User:SamJohnston/Amanda Knox

Amanda Knox (born 1987) is an American woman who served 4 years of a 26 year prison sentence in Perugia, Italy, before being acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher (an English exchange student) on October 3, 2011, having been found guilty of the murder, of sexual violence, and of other offences on 4 December 2009.

Knox moved to Italy in 2007 to attend language classes at the University for Foreigners. In November 2007, she was arrested as a suspect in the death of Meredith Kercher, her roommate, and was subsequently tried and convicted for the murder. Her trial and subsequent conviction have been controversial in the UK and the United States with several investigators, such as Paul Ciolino or veteran FBI Agent Steve Moore, and legal experts stating that the charges were unfounded. In June 2009, due to all her televised court hearings, an Italian television poll listed Knox as a bigger personality than Carla Bruni.

Student attending classes in Italy
Before going abroad in Italy, Knox studied at the University of Washington. Knox was attending the University for Foreigners, studying Italian, German and creative writing. On September 20, 2007, she moved into an upstairs apartment, on the edge of the hilltop town, with 3 other women, who were students at local institutions. She met Meredith Kercher, an English university student who was attending the University of Perugia as an ERASMUS exchange student, who had been in town a while longer and who showed Knox around town. In October 2007, Kercher accompanied Knox on a job interview, when she got hired at the Perugia pub Le Chic. On October 25, 2007, Kercher and Knox had attended a classical music concert at the university, and when Kercher left at intermission, Raffaele Sollecito first met Knox.

Conviction for the murder of Meredith Kercher
Amanda Knox became known as housemate suspected in the murder of Meredith Kercher on November 1, 2007. Amanda Knox was charged with the murder (and stealing her roommate's 300 euros and 2 credit cards). Knox testified under oath that she had smoked marijuana on the night of the murder, as well as multiple other occasions. She was found guilty on December 4, 2009. In January 2010, Amanda Knox was charged with defamation against the local Perugia police officers for testifing they had beaten her. Knox's lawyers, seeking to overturn her December 2009 conviction, filed an appeal spanning more than 300 pages on April 17, 2010. She was acquitted on October 3, 2011.