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Rome Court Overturns Acquittal of Amanda Knox Rome Court Overturns Acquittal of Amanda Knox
(about 3 hours later)
ROME — Italy’s highest court on Tuesday ordered a new trial in the sensational case of Amanda Knox, an American exchange student accused of murdering her 21-year-old roommate, Meredith Kercher of Britain, in 2007. ROME — Italy’s highest court on Tuesday ordered a new trial in the case of Amanda Knox, an American exchange student accused of murdering her 21-year-old roommate, Meredith Kercher of Britain, in 2007.
The judges’ announcement that earlier acquittals had been overturned was greeted by a shocked silence in the courtroom here. Ms. Knox, who now attends the University of Washington in Seattle and had expressed hope that the ordeal was behind her, said through a spokesman that the news of her resurrected prosecution was “painful.”The judges’ announcement that earlier acquittals had been overturned was greeted by a shocked silence in the courtroom here. Ms. Knox, who now attends the University of Washington in Seattle and had expressed hope that the ordeal was behind her, said through a spokesman that the news of her resurrected prosecution was “painful.”
The ruling by the Court of Cassation means that the case against Ms. Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, will be reheard at a new appeals court in Florence either later this year or in 2014. The two were initially convicted in a trial that divided public opinion internationally, but they were acquitted on appeal 18 months ago. Prosecutors then challenged that acquittal.The ruling by the Court of Cassation means that the case against Ms. Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, will be reheard at a new appeals court in Florence either later this year or in 2014. The two were initially convicted in a trial that divided public opinion internationally, but they were acquitted on appeal 18 months ago. Prosecutors then challenged that acquittal.
The decision opened a further tangled and dramatic chapter in a long-running case whose youthful protagonists, sometimes lurid detail and courtroom spectacle have fascinated many people in the United States, Britain and the rest of Europe. The decision opened another tangled and dramatic chapter in a long-running case whose youthful protagonists, sometimes lurid detail and courtroom spectacle have fascinated many people in the United States, Britain and the rest of Europe.
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. 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, 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. They were convicted of murder in December 2009 in a lower court in Perugia and were sentenced to 25 years in prison. Ms. Knox received an extra year for calumny for accusing 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 with the Court of Cassation, whose rulings are final. Ms. Knox’s lawyers appealed against the accusation of calumny, but the ruling on Tuesday upheld the charge. When the convictions were overturned on appeal, the two were released in October 2011. But last year, Italian prosecutors and lawyers for the Kercher family filed an appeal with the Court of Cassation, whose rulings are final. Ms. Knox’s lawyers appealed against the accusation of calumny, but the ruling on Tuesday upheld the charge.
A third man, Rudy Guede, an Ivory Coast native residing in Perugia, was tried separately and sentenced to 16 years.A third man, Rudy Guede, an Ivory Coast native residing in Perugia, was tried separately and sentenced to 16 years.
The ruling on Tuesday did not call for the rearrest of the two defendants. Carlo Dalla Vedova, Ms. Knox’s lawyer, said she was unlikely to return to Italy for a retrial. “The psychological stress of the case has been heavy,” he said. “I don’t think that she’ll come.”The ruling on Tuesday did not call for the rearrest of the two defendants. Carlo Dalla Vedova, Ms. Knox’s lawyer, said she was unlikely to return to Italy for a retrial. “The psychological stress of the case has been heavy,” he said. “I don’t think that she’ll come.”
In a statement issued by her media advisers within minutes of the announcement, Ms. Knox said it was “painful” to receive the court’s ruling “when the prosecution’s theory of my involvement in Meredith’s murder has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair.”In a statement issued by her media advisers within minutes of the announcement, Ms. Knox said it was “painful” to receive the court’s ruling “when the prosecution’s theory of my involvement in Meredith’s murder has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair.”
“No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity,” the statement said.“No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity,” the statement said.
Giulia Bongiorno, a lawyer representing Mr. Sollecito, said in a telephone interview: “The battle continues. In this trial we always had to climb up the mountain.”Giulia Bongiorno, a lawyer representing Mr. Sollecito, said in a telephone interview: “The battle continues. In this trial we always had to climb up the mountain.”
“We feel greatly confident; we know that Raffaele is innocent, and we also know this is not a conviction,” she said. “We feel greatly confident,” she said. “We know that Raffaele is innocent, and we also know this is not a conviction.”
Ms. Bongiorno said she did not believe that Mr. Sollecito would be sent back to prison.Ms. Bongiorno said she did not believe that Mr. Sollecito would be sent back to prison.
A lawyer for the Kercher family was jubilant.A lawyer for the Kercher family was jubilant.
“This is marvelous,” said the lawyer, Francesco Maresca. “I am very happy. I had faith in the Court of Cassation. I was sure it would annul the acquittal.” He added: “This ruling gives justice the chance to re-establish the truth. No matter what’s said, more than one person committed this crime.” “This is marvelous,” said the lawyer, Francesco Maresca. “I am very happy. I had faith in the Court of Cassation. I was sure it would annul the acquittal.”
He added: “This ruling gives justice the chance to re-establish the truth. No matter what’s said, more than one person committed this crime.”
Mr. Maresca said the Kercher family did not travel to Rome for the latest hearings because Arline Kercher, the victim’s mother, was unwell.Mr. Maresca said the Kercher family did not travel to Rome for the latest hearings because Arline Kercher, the victim’s mother, was unwell.
Mr. Dalla Vedova, Ms. Knox’s lawyer, said his client was in Seattle and had stayed up waiting for the outcome until 2 a.m. local time. “She was sad,” the lawyer said. “She believed the nightmare was over.” But a day of hearings on Monday about the case “went on for so long, it became clear that there was going to be further harassment against this young girl.” Mr. Dalla Vedova, Ms. Knox’s lawyer, said his client was in Seattle and had stayed up waiting for the outcome until 2 a.m. local time. “She was sad,” the lawyer said. “She believed the nightmare was over.” But a day of hearings on Monday about the case “went on for so long,” he added, “it became clear that there was going to be further harassment against this young girl.”
Ms. Knox “is ready for a new trial; she’s gone through this before,” the lawyer said. “She’s ready to fight.” Ms. Knox “is ready for a new trial; she’s gone through this before,” Mr. Dalla Vedova said. “She’s ready to fight.”
He said that the precise reason that the new trial was ordered was expected from the Court of Cassation within 90 days, and that at that point lawyers would learn “which points will have to be re-examined,” Mr. Dalla Vedova said. “It could be the DNA, witnesses or a footprint” that needs clarification, he said. Mr. Dalla Vedova said that the precise reason the new trial was ordered was expected from the Court of Cassation within 90 days, and that lawyers would then learn “which points will have to be re-examined.” “It could be the DNA, witnesses or a footprint” that needs clarification, he added.
If the new appeals court upholds the previous conviction and the Court of Cassation confirms it, Mr. Dalla Vedova said, Ms. Knox would have to serve out her sentence. The lawyer said that the Italian authorities would have to authorize an extradition request and that the United States government would have to approve it.If the new appeals court upholds the previous conviction and the Court of Cassation confirms it, Mr. Dalla Vedova said, Ms. Knox would have to serve out her sentence. The lawyer said that the Italian authorities would have to authorize an extradition request and that the United States government would have to approve it.
Arguments about double jeopardy — preventing her from being sentenced twice for the same crime — would not apply in this case because there had been no final ruling, he said. Arguments about double jeopardy — preventing Ms. Knox from being sentenced twice for the same crime — would not apply in this case because there had been no final ruling, he said.
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. Knox moved back to her hometown, Seattle, after her release from prison and is now studying creative writing, said 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 “World News” on ABC, will conduct the first interview with Ms. Knox since her release.
News media appetite for the case was unquenchable as it wound its way through the Italian 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. Mr. Sollecito has been living in Verona, where he is getting a degree in computer engineering. He did not go to the new hearings.
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. “He didn’t want to get caught up in this mob scene,” said his father, Francesco Sollecito, who attended Monday’s hearing with his wife. “He didn’t want to be here.”
She moved back to her hometown after her release from prison and is now studying creative writing, said 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 “World News” on ABC, 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.
Mr. Sollecito has been living in Verona, where he is getting a degree in computer engineering. He did not go to the hearings.
“He didn’t want to get caught up in this mob scene; he didn’t want to be here,” his father, Francesco Sollecito, who was present at the hearing with his wife, said on Monday.
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.
In the original case, prosecutors 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 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 was used to kill Ms. Kercher, 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 prosecutors’ theory of the crime and the quality of the evidence, including the reliability of some witnesses. An independent review also cast doubt on the DNA evidence of two critical exhibits for the prosecution: the knife they claimed was used to kill Ms. Kercher, and a bra clasp found in her room. The appellate court ruled that the prosecution’s 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 on 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.

Alan Cowell contributed reporting from Paris, and Gaia Pianigiani from Rome.

Alan Cowell contributed reporting from Paris, and Gaia Pianigiani from Rome.