Italy’s highest court overturns the convictions of Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
Ms Kercher, a 21-year-old from Coulsdon, Surrey, was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in her bedroom in 2007 while studying in Perugia, Italy. Her flatmate Ms Knox, a student from Seattle in the US, and Mr Sollecito spent four years in jail for the murder, but were acquitted on appeal in 2011.
Meredith was my friend. She deserved so much in this life. Amanda Knox
Ms Knox returned to the US before an appeal court threw out the acquittal and reinstated the guilty verdicts last year. Italy’s supreme court – the country’s highest – has now ruled to overturn the guilty verdicts.
Ms Knox, 27,awaited the verdict in her hometown of Seattle. She told reporters: “Right now I’m still absorbing what all this means and what comes to mind is my gratitude for the life that’s been given to me.” she said.
(I am) a bit surprised, and very shocked. Arline Kercher
Asked what she would say to the Kercher family, she said: “Meredith was my friend. She deserved so much in this life.”
Arline Kercher, Meredith’s mother, said: “(I am) a bit surprised, and very shocked, but that is about it at the moment.
“They have been convicted twice so it’s a bit odd that it should change now.”
The case has inspired books, while British director Michael Winterbottom has made a film, The Face of an Angel, which is based on Meredith Kercher’s murder.
Read more: Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in court - a timeline
He told Channel 4 News on 15 March: “It is about the media and the way in which journalists covered the case. The starting point was why are people so fascinated by it, why do people spend so much time watching or reading about these sorts of stories.”
Rudy Guede, a drug dealer, is serving a 16-year sentence over the death.