Amanda Knox once again proclaims innocence, denies fight with Kercher
May 2, 2014, 6:39 AM | Updated: 7:42 am
In this Friday, March, 20, 2009 file photo, a view of the house with sealed windows where British student Meredith Kercher was found dead in Nov. 2007. An Italian court that convicted Amanda Knox in her roommate's 2007 murder says the wounds indicate multiple aggressors, and that the two exchange students fought over money the night of the murder. (AP Photo/File_
Days after an Italian court released a 337-page document saying evidence “inevitably leads to the upholding of the criminal responsibility” of Seattle’s Amanda Knox in the murder of Meredith Kercher, Knox went on the offensive, once again proclaiming her innocence in the death of her British roommate.
Knox told CNN she still can’t believe the appellate court’s decision in January that reinstated her conviction and 28 1/2 year prison sentence. “I had truly believed that this court was going to find me innocent,” she said. “I did not expect this.”
This latest court decision was based on evidence the judge found of a fight between Knox and Kercher and evidence that suggested more than one attacker.
Knox says there was no argument. She said they were fast becoming friends. “I did not kill my friend,” Knox said. “I did not wield a knife. I had no reason to.”
Knox was convicted, with her Italian boyfriend, in 2009 for the murder. Her conviction was overturned two years later. This appeal was brought by prosecutors.
Knox’s DNA was found in the apartment, but she said that makes perfect sense. “Of course our DNA was there, we lived there for more than a month,” she said. “It was there. It tested negative for blood. It’s irrelevant to the crime.”
The only evidence of the crime, she said, points to the man who admitted he was in Kercher’s apartment that night. “If Rudy Guede committed this crime, which he did, we know that because his DNA is there on Meredith’s body, around Meredith’s body,” she said. “His hand prints and foot prints in her blood. None of that exists for me.”
Knox said the judge in this latest case based his decision on speculation and not the evidence. “If I were there, I would have had traces of Meredith’s broken body on me, and I would have left traces of myself around Meredith’s corpse,” she said. “I am not there, and that proves my innocence.”
The Italian judge that overturned Knox’s conviction in 2011 has even jumped to her defense. Claudio Hellman released a statement this week saying the appellate court decision was the result of a fantasy and has nothing to do with the evidence.
Hellman said the court in Florence has written a script for a movie or thriller book. Hellman wrote there is no evidence in this case that points to Knox as the killer.
Knox is hoping Italy’s highest court agrees with Judge Hellman and not this recent court ruling when it hears her appeal. If the high court affirms her conviction, it would likely trigger a long extradition fight between the U.S. and Italy.
