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| Rome Court Overturns Acquittal of Amanda Knox | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| ROME — Italy’s highest court on Tuesday overturned a previous acquittal and ordered a new trial in the sensational case of Amanda Knox, an American exchange student accused of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher of Britain, in 2007. | |
| The ruling offered a further dramatic turn in a long-running case that has fascinated many people in the United states, Britain and the rest of Europe. But the full implications of the ruling were unclear, particularly the question of whether Ms. Knox would return voluntarily from the United States or be extradited to face new hearings. | |
| Ms. Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, an Italian who was her boyfriend at the time, were initially convicted in a trial that divided public opinion internationally. One and a half years ago, an appeals court in Perugia acquitted them. | Ms. Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, an Italian who was her boyfriend at the time, were initially convicted in a trial that divided public opinion internationally. One and a half years ago, an appeals court in Perugia acquitted them. |
| The Court of Cassation held a daylong hearing in a packed courtroom Monday as prosecutors and defense lawyers meticulously reconstructed the gruesome details of the crime. Ms. Kercher, a 21-year old exchange student at the University of Perugia, was killed in her bedroom on the night of Nov. 1, 2007. Her half-naked body was found under a duvet, her throat slit. | |
| Ms. Knox, then 20, and Mr. Sollecito, then 24, were arrested days later and convicted of murder in December 2009 in a lower court in Perugia. Both were sentenced to 25 years in prison for the crime, and Ms. Knox received an extra year for calumny after she falsely accused another man of committing the murder. | Ms. Knox, then 20, and Mr. Sollecito, then 24, were arrested days later and convicted of murder in December 2009 in a lower court in Perugia. Both were sentenced to 25 years in prison for the crime, and Ms. Knox received an extra year for calumny after she falsely accused another man of committing the murder. |
| When the convictions were overturned on appeal, the two were released in October 2011. But in 2012, Italian prosecutors and lawyers for the Kercher family filed an appeal against those acquittals with the Court of Cassation, whose rulings are final. Ms. Knox’s lawyers appealed the calumny charge. | When the convictions were overturned on appeal, the two were released in October 2011. But in 2012, Italian prosecutors and lawyers for the Kercher family filed an appeal against those acquittals with the Court of Cassation, whose rulings are final. Ms. Knox’s lawyers appealed the calumny charge. |
| A third man, Rudy Guede, an Ivorian residing in Perugia, was tried separately and sentenced to 16 years. The Court of Cassation upheld his conviction, and he is serving out his sentence. | A third man, Rudy Guede, an Ivorian residing in Perugia, was tried separately and sentenced to 16 years. The Court of Cassation upheld his conviction, and he is serving out his sentence. |
| Media appetite for the case was unquenchable as it wound its way through the Italy court system, in part because of the particulars laid out during the trial — prosecutors initially conjectured that the murder was the result of a satanic sex frenzy gone wrong — as well as the youth of those involved, all students in an Italian city that each year attracts thousands of foreign students. | Media appetite for the case was unquenchable as it wound its way through the Italy court system, in part because of the particulars laid out during the trial — prosecutors initially conjectured that the murder was the result of a satanic sex frenzy gone wrong — as well as the youth of those involved, all students in an Italian city that each year attracts thousands of foreign students. |
| The news media in the United States frequently portrayed Ms. Knox, who is from Seattle, as a naïve American wrongly caught up in the morass of a dysfunctional Italian legal system. The request by the prosecutors had raised the prospect that Ms. Knox could be retried in absentia and ultimately face extradition if convicted. | The news media in the United States frequently portrayed Ms. Knox, who is from Seattle, as a naïve American wrongly caught up in the morass of a dysfunctional Italian legal system. The request by the prosecutors had raised the prospect that Ms. Knox could be retried in absentia and ultimately face extradition if convicted. |
| She moved back to her hometown after her release from prison and is now a student at the University of Washington studying creative writing, according to David Marriott, the Knox family media adviser. A book by Ms. Knox, “Waiting to be Heard,” is expected to be published on April 30, the same day that Diane Sawyer, the anchor of ABC’s “World News,” will conduct the first interview of Ms. Knox since she was released from prison. | She moved back to her hometown after her release from prison and is now a student at the University of Washington studying creative writing, according to David Marriott, the Knox family media adviser. A book by Ms. Knox, “Waiting to be Heard,” is expected to be published on April 30, the same day that Diane Sawyer, the anchor of ABC’s “World News,” will conduct the first interview of Ms. Knox since she was released from prison. |
| British newspapers covered the case obsessively at every twist and turn, often from the point of view of Ms. Kercher, her family’s anguish at the loss of a daughter and their shock at the commercial exploitation of her death. On Tuesday, several British news organizations published details of Monday’s arguments at the Court of Cassation, noting that a ruling had been postponed until Tuesday. | British newspapers covered the case obsessively at every twist and turn, often from the point of view of Ms. Kercher, her family’s anguish at the loss of a daughter and their shock at the commercial exploitation of her death. On Tuesday, several British news organizations published details of Monday’s arguments at the Court of Cassation, noting that a ruling had been postponed until Tuesday. |
| Mr. Sollecito has been living in Verona, where he is getting a degree in computer engineering. He did not come to the hearing on Monday. | Mr. Sollecito has been living in Verona, where he is getting a degree in computer engineering. He did not come to the hearing on Monday. |
| “He didn’t want to get caught up in this mob scene, he didn’t want to be here,” said his father, Francesco Sollecito, who was present at the hearing with his wife. | “He didn’t want to get caught up in this mob scene, he didn’t want to be here,” said his father, Francesco Sollecito, who was present at the hearing with his wife. |
| The Court of Cassation rules on questions of procedure, not on the merits of a case. On Monday, both the prosecutor’s office and the defense gave impassioned arguments that dredged up the minutiae of evidence that initially convicted Ms. Knox and Mr. Sollecito. | The Court of Cassation rules on questions of procedure, not on the merits of a case. On Monday, both the prosecutor’s office and the defense gave impassioned arguments that dredged up the minutiae of evidence that initially convicted Ms. Knox and Mr. Sollecito. |
| “The arguments today veered too closely into the value of the evidence” and didn’t concentrate on points of law, Mr. Sollecito’s lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno, one of Italy’s top criminal lawyers, said. | “The arguments today veered too closely into the value of the evidence” and didn’t concentrate on points of law, Mr. Sollecito’s lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno, one of Italy’s top criminal lawyers, said. |
| In the original case, prosecutors had argued that Ms. Kercher had been the reluctant victim of a drug-fueled game of rough sex gone awry, involving Ms. Knox, Mr. Sollecito and Mr. Guede. | In the original case, prosecutors had argued that Ms. Kercher had been the reluctant victim of a drug-fueled game of rough sex gone awry, involving Ms. Knox, Mr. Sollecito and Mr. Guede. |
| But questions were raised during the appeal about the quality of the evidence, including the reliability of some witnesses, and the prosecutors’ theory of the crime. An independent review also cast doubt on the DNA evidence of two critical exhibits for the prosecution: the knife they claimed killed Meredith, and a bra clasp found in her room. The appellate court ruled that the prosecution case did not stand up. | But questions were raised during the appeal about the quality of the evidence, including the reliability of some witnesses, and the prosecutors’ theory of the crime. An independent review also cast doubt on the DNA evidence of two critical exhibits for the prosecution: the knife they claimed killed Meredith, and a bra clasp found in her room. The appellate court ruled that the prosecution case did not stand up. |
| The prosecutor general, Luigi Riello, told the court Monday that the acquittal was a “violation of the law and a monument to illogicality” that should be overturned. “The appeals judge lost his way in this case,” he said. | The prosecutor general, Luigi Riello, told the court Monday that the acquittal was a “violation of the law and a monument to illogicality” that should be overturned. “The appeals judge lost his way in this case,” he said. |
| He argued that the appellate court had been superficial in retrying the case, cherry-picking the forensic evidence that it had reviewed, rather than examining all the elements that had led to the conviction. “The DNA evidence was used as the final word over all other evidence,” Mr. Riello said. | He argued that the appellate court had been superficial in retrying the case, cherry-picking the forensic evidence that it had reviewed, rather than examining all the elements that had led to the conviction. “The DNA evidence was used as the final word over all other evidence,” Mr. Riello said. |
| “I believe that all the premises exist to ensure that the curtain does not fall on this crime,” he said. | “I believe that all the premises exist to ensure that the curtain does not fall on this crime,” he said. |
| Lawyers for the two defendants argued that investigators and prosecutors had committed serious errors during the investigation, and had misinterpreted evidence, leading to a wrongful conviction that had been rightly overturned. | Lawyers for the two defendants argued that investigators and prosecutors had committed serious errors during the investigation, and had misinterpreted evidence, leading to a wrongful conviction that had been rightly overturned. |
| “This trial started with an error, and it surprises us that the prosecution continues to insist with these errors,” said Carlo Dalla Vedova, a lawyer for Ms. Knox. Mr. Dalla Vedova appealed the calumny conviction on the basis that Ms. Knox — who spoke no Italian at the time of her arrest — had been coerced into making a confession after an all-night interrogation. | “This trial started with an error, and it surprises us that the prosecution continues to insist with these errors,” said Carlo Dalla Vedova, a lawyer for Ms. Knox. Mr. Dalla Vedova appealed the calumny conviction on the basis that Ms. Knox — who spoke no Italian at the time of her arrest — had been coerced into making a confession after an all-night interrogation. |
Alan Cowell contributed reporting from Paris. | |