An Italian court on Wednesday upheld Amanda Knox’s conviction for defamation, claiming that Knox, now 36, had falsely accused Patrick Lumumba of the murder for which she was initially charged. This decision marks a new chapter in a legal and media affair that has been ongoing since 2007, when Knox’s roommate Meredith Kercher was murdered.
Amanda Knox, herself exonerated of the murder conviction of her British roommate Meredith Kercher in Italy in 2007, believed she could erase all traces of this tragedy. However, she was completely devastated to learn that the libel charges against her have been reinstated, preventing her from closing this chapter of her life.
Knox was a 20-year-old exchange student when Kercher was brutally murdered at their home in Perugia, Italy. Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted of Kercher’s murder in 2009.
The case had many twists and turns; Knox and Sollecito were first acquitted, then re-convicted, before being definitively exonerated by Italy’s Supreme Court in 2015.
Rudy Guede was finally found guilty of Kercher’s murder and sentenced to 16 years in prison, his DNA having been found at the crime scene.
Knox’s legal troubles didn’t end there, however. Knox was convicted of defamation in connection with accusations she made during intensive interrogations by Italian police after Kercher’s death.
She accused Patrick Lumumba, owner of a bar in the city and Knox’s former boss, of being responsible for her roommate’s death. Following these accusations, Lumumba was arrested, imprisoned and released two weeks later without charge. Knox retracted her statement, declaring that she had made the accusation under increasing pressure and duress from investigators.
Knox’s lawyer, Carlo Dalla Vedova, said his client was exasperated by the court’s decision and would consider an appeal after reviewing the detailed reasons for the court’s decision, which is expected within the next 60 days.
