Cops Beat Me, Knox Testifies

Yes you are, says Kercher's lawyer—you did cartwheels

(NEWSER) - Amanda Knox today made her final, impassioned plea to the jury in the Meredith Kercher murder trial. The American defendant told the court that behind her placid demeanor, she is “not calm” but “confused, sad, frustrated,” and “afraid of having the mask of a murderer forced on to my skin.” Speaking in Italian, she said she's afraid “of being defined as something I am not and by actions that are not mine.” More»

Kercher's family sues for millions in damages

(NEWSER) - An Italian lawyer today called Amanda Knox a “she-devil” for her role in falsely incriminating his client, Patrick Lumumba, in the murder of Meredith Kercher. In early statements to police, Knox said she sat terrified while Lumumba murdered her roommate. Knox appears “angelic,” Lumumba’s lawyer Carlo Pacelli said, but, he asked: "Who is the real Amanda Knox? Is it the one we see before us her, all soap and water purity? Or is she really a she-devil, a diabolical person focused on sex, drugs and alcohol, living life on the borderline?” Lumumba was later cleared. More»

(NEWSER) - Amanda Knox returned to the stand for the second day today with a familiar theme: Italian police abused her—verbally and sometimes physically—so much that she became confused about events the night Meredith Kercher was killed. She said police threatened her with serious jail time if she didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear, the Telegraph reports. “If you don't start telling the truth,” she recalls police saying, “we'll put you in jail for 30 years.” More»

American student's DNA found on weapon allegedly used to kill British student in Italy

(NEWSER) - Italian prosecutors began presenting forensic evidence in Amanda Knox's murder trial yesterday, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. Experts testified that the American's DNA was identified on the knife allegedly used to kill British student Meredith Kercher—who was found with her throat cut in the flat the two shared—and that DNA from Knox's co-defendant ex-boyfriend was found on Kercher's bra clasp. More»

Accused Kercher killer gives emotional self-defense

(NEWSER) - Amanda Knox’s ex-boyfriend, accused of a role in the killing of British student Meredith Kercher, made an emotional speech in his own defense in an Italian court today, saying he “wouldn’t harm a fly,” the Guardian reports. Raffaele Sollecito, 24, called his circumstances “unreal," adding, "I have been in prison for a year and three months. But I have nothing to do with this situation.” More»