'People forget that I'm a human being:' Amanda Knox says she 'exists through the lens of Meredith Kercher's murder' and SLAMS critics who say she's 'profiting' off roommate's death
Amanda Knox has defended herself against critics who say she's 'profiting' from the death of her roommate Meredith Kercher.
Rudy Hermann Guede, 33, was last month released from prison after being convicted in 2008 for the killing of the British 21-year-old in Perugia, Italy in November 2007.
Despite being cleared of Meredith's murder by an Italian supreme court back in 2015, Knox, 31, says she is still unable to live her life without being viewed through the 'lens of Meredith's murder'.
In an interview with the Sunday Times Magazine, she said she is vilified for using her experiences to make money, with critics unable to feel sympathy for her as they 'compare' her ordeal with that of Meredith.
Amanda Knox, pictured in Italy in 2019, has defended herself against critics who say she's 'profiting' from the death of her roommate Meredith Kercher
Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito (pictured) were accused of the murder of Kercher in 2007 and spent four years in prison
'People seem to believe there can only be one true victim', said Knox, who has since started a true crime podcast and works with the Innocence Project to try and exonerate those with wrongful convictions.
'I exist only through the lens of Meredith's murder in some people's minds', she added. 'They forget that I'm a human being'.
Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were accused of the murder after Kercher's half-naked body was found in a back room of the apartment she and Knox shared in Perugia.
The 21-year-old had been stabbed 47 times and had her throat slashed. Police also found signs of sexual assault.
British 21-year-old Kercher (pictured) had been stabbed 47 times and had her throat slashed
Knox, who became dubbed by the press 'Foxy Knoxy', and Sollecito were both convicted of Kercher's murder.
Knox spoke in the interview of the prosecutions 'obsession' with her sex life, with a police officer once dismissing a claim that she had come home from Sollecito's to shower because she 'smelled of sex'.
The discovery of a vibrator in her bathroom only fuelled more speculation about her sex life, with Italian investigators allegedly convincing Knox she had HIV, prompting her to write down a list of all of her sexual partners.
Knox would later be acquitted twice of the crime after already having spent four years in an Italian prison. She returned to the US in 2011 after her murder conviction for the killing of Kercher was overturned.
However, as she refused to return to Italy, she was retried and convicted a second time three years later.
The Italian Supreme Court overturned her second conviction in 2015 and finally brought an end to her legal saga.
Guede, an Ivory Coast-born drifter and small-time drug dealer, was eventually convicted of the murder and last month was released after serving a 16-year sentence in an Italian prison.
Knox has since settled in Seattle, marrying musician Colin Sutherland, and has taken part in a Netflix series about her case, along with writing books and articles advocating for people wrongfully convicted of crimes.
Knox, who became dubbed by the press 'Foxy Knoxy', and Sollecito were both convicted of Kercher's murder. Pictured, Knox in 2014
In June 2019 Knox returned to Italy for the first time since she was cleared of the murder to appear at a criminal justice festival, where she told attendees she 'still fears more charges' despite being cleared of Meredith's murder.
Before her trip to Italy the family of Miss Kercher labelled her return to the country 'inappropriate' and said her reappearance in the public eye was 'very painful for the family'.
In an essay published online, Knox said she was 'polishing up the speech I'm about to give to a potentially hostile audience in Italy'.
The Kercher family lawyer Francesco Maresca told the Guardian: 'All these insistences and appearances are only ever done to keep the attention on herself.
Knox has since settled in Seattle, marrying musician Colin Sutherland (pictured), and has taken part in a Netflix series about her case
'The murder is a tragic memory for the Kercher family, they lost their daughter and sister in such a terrible way. It's also an injustice for them as they still don't know the full truth.'
In her podcast, The Truth About True Crime, Ms Knox also spoke about her ordeal. While discussing Jens Soering, a man who falsely confessed to killing two people out of love, she talked about her own confessions.
She said: 'Jens knowingly and willingly falsely confessed to killing Nancy and Derek Haysom. My own false statements were coerced, authored by the police themselves and were the result of an abusive illegal interrogation that wasn’t recorded.'
Ms Knox also spoke about her fiancé, Chris, saying: ‘Romantic love hits me that way when I think about my fiancé Chris. It feels deep, and primary, like my need for water.’
No comments: