I don’t know how many of you have been following the Amanda Knox trial, but the story has had me captivated for years. It was hard to believe the story was really happening: a pretty, college-aged American woman studying abroad in the beautiful Italian town of Perugia accused of, and on trial for, killing her Brittish roommate in a bizzare-o, sex-fueled, vampire-influenced game. Knox hadn’t even been abroad for a few months when she found herself in jail, where she has remained for years. I don’t know what I thought was going to happen, but I didn’t expect this result.
I have had a hard time figuring out what the facts are in this case — what’s credible, what’s science, what’s reliable — and I really don’t know what to think. Sometimes the story is Knox’s DNA was on a bloody knife found in her “boyfriend” Raffaele Sollecito’s apartment. Sometimes the story is that there is no way that knife could have been used to murder the victim, Meredith Kercher. Sometimes the story is that there was a sole assailant — Rudy Guede. Sometimes the story is that Knox and Sollecito told so many inconsistent stories they must be guilty. It’s really been a confusing mess for me to try to grasp. I have a friend who is certain that Knox has been railroaded by a crazy, overzealous prosecutor and a wacky Italian justice system. I have another friend who works for the AP in Rome and says his friend covering the trial can’t even figure out what is going on or what the truth is. I just don’t know what to believe. Usually, in my experience, crimes aren’t nearly as complicated as the version the prosecutor presented the jury with in this case. But usually isn’t always so, I still don’t know.
I guess we’ll see how it plays out on appeal. I will say that it sounds like Amanda’s Italian is near-perfect due to her extended time in Italy. I’m sure she would exchange her fluency for freedom, though.
life and puppies 
I’m rather obsessed with the case as well. I was waiting all day for the verdict to come in. The thing is, if you believe the press, there were so many inconsistencies in her story. Something just doesn’t add up, which makes me wonder if she did it, but the whole thing does seem bizarre. The thing with the Italian prosecutors going after her parents for slander really bothers me. Seems so ridiculous — makes me grateful for the freedoms that we have here.
Yeah, her story did change (and that’s not a good thing), I’d hate to see her go to jail for so long for something she didn’t do. And I really don’t think she got a fair trial.
Last night I heard that appellants in Italy have more rights or remedies than our system has, so maybe there’s still some options. I also heard today that one of washington’s senators was going to ask Hillary Clinton to work her magic.
Oh, and I happen to be writing this from my NEW iPhone.
They said the jury wasn’t unanimous either. So who knows . . . Does anyone know where they found the knife that the prosecution claimed was the murder weapon? I know that it was found at her boyfriend’s apt, but I wasn’t sure if it was hidden under a bed or in a knife block in the kitchen!
I also viewed the video where she and her boyfriend were kissing at the crime scene and acting (allegedly) inappropriately. I just don’t see it. She looked upset and he appeared to be comforting her — it wasn’t like they were going at it or anything! Now the cartwheels and splits that she was allegedly doing at the police station is another matter entirely . . .
The cartwheels and splits are totally weird, but I could not agree more about the kissing scene. Didn’t seem inappropriate in the least. She looked really scared and he looked like he was holding her. Not weird.
As for the knife, what I’ve heard is just that they found it in his house — nothing about it being hidden or not. The defense claims it doesn’t match the wounds on Meredith’s body and that the DNA on it is too small to show anything. Whether those things are true, who knows. The thing is — the crime scene had to be COVERED in evidence, so I don’t understand how it seems so scant. Where do they say Meredith and Raffaele stashed their bloody clothes, how did they escape leaving bloody footprints everywhere? More importantly, maybe, though is the fact that I just don’t get the theory — how on earth did the prosecution come up with this sex game thing? It seems so out of nowhere. That’s the part that really bugs me. The story changing, the cartwheels = suspicious and weird (I can’t really say cartwheels is suspicious; it’s just odd). But this idea that they killed Meredith in a drug-fueled (pot, by the way — not exactly known to be a real violence-inducing substance) sex orgy gone awry just seems completely made-up. And it’s all because Meredith didn’t like that Amanda was messy in the bathroom. What? So odd.
And odd that two judges sit on the jury. Must learn more about the Italian legal system.
Oh, Kate, I could go on all day about this case. So fascinating. I channel surf just to see if there’s any coverage. 🙂 The theory does seem completely bizarre. Now, I’m no expert on sex games, but what the hell kind of game is that? There do seem to be enough inconsistencies that I can’t say that she was improperly prosecuted. The story of what she and Sollecito were doing that night is vague and inconsistent. And I know people confess to crimes they didn’t commit under interrogation, but would rigorous questioning and being hit (BOOM! on the back of the head — the boom was the one part of her Italian I understood!) really cause her to falsely state that she”remembered” that she was in the kitchen attempting to block out Meredith’s screams?
Pot was the drug? How did I miss that?? Not guilty! Hee hee.
But seriously folks, WHAT?? Was there also alcohol involved? I sure hope so, or those Italians are re-tarded. A pot (only)-induced-violent-sex-game doesn’t exist. Sorry.
Hee hee. I think they say, yeah, maybe there was alcohol, but I haven’t heard any actual evidence of it. I read this dumb blog the other day that disputed that Guede could have acted alone, but the guy’s basis was all in dumb psychological theories of organized and disorganized crimes and other nonsense. Because the scene didn’t fit with whatever theory he was relying on, it meant he couldn’t have acted alone. Ergo, Knox and Sollecito are guilty. Um, what? Anyway, he did say that some witness may have seen Sollecito’s car at the cottage that night. Significant? Maybe. I just don’t understand why there aren’t more witnesses with something relevant to add. Knox and Kercher had two other roommates. I presume they weren’t around, but what do they have to say about the two women’s relationship?What do the downstairs neighbors say? What happened to all of the physical evidence, like the clothe?
Oh, and Gretchen, I am totally with you on the fascination and obsession level. Obviously. I regret not blogging about it earlier, but I was so confused about the facts and the system. Still am, but what the hell. The verdict is in. But mine’s not.
I think the roommates have said that the two girls didn’t get along. I still can’t get my head around that sex game thing though . . .
The sex game thing just seems so … implausible. And now I’m remembering reading something that a friend of mine (the one who’s totally convinced she’s been railroaded) directed me to awhile ago…some article in the NYT (maybe?) by a guy they had covering the trial and he seemed to suggest that this prosecutor may have a history of making up these sex theories in cases he prosecutes. Again, it just seems too weird to be true. Maybe she was involved somehow — though I don’t even know about that — but taunting her with a knife while Guede assaulted her and Raffaelle held her down just seems like, “What the hell?” Not to mention, where on earth did you come up with that??