Amanda Knox May Have To Return To Italian Court To Be Retried For Murder

Amanda Knox's murder case may be returning to an Italian court. The Italian court is expected to make a decision Monday as to whether or not Knox can be retried for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.

In 2007, Amanda Knox, 20-year-old at the time, was studying abroad in Italy at the University for Foreigners of Perugia. Meredith Kercher (21) was also there she and Knox were roommates.

In November of 2007, Meredith Kercher was found murdered in the apartment she and Knox shared. Her body was discovered half naked and her throat was slashed.

Perugia police arrested Amanda Knox and her then boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. The pair was taken to court and found guilty in 2009.

In 2011 the case against Amanda Knox and Rafaele Sollecito was thrown out and their conviction was overturned. The Italian court ruled that there was not enough evidence to prove Knox murdered Kercher.

During Knox's first trial, the prosecution could not link her to the murder using DNA evidence so they focused on her strange behavior during the investigation.

Robyn Butterworth was a friend of Meredith Kercher. She went to court and took the stand against Knox. Butterworth told the jury, "We were all crying, and I didn't see Amanda crying. She and Raffaele were kissing and joking."

Knox's response to her odd behavior was, "When I feel uneasy I act a bit foolish."

It was the lack of DNA evidence that led the Italian court to overturn Knox's and Sollecito's convictions.

Amanda Knox is now home in Seattle with her family. She has been attending the University of Washington and trying to move on with her life.

This could prove to be difficult if the Italian court decided to reopen the case. In Italy, defendants do not have to be present in court. The Italians could retry Amanda Knox without her being able to speak on her own behalf.

If she is found guilty a second time, the Italian court may request the United States extradite Knox back to Perugia.

A third man, Rudy Guede was arrested and tried separately in the murder of Meredith Kercher. Guede was found guilty.

According to CNN, Giovanni Galati, an Italian prosecutor, believes Knox should be retried because, "We are still convinced that they are the co-authors of Meredith's homicide."

Both Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito have written books describing their experiences. Knox's book "Waiting To Be Heard" is set to be released in April.

Tags
world news
Join the Discussion

Latest Photo Gallery

Real Time Analytics