U.S. citizen Amanda Knox "frightened and saddened" by guilty verdict

WASHINGTON

Following a guilty verdict for the murder of British citizen Meredith Kercher in Italy, Amanda Knox said Thursday that she is “frightened and saddened by this unjust verdict.”

“I am frightened and saddened by this unjust verdict. Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system. The evidence and accusatory theory do not justify a verdict of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," she said in a statement released from the U.S. city of Seattle.

An Italian court found Knox, along with ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, guilty of the 2007 murder of Kercher, Knox’s former housemate for a second time. The duo was convicted of the crime in 2009, but was acquitted in 2011.

Kercher was found dead lying in a pool of her own blood in the home she shared with Knox in Perugia, Italy. She was stabbed over 40 times, and had a deep gash in her throat.

Italy’s top court, the Court of Cassation, overturned the 2011 acquittals of Knox and Sollecito. Their retrial began in September. 

Knox was tried in absentia after refusing to return to Italy to face trial. She has maintained her innocence throughout the proceedings. She was sentenced to 28 1/2 years in prison Thursday.

Prosecutors pointed to a bra clasp belonging to Miss Kercher where Mr Sollecito's DNA was reportedly found. They maintained that Ms Knox's DNA was on the handle of a kitchen knife used in the attack, with Miss Kercher's DNA on the blade. In addition, traces of Ms Knox's blood and footprints were found in the house.

Kercher, 21 at the time, from Coulsdon in south London was found with her throat cut in a house she shared with Knox in Perugia, Italy.

The request for Knox’s extradition will have to go through the Italian Justice Ministry and the United States State Department.

The Court of Cassation, Italy's supreme court, overturned their acquittals after prosecutors argued that important DNA evidence had been disregarded.

As a re-run of the appeals process, this is technically not a new trial but a continuation of the original one, and therefore not considered a double jeopardy.

englishnews@aa.com.tr