ITALY: Curt Knox says his daughter has lost weight and is having trouble sleeping as the verdict in her appeals trial draws closer, adding that his family hopes to reach out to the family of the murder victim, Meredith Kercher one day

Record ID: 581847

  • Title: ITALY: Curt Knox says his daughter has lost weight and is having trouble sleeping as the verdict in her appeals trial draws closer, adding that his family hopes to reach out to the family of the murder victim, Meredith Kercher one day
  • Date: 28th September 2011
  • Summary: PERUGIA, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 23, 2011) (REUTERS) AMANDA KNOX BEING ESCORTED INTO COURT KNOX COVERING HER FACE WITH HER HAND
  • Embargoed: 13th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy, Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Reuters ID: LVAB5ZYOLJSWY09FP0G8GSLXS7V4
  • Story Text: Jailed American student Amanda Knox is anxious but dreams of simple pleasures like lying on the grass or petting her cats as she appeals her murder conviction, her father told Reuters.
    The Seattle student is serving a 26-year jail term after being found guilty along with her Italian ex-boyfriend of murdering her British roommate in 2007 during an orgy that turned violent.
    A verdict in her appeals trial is days away.
    Her hopes of walking out of an Italian prison after nearly four years have been boosted by a forensics review that discredited key DNA evidence used to convict her, and Knox's family says they are optimistic she can come home soon.
    Knox, whose fresh-faced good looks have helped drive interest in the case, has appeared gaunt and pale during closing arguments by prosecutors and lawyers who have described her as a cunning, sex-obsessed girl with a penchant for dangerous games.
    Her father, Curt Knox, who has been in court daily as the appeals trial draws to a close, said she had a particularly tough day on Monday (September 26) when a lawyer for a Congolese bar owner she falsely accused of murder called her "diabolic" and a "she-devil".
    "She has definitely lost some weight, it's tough for her to sleep, If you try to put yourself in her shoes where in a matter of a few days a judge and jury are going to decide what happens to your life, I don't know if I'd sleep very well either, you know? And given what happened after the first trial where, you know, you took an 11-month trial where they only had hearings on Fridays and Saturdays and you crystallised it in like five days of defence closing arguments. And to me it was so crystal clear that she had nothing to do with it, and the same with Raffaele and to come back with a conviction, I mean, I was just kind of like 'what?' And so I'm very hopeful that even with this new independent report that came out that we'll see a different verdict and hopefully we get to take her home," said Curt Knox.
    Regular media appearances by family members and friends have helped counteract the lurid image of "Foxy Knoxy", portrayed by prosecutors and in some media accounts.
    The 24 year-old, who was studying in Perugia at the time of Kercher's murder, is now widely seen in the United States as an innocent American entangled in an opaque and unfair justice system and her release is widely expected.
    "You know, I would like to believe that they are going to make their decision on what's been inside the court room, you know, we as her family have not criticised the entire Italian justice system. I would say it's very different than what we are accustomed to in the United States but that doesn't necessarily mean that it is wrong. I just think that we have a situation where we have a very wrongful conviction in this particular town and this particular court room, that's not a complete reflection n on the entire Italian justice system," her father said.
    Curt Knox said his family hoped to one day reach out to the family of the murder victim, Meredith Kercher, a Briton who was on a year-long exchange program in Italy when she was killed.
    "In interviews we have done we have tried to send our deepest condolences for the loss of their daughter. I mean, as a parent you can't imagine the pain that they have experienced. But until they know that Amanda had nothing to do with the loss of their daughter I'm not sure how they would accept our condolences personally. But I really look forward to the day we can reach out to them and they know the truth that Amanda had nothing to do with it," he said.
    "She (Meredith) is the one that paid the ultimate price and it's the Kercher family that I think is really looking for truth and looking for the ability to have closure so that they can remember their daughter the way that they want to and you know it really is unfortunate because I truly believe that the media has lost Meredith and it shouldn't be that way," Knox added.
    A verdict in the trial is expected at the end of the week or early next week.
    Rudy Guede, an Ivorian drifter with a criminal record, is also serving time for taking part in Kercher's murder.
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