Amanda Knox 'Shocked, Anguished' by Accuser's Claims
Amanda Knox's appeal against her conviction on murder charges continued Monday in what was described as an agitated session where Rudy Guede, key witness and first man to be convicted for the killing of the British national, Meredith Kercher back in 2007, was called to respond to various claims.
Having been called out of Viterbo jail, where he currently serves his 16-year sentence, Guede was asked to respond to what his fellow inmate had testified in the previous session: "Guede gave me his confession that Knox and Sollecito had no role in killing Kercher."
Calling the statement pure "rubbish," Guede upheld his previous accusation and confirmed that Knox and her ex-boyfriend, Raffaelle Sollecito, were the killers.
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After Guede left the court room, Knox stood up in disbelief and expressed "shock and anguish" to Guede's claims, adding, "he knows we weren't there."
Although Knox didn't testify during this appellate session, Sollecito, also appealing against his conviction, made his plea by saying that Guede had been repeating his untrue stories about him and Knox. "He is lying, he knows the truth." Then added, "We have been here for almost four years now. Our lives are destroyed."
Guede's other fellow inmates as well as mafia member, Luciano Aviello, also testified. Aviello claimed it was none other than his brother who had actually killed Kercher, but their claims proved only to make the case that has had many twists and turns more confusing.
On June 30, a key date for this trial, reports of crucial DNA evidence from forensics specialists will be submitted to the court and a reconvening is scheduled for July 25 to hear both prosecution and defense claims on the new findings. In September, the concluding arguments will be made and the verdict is expected to be reached by October.
Knox is a college student from Seattle, Wash., who was studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, when her roommate was murdered in 2007. She has denied any wrongdoing.
“I don’t want to spend my whole life in prison as an innocent,” Knox said in May.
