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I'm No Murderer, Knox Tells Court

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

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 3, 2009 1:01 PM CST

(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.”

The Kercher family's lawyer also spoke today and put a different spin on things, particularly Knox’s alleged cartwheels outside the police station where she was being interviewed after the murder, the BBC reports. “Is the behavior of Amanda Knox at the police station logical when Meredith's body was still warm?” he asked. Alluding to the fact that co-defendant Rudy Guede is already doing time for his role in the crime, he asked, "Is it logical to say that this murder was carried out by just one person?"

[Images (3)]

[Videos (1)]

Amanda Knox talks to a lawyer prior to a defense hearing at the court in Perugia, central Italy, today. (AP Photo)

Amanda Knox today in Perugia. (AP Photo)

Murder suspect Amanda Knox reacts during a break in the trial at the court in Perugia, Italy, today. (AP Photo)

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With just two days to go for jurors to reach a verdict over the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in Italy, a lawyer for Amanda Knox began summing up the case for her acquittal on December 2. (AFP)

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 9 comments

Hip

Dec 4, 2009 2:17 AM CST

Are you all are writing from the United States? I thought it was innocent until proven guilty...and not the other way around. Hang someone first, ask questions later, I guess...

Kookey90

Dec 3, 2009 11:56 AM CST

Poor Amanda, if the alegations are true I hope you rot in jail. Look at the bright side, you'll be able to improve on your Italian while in prision. Wasn't that the reason why you supposedly went to study in Italy in the first place?

youngblood

Dec 3, 2009 10:47 AM CST

Ahhh just one more thing...how could the jurors just have 2 more days to go to bring in a verdict when her lawyer is still summing up the case?!

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Crime & Courts • World

Italy • murder trial • legal defense • Perugia • Meredith Kercher • Amanda Knox • Raffaele Sollecito • Rudy Hermann Guede • murder charges • Amanda Knox trial

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(NEWSER) - Amanda Knox has served just a few days as a murder convict, but she'll have another year under her belt before an appeal gets under way, and questions about the fairness of her trial continue to pour in, reports the Independent . The open flow of information between cops and journos, the lack of juror sequestration, and sketchy DNA evidence are all dark clouds gathering over Italy's much-maligned and glacial-paced justice system. More»

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(NEWSER) - An Italian court will announce the verdict in the Amanda Knox murder trial tonight at midnight in Perugia, 3pm in Knox's hometown of Seattle, numerous news outlets are reporting. Knox, 22, has been in custody for the 2-plus years since the death of her roommate, British student Meredith Kercher. Knox's former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito will also learn his fate this evening. More»

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(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»

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I'm No Murderer, Knox Tells Court