Sex, Lies and the Murder of Meredith Kercher

In November 2007 the body of British student Meredith Kercher was discovered in Perugia. The girl had been knifed in the throat and had then choked to death on her own blood. Sensationally, the Italian police claimed that Meredith had died after refusing to take part in a sex game. Within days Meredith's room mate, Amanda Knox, a 20-year American student, and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele, were under arrest for the murder along with a local Congolese bar owner, Patrick Lumumba.

The case
At first the case looked straightforward. Amanda, having said she had not been at the house that night, had suddenly confessed to being at the scene of the murder but had put the blame firmly on Lumumba. For the police it would simply be a matter of waiting for the forensic evidence to confirm this.

However, as the months have gone by the case has become more confusing. Lumumba has been released and Rudy Hermann Guede, 20, who has joint Italian and Ivorian nationality, was arrested. Amanda has changed her story again and now denies that she was there.

The forensic evidence against the young couple is under the spotlight and the allegations of a drug and sex fuelled murder have been questioned. Cutting Edge investigates the evidence against the students.

In Seattle, Amanda's home town, friends gushed about her kindness and sincerity, while the press unearthed a camera phone video on YouTube of her being drunk and also the fact that she called herself Foxy Knoxy on the web which they assumed could only have sexual connotations. Amanda was repeatedly portrayed as the controlling siren and her boyfriend as her besotted accomplice.

Amanda's mother, Edda Mellas, maintains her daughter's innocence: "She's absolutely innocent. There's no doubt in my mind. Never has been a shred of doubt in my mind. That she's had nothing to do with this. Absolutely nothing."

Now, five months after the sensational murder, Amanda and Raffaele have not been charged.

New suspect
Embarrassingly, within days of saying case closed, the police had to release the bar owner, Lumumba. However, soon after a local basketball player was arrested. Rudy Guede, originally from the Ivory Coast, admits being with Meredith on the night of the murder but denies killing her. Whether Rudy knew the other two suspects is not clear at this stage.

The motive
The latest autopsy report does not confirm that the murder revolved around drugs and sex and the senior detective on the case has said that he now believes that the motive was robbery.

Lawyers and experts acting for Amanda and Raffaele are convinced that the forensic evidence is flimsy and the police are being accused of not allowing the young couple access to lawyers during the initial long and intensive interrogation sessions.

Amanda's parents
It now seems that the police investigation itself is under investigation, something that cannot come soon enough for Amanda's father, Kurt Knox, who says: "We have to believe that the system is going to finally get it right, that they've got an innocent girl detained. And she didn't do anything. And you know, we just have to believe that it's she, they're going to see the light and they're going to release her."

For now, however, Amanda's parents see their daughter in prison, something which Edda, understandably, finds very difficult: "The hardest part is leaving her there. You know, you go and you're happy to see her. And she's thrilled that you're there. And there are lots of hugs and lots of trying to encourage her and make sure that she's finding a way to be happy. But walking away and leaving your innocent daughter, this is heartbreaking."

Sex, Lies and the Murder of Meredith Kercher >>
Related links >>

Top