It was a study-abroad adventure turned nightmare. Two years ago, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher, a foreign-exchange student from England, was found dead in her apartment in Perugia, Italy. That would have been shocking enough, but it got worse: One of the suspects charged was Kercher's American roommate, Amanda Knox, a fellow foreign-study student. She and two others have been accused of murder, sexual assault, and theft. Their dramatic trial has fascinated the world, and the Web — searches on "amanda knox trial" are up over 100% in the last seven days. A verdict is said to be coming in soon. Buzz is on the case. Here, a roundup of the key players:
The victim
Meredith Kercher had been in Perugia, Italy, only two months before her murder on November 2, 2007. (Prosecutors say she was killed for refusing to participate in a drug-fueled sex game.) The British student hailed from Coulsdon, Surrey, and attended the University of Leeds. She came to Perugia as part of her European Studies degree, with her focus being politics and Italian. The multitalented student also appeared in a music video. Since her death, the university has awarded her a posthumous degree. Her father, John Kercher, a freelance journalist for the Daily Mirror, recounted his last memories of his daughter, writing of her "zest for life." Meredith's mother, Arline, testified to her heartbreak at the trial: "We will never, never get over this. It's such a shock to send your child to school and not have her come back."
The defendents
Do not brand her "an assassin," Amanda Knox told the jury in her emotional final statement — in fluent Italian. But the University of Washington student accused of murder has been called many things. The brown-haired, often-smiling 21-year-old has electrified Italian media, who have dubbed her the "devil with an angel's face" and have adopted her American nickname, "Foxy Knoxy." (Her family said the moniker comes from her childhood skills on the soccer field, and does not have more salacious implications.) She's been portrayed as either the girl next door or an evil man-eater, and has inspired at least 11 Facebook fan groups — all Italian.
In the fight for public opinion, Knox's parents have been high-profile defenders. They were even served legal papers for an accusation they made in the press, alleging that the Italian police beat their daughter. Knox, who has been jailed for the last two years on suspicion of stabbing her roommate to death, said she was "horrified" by the murder and thought of Kercher as her friend. The prosecution thinks differently, although their evidence has been called inconclusive.
The lead lawyer for Raffaele Sollecito, the 25-year-old Italian ex-boyfriend of Amanda Knox, said during the trial that Sollecito and Knox had "fallen in love" a week before the murder. The computer science graduate has also been in jail for the last two years. Sollecito claims he wasn't at the house at the time of the murder and, along with Knox, has pleaded innocent. The co-defendent begged the jury to believe him, asking them, "Why would I want to commit something so horrible as murder?" If convicted, both he and Knox face life sentences.
Rudy Guede, a citizen of the Ivory Coast, was also accused of being in the roomates' house on the night of the stabbing. He fled to Germany after the murder, but was extradited, convicted in a separate trial for murder and sexual assault, and sentenced to 30 years. He is appealing his conviction.
Follow Buzz Log on Twitter.
