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NEWS

The Edmonton Sun n Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Italys top court has ordered a retrial of American Amanda Knox and former boyfriend Ra aele Sollecito for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, reopening a case that prompted harsh criticism of the Italian justice system. Kerchers half-naked body, with more than 40 wounds and a deep gash in her throat, was found in the apartment she shared with Knox in Perugia, where both were studying during a year abroad in 2007. Knox and Sollecito, who claimed innocence, were found guilty in 2009 but were later acquitted. Unlike in the United States, the Italian justice system does not contain so-called double jeopardy provisions that prevent a defendant being tried twice for the same o ence. Knox released a statement describing the courts decision as painful and said the prosecutions theory had repeatedly been revealed as unfounded and unfair. Knox is free to decide whether to return to Italy but the Italian government could request extradition if she is found guilty of the murder and her conviction is backed by the Court of Cassation. If Knox is convicted of murder in the new trial, her lawyers would able to appeal again.

Back on trial
The trial
Nov. 2: British student Meredith Kercher's body is found with a slashed throat, in the apartment she shared with Knox in Perugia, Italy. Prosecutors alleged Kercher was the victim of a drug-fueled sex game gone awry. Nov. 6: Knox is arrested with thenboyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, and Diya Patrick Lumumba, the Congolese owner of pub where Knox occasionally worked. Knox and Sollecito denied wrongdoing; they said they werent in the apartment that night, but had smoked marijuana and their memories were clouded. Nov. 20: Lumumba, implicated by Knox, is released from jail for lack of evidence. Dec. 6: A fourth suspect in the murder, Ivory Coast national Rudy Hermann Guede, is extradited from Germany, where he was arrested, and jailed upon arrival in Italy. 2008 Oct. 28: Guede is sentenced to 30 years in prison (cut to 16 years on appeal in 2009). 2009 Jan. 16: Trial of Knox and Sollecito begins. June 12: Knox takes stand; offers alibi, says police beat her into making false statement. Dec. 5: Knox is sentenced to 26 years in prison, Sollecito to 25 years after they are found guilty of murder. Lawyers say they will appeal. 2010 Nov. 8: Knox ordered to stand trial on slander charges for claiming police beating. Nov. 24: Appeals trial for Knox and Sollecito opens in Perugia. 2011 June 29: An independent forensic report nds much of the DNA evidence used to convict Knox and Sollecito is unreliable. July 25: Experts tell an appeal hearing the knife thought to have been used to kill Kercher carried no trace of blood but may have been contaminated with other DNA traces. Oct. 3: After four years in prison, Knox and Sollecito are found not guilty of murder. The court upholds a conviction against Knox for slander, after falsely accusing Lumumba of the murders. Shes sentenced to three years in prison, which has been served.
2007

Amanda Knox

IN MINUTES

News and events visually

The people

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After the trial

Knox returned home to Seattle, Wash., in late 2011. She enrolled at the University of Washington in creative writing. Her memoir book Waiting to Be Heard will be released in April, in a deal reportedly worth $4 million.

The next trial

2013 March 26: Italy's Supreme court has ordered Knox and Sollecito to stand trial again for the Kercher murder, overturning their acquittals. The decision was not based on the presumed guilt or innocence of Knox or Sollecito, but was intended to hinge solely on whether the appeal trial had been properly conducted.

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Wrong
Sources: Reuters; Graphic News

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SUSAN BATSFORD, GRAPHICS EDITOR, TWITTER @SBATS1/QMI AGENCY