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Knox Trial Is 'Poison' for All Involved

Fallout has ruined people's lives from Seattle to Perugia

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 12, 2009 6:44 PM CDT

(Newser) – Amanda Knox may be the one on trial for the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, waiting it out in a sweltering Italian prison. But as Barbie Nadeau notes in Newsweek, Knox isn’t the only one suffering: “The Knox trial is poison,” Nadeau writes. “Nearly everyone it has touched so far has suffered irreparable psychological and financial harm.” That includes not only the grieving Knox family, but also attorneys, prison guards, bloggers, and a bar owner.

Among the parents, Kercher's mother needs heavy sedatives simply to cope, and Knox's divorced parents say they are in "six-figure debt." But the list goes on: The man first accused of killing Kercher had to shut down his bar, and lawyers of Knox co-defendant Rafaelle Sollecito have split up their practice. Kercher is "the real victim of this crime," her attorney says, but "it is also distressing that so many other people's lives have also been destroyed."

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (2)]

Amanda Knox listens to her lawyer at a hearing in the Meredith Kercher murder trial, in Perugia, Italy. (AP Photo/Stefano Medici)

U.S. murder suspect Amanda Knox smiles prior to the start of a hearing in the Meredith Kercher murder trial. (AP Photo/Stefano Medici)

Edda Mellas, mother of US murder suspect Amanda Knox arrives for a hearing at Perugia's court room, Italy. (AP Photo/Stefano Medici)

This photo shows 22-year-old British university student Meredith Kercher, who was found dead Friday, Nov. 2, 2007 with her throat slashed. (AP Photo/Italian Police)

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The collateral damage from Kercher's tragic murder now spans from Seattle to London and Bari to Perugia.
- Barbie Nadeau, Newsweek

Knox is not a convict, and yet her life has fallen apart. Between the trial, the constant media blitz, and the expenses, the experience has essentially wrecked her adulthood.
- Barbie Nadeau, Newsweek

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Knox Trial Is 'Poison' for All Involved