Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Meredith Kercher was murdered and four flatmates were convicted.

The murder of Meredith Kercher occurred in Perugia, Italy, on 1 November 2007.  Kercher, aged 21 at the time of her death, was a British university exchange student from Coulsdon, South London. She shared an upstairs flat with three other young women. She was sexually assaulted and stabbed, and property belonging to her was stolen.



Meredith Kercher, Rudy Guede, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito

Rudy Guede, a resident of Perugia, was convicted on 28 October 2008 of the sexual assault and murder of Kercher. His fast-track conviction was upheld, and he is now serving a reduced sentence of 16 years. Raffaele Sollecito, an Italian student, and Amanda Knox, an American student and a flatmate of Kercher, were convicted of sexual assault and murder in a separate trial on 4 December 2009. They were given sentences of 25 and 26 years respectively. Knox and Sollecito have appealed. Their appeal commenced in December 2010 and is scheduled to end in late 2011.
The trials have been the subject of news reports around the world, particularly in Italy, Britain and the United States. The coverage has been criticised for being tabloid in nature rather than presenting the evidence accurately and dispassionately. Reactions to the case are polarized between the view that Knox and Sollecito are innocent victims of a miscarriage of justice. and the view that they were directly involved in Kercher's murder and convicted fairly. The conviction of Rudy Guede has not generated similar controversy.

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