Feb 27, 20235 min read

Is Amanda Knox a Victim or a Murderer? | Explore the Controversies Surrounding Amanda Knox Story

“When you've been falsely accused of serious crimes as often I have, you learn to recognize the oncoming inevitability of the next one.” This quote by David A. McIntee seems true in the case of Amanda Knox. Amanda Knox was wrongfully accused and convicted of the crime of murdering her roommate, named Meredith Kercher.

This shows how one single misunderstanding can topple a person's entire life. Causing trauma and casualties that could never be altered again. Thus we should be careful who we accuse of every crime.

Who is Amanda Knox?

Amanda Knox was born in Seattle, Washington on July 9th, 1987. Amanda was the eldest child of parents Edda Mellas and Curt Knox and acted as the oldest sister to two younger sisters. Amanda Knox had a fairly normal childhood with her parents working as a mathematics teacher and the vice president of Macy’s Finance. Amanda Knox’s parents were divorced when she was ten years old and she along with her sisters was thus raised in West Seattle.

Amanda Knox passed out from Seattle Preparatory School in the year 2005. She went on to study linguistics at the University of Washington. Amanda Knox flourished academically, earning a place on the Dean’s list in 2007. At the same time, Amanda Knox also worked various part-time jobs to earn money, for an academic year in Italy.

Amanda Knox first got the chance to visit Italy at the age of fifteen and visited the most popular tourist attractions like Rome, the Amalfi coast, the ruins of Pompeii, and even Pisa. After receiving the book “Under the Tuscan sun” by her mother, Amanda Knox’s interest in Italy grew in multitude. Attracting her to move to Italy for an academic year there.

Amanda Knox was described as an extroverted girl who was also careless and naive. This caused Amanda Knox’s stepfather to worry about whether or not to send their daughter so far away on her own, at the young age of twenty.

Move to Perugia, Italy

Amanda Knox moved to Italy, Perugia because it was less overpopulated by visitors than Florence. Perugia was also an attractive option for foreign students to study and live in. Amanda Knox chose to live in a four-bedroom apartment at the Via della Pergola 7 with three other roommates. The roommates of Amanda Knox were three women named Kercher, a British exchange student, and two different Italian trainee lawyers. Amanda Knox picked up a part-time job at a bar called Le Chic to support herself abroad.

Two men named Giacomo Silenzi rented the semi-basement of the Via della Pergola 7 apartment. The other man remains unknown. Amanda Knox and Kercher were only friendly with Giacomo because of their shared taste in music. They went to the “Eurochocolate Festival” together. Kercher was soon romantically involved with Giacomo.

The story of the Break-in and murder of Kercher

November 1st, 2007, was a public holiday for everyone, and the Italian trainees living there were away. Kercher is said to have returned to her solitary apartment after watching a movie with a few friends. Amanda Knox was also away from the apartment and called Kercher to check on her around midday on the 2nd of November but the calls were unanswered. Worried about Kercher's safety, Amanda Knox dialled the number Filomena Romanelli and asked about Kercher's whereabouts. She inquired whether or not she was safe. Amanda Knox soon walked into the apartment to find the front door of their apartment left open and the apartment covered in bloodstains. Kercher’s room was locked, and upon getting no answer, Amanda Knox tried to break into the room. Soon, she called the police.

Carabinieri, the police force of Italy, was soon informed that Amanda Knox and Kercher’s apartment had been broken into, and Kercher was locked in her room, unable to answer. Amanda Knox also further informed the police that the room was covered with bloodstains. The police soon discovered the body of Kercher was found with stab wounds around her neck.

Investigation of Amanda Knox

The detectives assigned to Kercher's case were Marco Chiacchiera and his junior Monica Napoleoni. Amanda Knox was soon taken into custody and questioned on the spot about why there was a delay in contacting the police. This was later added as evidence against Amanda Knox in court. Amanda Knox afterwards said that the detectives were already looking at her with eyes of suspicion. After much deliberation by Detective Marco, the signs of a break-in were disregarded as they looked unreal.

The arrest and interview process of Amanda Knox

The following days after Kercher's murder, Amanda Knox was kept in police custody and constantly interrogated to figure out the nitty-gritty of the murder and also sniff out other witnesses and or accomplices to the murder as well. Amanda Knox recounted the story of spending the night at her boyfriend’s house and returning to the crime scene after midday. Amanda Knox was not provided with any legal aid as the law of Italy states that a lawyer is awarded to a person accused of a crime by the authorities.

Raffaele Sollecito, Amanda Knox‘s boyfriend at the time, also corroborated her story. But the police got him under custody as well. Finally, the police accused Amanda Knox, Raffaele Sollecito, and Lumumba, a bar owner whose bloody handprints were found at the scene of murdering Kercher. Amanda Knox also claimed that the police officers manipulated and threatened her with a heavier sentence of thirty years if she didn’t cooperate with them. She later added that the police also abused her to make sure she confessed to the crime.

The Trial of Amanda Knox

In 2009, Amanda Knox, along with her boyfriend Sollecito, pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault and murder charges of Kercher. Amanda Knox was tried separately by the same jury and judge. Amanda Knox was accused of incriminating her employer, Lumumba, as a murderer. Lumumba was also acquitted of the crime after providing his alibis of the customers visiting his bar. The court, however, considered the interrogation and police investigation faulty and rendered it useless as evidence in the court.

The Defense for Amanda Knox

The defence for Amanda Knox very aptly claimed that no DNA evidence of Amanda Knox was found on the premises of the crime scene. Rather, the DNA evidence of a guy named Rudy Guede was found on Kercher’s Bra, thus incriminating him. The defence lawyers for Amanda also refuted the defence against Amanda Knox, who claimed that Sollecito, with Amanda’s help, cleared out the traces of their DNA. Amanda Knox’s lawyers claimed it would be impossible to wipe out selective DNAs of Amanda Knox and Sollecito like this—Acquitting Amanda Knox of the crime of murdering Kercher.

Conclusion

Finally free from all the mess of being accused of murder, Amanda Knox was released guiltless. On January 24, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights ordered Italy to compensate Amanda Knox for the harm and strife caused by the police and the authorities. Amanda Knox, after returning to the United States, continued with her education and started to pen down her experience in the form of a memoir named “Waiting to be heard”.

This book soon reached its fruition and turned into a bestseller. The story of Amanda Knox also inspired an original Netflix documentary in 2016. Thus, Amanda Knox's story continues to inspire people and gives them the faith to get through tough situations with patience and grit.