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Knox Found Guilty of Murder

Italian jury convicts American student of killing roommate

By M. Morris,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 4, 2009 5:22 PM CST | Updated Dec 4, 2009 5:52 PM CST

(Newser) – Amanda Knox was found guilty today of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher and sentenced to 26 years in an Italian prison. The 22-year-old American, who cried as the verdict was read, was found guilty of 11 counts related to the crime. Co-defendant and former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was also convicted and sentenced to 25 years. Lawyers for both said they will appeal.

In addition to the prison sentences, Knox and Sollecito were ordered to pay $7.4 million to Kercher's family, CNN reports. "While we always knew this was a possibility, we find it difficult to accept this verdict when we know that she is innocent, and that the prosecution has failed to explain why there is no evidence of Amanda in the room where Meredith was so horribly and tragically murdered," the Knox family said in a statement.

Judge Giancarlo Massei, the court president, reads the guilty verdicts in the trial of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, in Perugia, Italy, Dec. 4, 2009.
Judge Giancarlo Massei, the court president, reads the guilty verdicts in the trial of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, in Perugia, Italy, Dec. 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/APTN)
Stephanie and Arline Kercher, sister and mother of slain British student Meredith Kercher, arrive in Perugia, Italy, Friday, Dec. 4, 2009.
Stephanie and Arline Kercher, sister and mother of slain British student Meredith Kercher, arrive in Perugia, Italy, Friday, Dec. 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/Stefano Medici)
Amanda Knox before a final hearing at the court in Perugia, Italy, Friday, Dec. 4, 2009. A jury found the American student guilty of 11 counts against her in the killing of roommate Meredith Kercher.
Amanda Knox before a final hearing at the court in Perugia, Italy, Friday, Dec. 4, 2009. A jury found the American student guilty of 11 counts against her in the killing of roommate Meredith Kercher.   (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 34 comments
bathory313
Dec 6, 2009 5:18 AM CST
Disgusting travesty of justice. Knox is NOT guilty, but I do think that Rudy Guede IS. His prints and his DNA were found in Kercher’s room and on the body. Maybe you should do some more reading, huh? http://opinionator.blogs.nytim.../
MrsK
Dec 5, 2009 12:45 PM CST
moron
MrsK
Dec 5, 2009 12:30 PM CST
Good

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