Amanda Knox Trial: Defense Presents Final Arguments in Bid for Freedom
As American Amanda Knox fights to have her murder conviction overturned her defense has begun presenting its final arguments Tuesday.
Knox, 24, and her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were sentenced to 26 years in prison for the murder of her housemate, Meredith Kercher, in a highly-publicized trial.
Although Knox had always maintained her innocence, on Monday, the lawyer for Kercher`s family called on the Italian jury not to overturn Knox and Sollecito`s convictions; showing photos of the victim`s bloodied body with multiple stab wounds.
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"I show you these pictures to show you the pain of Meredith," Francesco Maresca said, according to CNN. He pointed out that she didn`t have defensive wounds.
“It means that she was tied up, that she had more than one aggressor," the lawyer said.
"Given the type, number and locations of the wounds, there had to be multiple attackers," he insisted.
As the photos of victim’s body were shown, Knox reportedly avoided looking at them. During the hearing she was called “two-faced” and “diabolical” by another lawyer, Carlo Pacelli.
"Within her lives a double soul: one which is angelic, good, compassionate ... tender and ingenuous," Pacelli said.
He also added about her other side, “And a Lucifer-like, demonic, satanic, diabolical one which sometimes leads her to borderline and dissolute behavior."
Pacelli was speaking on behalf of Patrick Lumumba, who was accused of the murder by Knox in 2007. Lumumba was arrested but after his alibi was checked out he was released. Knox withdrew her statement later, alleging that she was repeatedly slapped by police during the questioning.
Pacelli suggested that Knox’s accusation of Lumumba shows that she was guilty and her conviction should stand. “Knox told lies,” he said on Monday, urging the court not to “fall under the spell of the defendant" but to "stick to the proof."
Curt Knox, Amanda Knox’s father said the language used by the lawyer “was extraordinarily hard to listen to” and that his daughter has had trouble sleeping and has lost weight in recent weeks.
"What I find very hard to believe is how this person can start calling her that when he's never even talked to her, never met her," Curt Knox told CNN's Brooke Baldwin on Monday night.
The defense for Sollecito is expected to present its final arguments Tuesday while Knox’s attorneys will present their final arguments on Thursday.
Knox will have the opportunity to also address to the court one more time before the jury begins its deliberations.
A verdict in the case could come as early as October 3.
