Amanda Knox Court Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Amanda Knox Court Case - Essay Example Following four days and nights of interrogation, Amanda implicated herself and her employer at a bar in disputed circumstances. The police then arrested Amanda, Sollecito, and her employer Mr. Lumumba, although the later was released after Rudy Guede, an Ivorian raised in Perugia, was implicated by forensic evidence (Follain 12). Guede was convicted of the murder and sexual assault of Kercher and sent to prison. Sollecito and Amanda were found guilty during the first stage of the trial process and sentenced to 25 and 26 years in jail respectively. However, the second level of their trial saw them acquitted. The Background of Amanda Marie Knox Amanda Knox was born to Curt Knox and Edda Mellas in Seattle on July 9th, 1987. However, her parents divorced when she was still a baby. She grew up playing soccer in a bourgeois neighborhood where she earned the nickname Foxy Knoxy due to her athletic skills, a nickname that haunted her during the trial (Knox 25). Her relatives later described her as someone who did not have the full ability to pick up diverse social cues. While at school, Amanda took up an interest in the culture of the Italians and visited Italy as a fifteen-year-old together with her family. While on this trip, she decided that she would like to study there. She preferred a city such as Perugia that would allow her to meet real Italians, rather than Rome where she would mix with American expatriates (Knox 26). However, her stepfather discouraged her from moving there because he still considered her too naive. On graduating in 2005 from Seattle Preparatory High School, Amanda joined Washington University for a Linguistics Degree. As a college student, Amanda was named on the Dean’s list and was an ordinary college student with friends recalling that she was a gentle and kind individual. In the continuation of her â€Å"go-getter† attitude, Amanda decided to further her Linguistics Degree by heading for Perugia in Italy, where she was to sp end twelve months at the Foreigners University (27). On getting to Perugia, she met 21-year-old student Meredith Kercher from the UK, who also studied linguistics and roomed with her. Meredith had joined the University of Foreigners where she was to study Creative Writing, German, and Italian (27). According to media reports, while Amanda Knox was to most people a young and confident woman, her family and friends felt that she was a compulsive diarist, especially since she was averse to all types of conflict. These traits, which she showed during her time in high school and Washington University, including yoga practice at inappropriate times and her open and bubbly personality, were to have an effect on the trial. These traits made her more conservative, and reticent room and apartment mates viewed her critically while also causing the Italian police and prosecutor to be suspicious of her. The Murder of Meredith Susanna Cara Kercher Meredith Kercher was a UK citizen born in 1985 in South London’s area of Southwark. On joining the University of Foreigners, Kercher checked into a ground floor apartment with four bedrooms at Via della Pergola. This house was thought of as locals to be in a bad neighborhood, although most liked it for its panoramic view of Perugia. Her apartment mates included Amanda Knox and two other women. Meredith Kercher’