Knox, now 37, wrongly spent four years in jail for the murder of Brit Meredith in Italy before being cleared, and says she is still haunted by what happened
Amanda Knox says she is haunted by the spirit of Meredith Kercher, 10 years on from being cleared of her murder.
Knox, now 37, spent four years behind bars over her 21-year-old flatmate’s murder in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. She was cleared in 2015 of killing Meredith, of Coulsdon, South London, at their shared home in Perugia. She said in an interview with The Guardian: “Meredith is like this ghost sitting on my shoulder who fought for her life and didn’t succeed, who is telling me to fight for my life. I know that’s not what people like to hear. Some people think that her identity disappears next to my identity. And, again, I don’t blame people for having that idea. She became the footnote of a story where I was the central figure.”
Speaking with People, Knox said she feels ‘haunted by the spirit of Kercher’ She told the outlet: “For that reason, I’ve described it as feeling haunted by Meredith, but not in that bad way that people sort of project on to me. More in this benevolent spirit who is reminding me of the value of life, the privilege it is to live and the privilege it is to fight for your life. Because she fought for hers.”
In her new memoir, Free, released on Tuesday, she writes about her treatment in the jail in Perugia. She says one officer cornered her in a bathroom, grabbed her by the waist and tried to kiss her. This had come after another guard made lewd comments towards her. She recalls: “He interrogated me about my underwear, my sex life, and propositioned me for sex.”
Meredith, 21, who was studying at Leeds University, was found stabbed to death in her bedroom of the apartment she shared with Knox. Knox, 20 at the time, and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who was 23, were arrested four days later and went on to be convicted at trial twice.
Both convictions were overturned due to a lack of any evidence linking them to the crime and the pair were ultimately exonerated by Italy’s highest court in 2015. Police also arrested Rudy Guede, who ran a local bar. His bloody fingerprints and DNA found at the crime scene ensured his conviction for murder, and he served 14 years of his 30-year prison sentence behind bars.
Knox now presents a successful podcast called Labyrinths , is a TV producer and best selling author, does stand up comedy and campaigns against miscarriages of justice. She is married to Christopher Robinson, a writer, and they have two children together.
