The Media asks, Knox: ‘She Devil’ or Angel? Whatever the conclusion, no comfort can be bought to the Kercher family.
Days after American student Amanda Knox, and her former boyfriend Italian graduate Raffaele Sollecito was convicted of the murder and sexual assault of Meredith Kercher, a student from Leeds who was on a years exchange course in Perugia, the verdict has since sparked huge controversy. In the US, in particular, Knox’s innocence is firmly contested, on the basis that the 26 year prison sentence handed to her was based on flawed evidence, and botched investigations over the two year period of investigation. The jury’s difficult decision, resulting from an 11 month trial could not just be based on physical evidence alone, the question remains, were these two students capable of such a horrific murder? Or were they indeed the innocent victims of media speculation and false evidence as the claim?
The global attention surrounding the murder of Meredith Kercher’s, who was found dead in her bedroom in November 1 2007, lying under a duvet with her throat cut, has focused largely on the accusers rather then the victim. Knox in particular has been the center of mass media speculation, her many changing faces and version of events has made her the subject of lurid fascination, for the media and public alike, she certainly did not fit the profile of a psychotic murderer, or did she? She is either the wide-eyed, hard working, high spirited all- American student who found herself embroiled in accusations and false claims of murder. Or she is the ‘she devil’ the prosecution would have us believe, a manipulative actress, compulsive liar and fantasist, whose jealousy and appetite for drug-fueled sex games made her seek revenge on her housemate, Meredith, who largely disapproved of Knox promiscuous activity. The Jury’s verdict rested on what version of Knox they believed to be true, in this case the latter version seems to have overalled.
The student, Dubbed ‘Foxy Knoxy’ by the media, (indicative of her flirtatious character), has been ‘submerged in a media tsunami’ says Knox’s lawyer. She has two faces in according to popular belief, angel and demon, sinner or saint, the debate continues. Knox’s calm, often cheery composure during trail is said to have baffled investigators, she began displaying bizarre behaviour days after Meredith’s murder, when Knox was seen purchasing lingerie and talking of ‘wild sex’ with Sollecito, as well as performing gymnastics to police in between being questioned. However does this odd behaviour warrant suspicion? Or is this a girl in mourning, attempting to cope with situation? I’m not convinced. Although she may subvert the typical profile of a killer, it is fair to suggest she does not fit the profile of a saint either. One of the short stories she had displayed on her myspace talks of a young girl being brutally murdered by having her throat sliced, ‘like razors’ in her mouth, troublingly similar to Meredith’s death. Friends of the murdered student say the unpredictability of Knox, possibly brought on my her drug use, had made them Meredith increasingly weary, they would often argue about missing money, or Knox’s habit of bringing ‘strange men’ back with her to the apartment the girls shared.
Defense lawyers claim there is no evidence that Knox was in the room were Meredith was killed, however her DNA was found near the handle of a kitchen knife, the presumed murder weapon, found in Sollecito’s flat with Meredith’s DNA on the tip of the knife. However any evidence placing Knox at the crime scene is now said to be contaminated and unusable as evidence. However on the morning Meredith’s body was found, a shopkeeper said he’d seen Knox and Sollecito buy cleaning products, although she told police she was with her boyfriend at his the whole night and morning. Police believe a burglary was staged in the apartment as possible motive for murder, however nothing was taken. Knox also falsely accused Patrick Lumuba, a local Congolese bar owner, although he was later cleared after his alibi that he was working the night of the murder proved true, police believe this was in a bid to cover up her own role in the murder and that of Guede, a drifter from the ivory coast Knox and Sollecito and bought home that night, he has already been charged with murder and sexual assault after his DNA was found on Meredith. Phone records also show Knox had made several calls to Guede after the murder, although he had fled abroad to Germany. Knox’s involvement in the brutal and tragic murder, however small or large, still deserves the guilty verdict, Meredith’s family deserve the truth, as some form of justice.
One supporter for Knox wrote during the trial, “a highly spirited student whose life has been clearly ruined by a collision of predatory journalism and slipshod prosecution”, Knox’s life had been ruined? I begin to ask; maybe we should focus our grievances more on the innocent victim, Meredith Kercher, who lost her life in a senseless, callous murder.
