Amanda Knox sobs as she returns to Italian court for slander case linked to 2007 murder of British student

5 June 2024, 10:03

Amanda Knox returned to an Italian courtroom in tears as she bids to clear herself "once and for all" of a slander charge related to 2007 killing of a British student.

The killing of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher fuelled global headlines as suspicion fell on Knox, then a 20-year-old exchange student from Seattle, and her new Italian boyfriend of just a week, Raffaele Sollecito.

Knox, now 36, spent nearly four years behind bars in Italy after she was wrongfully convicted of murdering Meredith.

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Despite Knox's exoneration and the conviction of an Ivorian man, Rudy Guede, whose footprints and DNA were found at the scene, doubts about her role persist years later, particularly in Italy.

This is largely due to the accusation she made against a Congolese bar owner who employed her part time, a claim that led to her being found guilty of slander.

Knox said on X - formerly Twitter - this week: "I hope to clear my name once and for all of the false charges against me.

"Wish me luck!"

The American was 20 years old when she and Sollecito were arrested for the brutal killing of 21-year-old Kercher, who Knox was sharing a flat with in Perugia.

Meredith Kercher was born in Southwark, South London on December 28, 1985. Her half-naked body was found in a pool of blood inside the roommates' cottage in November 2007.

Her throat had been slit and she had suffered multiple stab wounds.

Knox was found guilty, acquitted, found guilty again, and then finally cleared of all charges in 2015 - but still had a conviction for slander.

The slander conviction related to her blaming Kercher's murder on a local bar owner, Patrick Lumumba, during initial police questioning.

Lumumba was held for two weeks in 2007 before he was freed without charge, as Knox claimed she named him while under duress.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2019 that there had been procedural errors during Knox's questioning.

Knox was pictured in tears as she arrived at the Florence court this morning, flanked by her husband Christopher Robinson.

She is expected to appear in the same courtroom where she was reconvicted of murder in 2014, and to receive a verdict - which both parties will be able to appeal.

Knox, who has two young children, is now a journalist, author, and campaigner for criminal justice reform.