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Birth date
Seattle, Washington -
Move From Seattle to Perugia
Attending the University of Washington at the time, Amanda wanted to become a translator or a writer. The University offered to study abroad in a small city in Italy between Florence and Rome called Perugia. The program was designed to immerse students in Italian culture. Amanda would begin her studies at the University for Foreigners. She lived in No.7, Via della Pergola with two Italian roommates and a British student named Meredith Kercher (Waiting to Be Heard). -
Living in Italy
Amanda and Meredith had gotten along because of their shared language and similar pasts. According to Sollecito, she was "well-mannered, but a little distant" (Sollecito). Amanda had gotten a job at a cafe to become more settled into her surroundings, with her manager being Patrik Labumna. Eventually, Amanda had met Raffaele Sollecito, who would eventually become her boyfriend. -
Murder
On the morning of November 2nd, Amanda had left Raffaele's apartment to go home. When she arrived she had noticed that the front door was open. This was odd because she knew no one was home at the time. When she entered the home, according to Knox, "everything looked completely normal." -
Murder Continued...
When she went into her bathroom, she noticed "two pea-sized flecks of blood" in the sink. After not thinking much of it, she proceeded to take a shower. When she stepped out, she noticed a "reddish-brown splotch about the size of an orange on the bathmat". She looked in her roommate's room (Filomena) and saw that the window had been shattered, clothes were all over the bed and floor, and the drawers and cabinets were open (Waiting to Be Heard). -
Murder Continued...
Meredith's door was locked and there had been no sign of her anywhere else in the house. Eventually, Amanda had called Raffaelle, and Raffaelle had called the carabinieri (Italian military police) (Sollecito). At first, it was believed to had just been a break-in, until they knocked Meredith's door down. It was at that time they had discovered the dead body of Meredith Kercher in her own room. -
Evidence
A surveillance camera by Amanda's house had captured a video of a man walking past a security barrier onto Via della Pergola (Sollecito). The man was believed to be Rudy Guede, an Ivorian native who was acquainted with the boys who lived below Amanda. This fact was overlooked by the media as they were less interested in Rudy, and more interested in Amanda (Knox). Investegators had discovered a kitchen knife with the DNA of Amanda and Kercher on it. -
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Formally Charged with Murder
Following the preliminary hearings, Raffaele and Amanda had been officially charged with murder by Italian officials. They believed that based upon the evidence, there had to have been 3 people who had committed the crime. Rudy was arrested and was sentenced 30 years for his part in the murder, but on appeal, it was reduced to 16 years (Knox). -
Sentenced as Guilty
After a number of court appearances, Knox believed that she would be set free. The judge had pronounced her guilty and had sentenced her to 26 years in prison (Waiting to Be Heard). -
Verdict Day
After reevaluating the evidence of DNA (thought to be contaminated), the court had decided that she was, at last, not guilty. After leaving prison, she got on a plane and headed back to Seattle (Waiting to Be Heard).
