley and Delaney Knox. Her parents divorced when she was very young.

Growing up in a middle-class neighborhood, Knox was an active child who played soccer, earning her the nickname “Foxy Knoxy” from her parents—an epithet that would later become infamous. In 2005, she graduated from Seattle Preparatory High School and enrolled at the University of Washington, intending to pursue a degree in linguistics.

Studying Abroad in Italy

During her college years, Knox appeared to lead an ordinary life, known for hosting lively parties, earning a place on the Dean’s List, and juggling multiple jobs to finance her education. Friends described her as kind and gentle.

In pursuit of her linguistics degree, 20-year-old Knox relocated to Perugia, Italy, where she enrolled at the University for Foreigners for a year-long study abroad program. In Perugia, she shared an apartment with Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old student from London who was also studying linguistics. Shortly after arriving in Italy, Knox and Kercher attended a classical music concert, where Knox met Raffaele Sollecito, a 23-year-old Italian computer engineering student. The two began dating soon thereafter.

Murder of Meredith Kercher

On November 1, 2007, Amanda Knox was scheduled to work at a pub named Le Chic, where she held a part-time position. However, after receiving a text message from her employer, Patrick Lumumba, indicating that her services were not needed, Knox decided to spend the night at her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito’s apartment.

The following day, Knox and Sollecito returned to their apartment around noon, only to discover the front door ajar, windows shattered, and traces of blood in the bathroom. Knox attempted to reach Meredith Kercher, her roommate, by calling her phone but received no response. Subsequently, she contacted their third roommate and, ultimately, called her mother in Seattle, who advised her to report the situation to the police.

Upon arrival, two officers—who specialized in postal crimes rather than homicides—investigated the scene. They forcibly entered Kercher’s bedroom, where they found her lifeless body on the floor, covered by a blood-soaked duvet.

Knox and Sollecito were taken to the police station, where they faced five days of intense interrogation. Knox later reported that no interpreter was provided during her questioning and alleged that she experienced bullying and physical intimidation while in custody. Despite her mother’s urging to flee the country, Knox opted to remain in Perugia, expressing a desire to meet Kercher’s family.

During the investigation, Sollecito eventually suggested that Knox could have left his apartment during the night while he was asleep. When detectives presented this information to Knox as an accusation, she became visibly distressed. Subsequently, Knox signed a confession claiming that she had returned to her apartment on the night of November 1 and had witnessed Lumumba stabbing Kercher.

On November 6, 2007, Italian police announced that they had identified Kercher’s killers, leading to the arrests of Knox and Sollecito. Lumumba, however, had an alibi; he was confirmed to be bartending at Le Chic on the night of the murder.

Two weeks later, forensic analysis of DNA evidence collected from the crime scene revealed that the findings did not implicate Knox or Sollecito but instead pointed to Rudy Guede. Guede, a friend of local men who resided in the apartment below Knox’s and Kercher’s, had a history of burglary accusations, though he had no prior convictions. He was apprehended in Germany and acknowledged his presence at the crime scene but denied any involvement in Kercher’s murder, asserting that Knox and Sollecito were not implicated.

Murder Trials and Acquittals

First Conviction

Rudy Guede opted for a fast-track trial and, in October 2008, was found guilty of the murder and sexual assault of Meredith Kercher, receiving a 30-year prison sentence. In contrast, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito chose to undergo a full trial together. The Perugian prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, constructed a narrative that significantly influenced public perception of Knox, portraying her as a “sex-crazed marijuana smoker” who entangled her boyfriend in a fatal game of rough sex. Mignini even referred to Knox as a “she-devil.” On December 29, 2009, Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison, while Sollecito received a 25-year sentence.

Knox’s family, alongside a considerable number of supporters, primarily from the United States, vocally protested the sentencing. The case, with its focus on a young woman at its center, captivated international attention. Supporters criticized the Italian legal system for its alleged flaws and contended that Knox faced discrimination due to her American nationality and her physical appearance.

First Acquittal

In April 2010, the legal teams for Knox and Sollecito initiated appeals, challenging the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses presented during the trial. The appeal process commenced in December 2010, during which forensic experts testified that the DNA evidence used in the original trial was unreliable. In June 2011, a prison witness revealed that Guede had stated Knox and Sollecito were not involved in Kercher’s murder. Their appeal garnered support from the Idaho Innocence Project, a legal organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing.

On October 3, 2011, two years following their initial trial, the murder convictions against Knox and Sollecito were overturned. However, Knox’s earlier conviction for defaming Patrick Lumumba was upheld, resulting in a three-year sentence and a fine. Upon hearing the verdict, Knox was visibly emotional, breaking into tears as she left the courtroom. She subsequently flew from Rome to London, eventually returning home to Seattle, where she resumed her studies at the University of Washington, majoring in creative writing.

In a surprising development in March 2013, both Knox and Sollecito were ordered to stand trial once again for Kercher’s murder by the Italian Supreme Court. The Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest court, had overturned their previous acquittals.

Knox released a statement shortly after learning about the renewed trial proceedings.

Second Trial

Following the overturning of their acquittal, the new trial commenced on September 30, 2013. Due to a lack of space in the Perugia court, the trial was relocated to Florence, Italy, under the supervision of Judge Alessandro Nencini. Knox did not attend any portion of the trial, while Sollecito was present only for the verdict.

A new piece of evidence, referred to as evidence 36-I, was presented during the trial. This minuscule material was found on a kitchen knife that prosecutors claimed was used to kill Kercher. However, new testing revealed no DNA belonging to Kercher on the knife; instead, traces of Knox’s DNA were found on the handle. Knox’s defense team argued that this finding indicated she had used the knife solely for culinary purposes. “It means that Amanda took the knife exclusively for cooking matters, to keep in the kitchen and to use it,” said Knox’s defense lawyer, Luca Maori, in an interview with the Associated Press. “It is something very important. It is absurd to use it for a murder and put it back in the drawer.”

In a decision that reverberated globally, Knox and Sollecito were once again found guilty of murdering Kercher in early February 2014, following nearly 12 hours of jury deliberation that reaffirmed the lower court’s 2009 verdict. Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Knox, who was also convicted of slander in addition to murder, received a sentence of 28½ years. In response to the verdict, Knox expressed her fear and sadness over what she termed an unjust outcome. “Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system,” she stated. “The evidence and accusatory theory do not justify a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt… There has always been a marked lack of evidence.” At 26 years old, Knox lamented, “This has gotten out of hand. Most troubling is that it was entirely preventable. I beseech those with the knowledge and authority to address and remediate the problems that worked to pervert the course of justice and waste the valuable resources of the system.”

Murder Case Concluded

In March 2015, the Supreme Court of Italy overturned the 2014 convictions of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. This ruling marked the final resolution in the case against them, with additional details about the court’s verdict released in June. Following the verdict, Knox expressed her relief and gratitude, stating, “I am tremendously relieved and grateful” for the court’s decision.

While Knox was exonerated in connection with the murder of Meredith Kercher, she faced a separate legal matter when an Italian court reconvicted her of slander in June 2024, linked to her initial testimony and signed confession that implicated Patrick Lumumba in the murder. Due to her prior incarceration in Italy, she will not face additional prison time.

Life After Trials

After returning to the United States, Knox completed her degree and transitioned into a career as a freelance journalist. In 2013, she published Waiting to Be Heard: A Memoir, a bestselling account of her experiences during the trial, reportedly earning $4 million from the book. However, a significant portion of this income was allocated to her legal fees. In August 2017, Knox announced plans for a return to Perugia in 2018 to support a follow-up book project; however, the trip did not materialize as intended.

In January 2019, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, ruled that Italy was required to compensate Knox with 18,400 euros (approximately $20,000) for the lack of legal assistance and an independent interpreter during her interrogation following the 2007 murder of her roommate.

In addition to her writing career, Knox actively participates in events organized by the Innocence Project, which advocates for individuals who have been wrongfully imprisoned. In June 2019, she accepted an invitation to speak at the Criminal Justice Festival in Modena, Italy, reflecting on her experiences and the significance of the event. “The Italy Innocence Project didn’t yet exist when I was wrongly convicted in Perugia,” she stated on Twitter, emphasizing her honor in addressing the Italian public.

Family Life

On February 29, 2020, Knox married her long-time partner, Christopher Robinson, in a wedding themed around the Renaissance and Star Wars. The couple had previously obtained a marriage license on December 1, 2018, for practical reasons related to taxes and insurance. They have two children: a daughter named Eureka, born in August 2021, and a son named Echo, born in September 2023.

In October 2020, Knox and Robinson launched a podcast titled Labyrinths, where they engage in discussions about their relationship and conduct “compassionate interviews, philosophical rants, and playful debates” with various guests. As of June 2024, the podcast has released over 100 episodes.

Knox was previously engaged to her childhood friend and musician Colin Sutherland in 2015, but the couple later parted ways.

Documentary Production

In 2016, Netflix released a documentary titled Amanda Knox, featuring interviews with Knox and other key figures involved in the case. In March 2024, CNN reported that Hulu had begun production on an eight-episode dramatized series about the case, with actress Margaret Qualley portraying Knox. However, in April, Deadline reported that Qualley had withdrawn from the project due to scheduling conflicts.