The Italian court which returned Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito's convictions for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher has released a 337-page document detailing why they decided to do so.
Dismissing the theory that Knox, Sollecito and Rudy Guede – the man currently in prison for her murder – had murdered Meredith in an orgy gone wrong, the court explained that it's not credible that the four young people began a group sex activity that Meredith Kercher later suddenly no longer wanted to progress further. 'This hypothesis is not compatible with the personality of the English girl,' said the statement, according to* Reuters*.
In fact, the court's hypothesis is that – unlike its previous claims – Meredith would have never taken part in a sex game to begin with and the murder actually happened because Knox and Kercher didn't get on, and fell out on a night that Knox had been taking drugs with Sollecito. Attacking Meredith as the argument became more heated – Guede joining in – they then sexually abused her as a means of humiliation.
And in a brutal blow for Knox, the court papers also claim that the American student 'delivered the only mortal blow', stabbing Meredith with a kitchen knife.
In retaliation, Knox released a statement saying the court's logic was 'not supported by any credible evidence or logic.' She and Sollecito are expected to appeal against the latest decision, which could see the case taken to Italy's highest court where plans to extradite Knox for trial could be launched. All of which means there's just as much uncertainty and controversy over the murder – which now happened seven years ago.
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Picture: Corbis
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.