Knox ‘has been crucified’, lawyer tells appeal

Carlo Dalla Vedova, representing Knox, described her as a “girl who has had a tsunami, a tornado hit her” and sweep away her life.

University of Leeds student Meredith Kercher, 21, from Coulsdon in Surrey, was stabbed to death in what prosecutors say began as a sexual assault.

Knox’s lawyer told the Italian court that Knox was a naive young girl wrongly imprisoned for murder because of a botched police investigation and a tireless campaign to paint her as a monster.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison for the murder, along with her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who was jailed for 25 years.

Rudy Guede, an Ivorian drifter with a criminal record, is also serving time for taking part in Kercher’s murder.

All three found guilty have maintained their innocence.

Obsessive media campaign

Prosecutors have demanded that the court throws out the appeal. saying it must ignore an “obsessive” media campaign.

The lurid details of the original murder case gained it international attention as well as dividing opinion on Knox, variously described as Jessica Rabbit, a she-devil, and as someone with a penchant for dangerous games.

Kercher’s body. with more than 40 wounds, was found in November 2007 at the apartment she shared with Knox, set in a hilltop Umbrian town popular with foreigners studying Italian.

Knox, who was convicted of the murder in 2009, could hear as early as Monday if she will be released.