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It has been suggested that this article be merged with Meredith Kercher and Talk:Amanda_Knox#Merging.3F. (Discuss) Proposed since 11 2007.

Amanda Knox (born July 9, 1987) is an alleged accomplice to murder currently being held by authorities in Perugia, Italy for the stabbing death of Meredith Kercher. After being interrogated by Italian authorities in Perugia, Knox acknowledged being in the house while the murder was taking place. Knox had been living with Kercher while she was studying abroad in Italy.

Education

Knox attended the Jesuit Seattle Preparatory School before graduating and attending the University of Washington, where she had been majoring in International Studies and Germanics. She traveled to Italy in the fall of 2007 to enroll in the University for Foreigners in Perugia and was studying to pass that University's exams to earn credit at the University of Washington. Immediately after arriving in Italy, Knox found a house in Perugia on Via della Pergola with three female roommates. She met her boyfriend and alleged accomplice, Raffaele Sollecito, shortly afterwards. She later met Patrick Lumumba, another alleged accomplice, at a nearby cafe.

Murder of Meredith Kercher

Knox was arrested on the morning of 6 November 2007 for her alleged involvement in the murder of Meredith Kercher. Knox's arrest made international news that same morning when various news sources alleged she had confessed to murdering Kercher after she refused to participate in an orgy with Knox, Lumumba and Sollecito. According to statements published later by The Times, Knox told the police that she had been in the house when the murder took place and had "heard the screams." The police have said they are treating the new story with suspicion, since it contradicts testimony that Knox had given earlier, saying she hadn't been in the house at all that night.

In her latest statement to the police, Knox has said that she received a text message from Patrick Lumumba on the evening of 1 November at a nearby basketball court, where they went back to Knox's residence on Via della Pergola. She went on to say,

I don't remember if my friend Meredith was already there or whether she came later. What I can say is that the two of them (Meredith and Patrick) went off together... Patrick and Meredith went off together into Meredith's room while I think I stayed in the kitchen. I can't remember how long they were in the bedroom together, I can only say that at a certain point I heard Meredith screaming and I was so frightened I put my fingers in my ears. I don't remember anything after that, my head is really confused. I don’t remember if Meredith called out or if I heard thuds because I was upset, but I can imagine what was happening...I'm not sure whether Raffaele was there too that evening but I do remember waking up at his house in his bed and that in the morning I went back to where I lived, where I found the door open.

Some time after she returned to the house that evening, the Postal Police came to investigate the discovery of two cell phones beneath two bushes nearby. When they breached the door to Kercher's room -which had been locked from the inside- they reportedly found Kercher lying beneath a duvet in her room "soaked in blood." Police have said Kercher's throat was slit with a shard of glass or a pen-knife, but have not yet located the murder weapon. Police believe the killer or killers escaped through a broken window in Kercher's room, since the door remained locked when they arrived. Some time after the discovery, Knox was spotted by two men at a laundromat on Via Fabretti washing clothes and a pair of shoes with a "North African" man.

Knox appeared before a magistrate on the morning of 9 November and was ordered held, along with Sollecito and Lumumba, for up to one year while the police continue their investigation. In a leaked report published by The Times, Judge Claudia Matteini suggested that Knox and Sollecito had been seeking to "experience extreme sensations, intense sexual relations which break up the monotony of everyday life," and had attempted to persuade Kercher to participate in a sexual encounter. The report continued,

They went together to the apartment on via della Pergola 7, to which only Amanda had the key. It was roughly at this time that both Sollecito and Knox switched off their mobile phones until the following morning.

A short while later, Meredith returned, or she could have already been there. She went into her bedroom with Patrick, after which something went wrong, in the sense that Sollecito in all probability joined them and the two began to make advances, which the girl refused. She was then threatened with a knife, the knife which Sollecito generally carried with him and which was used to strike Meredith in the neck.

The three, realising what had happened, quickly left the house, creating a mess with the intention of simulating a break-in, spreading blood everywhere, and in an attempt to clean up drops of blood in the bath, on the ground and in the sink.

Judge Matteini, citing a pathology report, added that Kercher's carotid artery hadn't been ruptured in the attack, and that she likely died of a "relatively slow and agonizing death." The prosecution has asserted that Knox held Kercher down while Lumumba engaged in sexual intercourse with her, and that Knox's grip was so tight she left her fingerprints imprinted in Kercher's skin.

Sky News UK reported that Knox had been caught on camera entering the house she and Meredith Kercher shared on the night the British student was killed.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).Cameras overlooking the house have captured Knox at 20.43 on November 1 dressed in a light coloured skirt and top.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).

Pathologists initially put the time of death as between midnight and 2am although there is apparently more recent evidence suggesting a time of death between 8.30pm and 11pm

Knox's attorney has been quoted as saying she was "well but stressed by the experience." Knox, Sollecito and Lumumba have been held in isolation since their arrest on 6 November. According to the prison warden, Knox is "particularly confused," and that "in this situation that’s a logical and normal fact."

Public Reaction

After the initial publication of Knox's confession, many news media sources began to uncover information about her background online. Both Knox's Myspace profile and videos that she had previously posted to Youtube were used in some cases to cite her instability. The news media's investigation of events has been viewed with scrutiny by online bloggers and others. Students at Knox's University have called the allegations "shocking," and believe that it is not something she would do, although many have said they wouldn't put it past her.

References

1. ^ Richard Owen (2007-11-06). "Meredith Kercher 'killed after refusing orgy'". The Times. Retrieved 2007-11-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
2. ^ "Excerpts from the witness statements". The Times. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2007-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. ^ Richard Owen (2007-11-06). "Woman 'confesses role' in British student's murder in Perugia". The Times. Retrieved 2007-11-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. ^ "Seattle woman held in slaying of British student". KOMO TV. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2007-11-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. ^ "Facebook profile of Amanda Knox". Facebook.com. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2007-11-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. "Myspace Profile of Amanda Knox". Myspace.com. 2007-11-05. Retrieved 2007-11-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. ^ Arla Shephard (2007-11-08). "UW Student Held In Custody In Italy". The Daily at the University of Washington. Retrieved 2007-11-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. Vanessa Ho (2007-11-07). "Seattle woman heard fatal attack unfold in Italy". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. John Follain (2007-11-04). "Student killer leaves bloody footprint clue". The Times. Retrieved 2007-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. ^ Richard Owen (2007-11-06). "Diary of murdered student could hold clues to her killer, police say". The Times. Retrieved 2007-11-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. "Perugia murder. Meredith said there were too many men in the house". Corriere della Sera. 2007-11-08. Retrieved 2007-11-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
12. Richard Owen (2007-11-08). "Meredith Kercher was worried by US flatmate's 'strange men'". The Times. Retrieved 2007-11-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
13. "Student from Seattle to remain in jail in Italian death probe". The Seattle Times. 2007-11-09. Retrieved 2007-11-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
14. ^ Richard Owen (2007-11-09). "Judge says Meredith Kercher was murdered for resisting brutal sex game". The Times. Retrieved 2007-11-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
15. ^ "Meredith Kercher: Judge's report". The Times. 2007-11-09. Retrieved 2007-11-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. "Timing is crucial after police raise doubts on Meredith Kercher suspect's alibi'". The Times. 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2007-11-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
17. Maureen O'Hagan (2007-11-08). "Judge to decide Friday whether UW student should continue to be held in slaying in Italy". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-11-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
18. ^ Colin Fernandez (2007-11-06). "Foxy Knoxy: Inside the twisted world of murdered Meredith's flatmate". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-11-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
19. ^ Monica Guzman (2007-11-07). "Amanda Knox and the Internet: Are we being fair?". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2007-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
20. "Caso Chiuso? For Real?". Seattlest.com. 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2007-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. Christine Siderius (2007-11-07). "UW student held in Italy slaying". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2007-11-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

• Articles to be merged from 11 2007
• 1987 births
• Living people
• Murder in Italy