Amanda Knox Won’t Return To Italy For New Trial

Amanda Knox won’t return to Italy to face murder charges in the death of her former roommate, Meredith Kercher. Knox has already been tried once in the case and was found innocent.

Knox already spent four years in an Italian prison before and during the initial trial. Once she was acquitted, the former college student returned to her home near Seattle, Washington.

Kercher, a British citizen, was murdered in the pair’s apartment. Her half-naked body was found with more than 40 wounds and a deep gash in her throat.

NBC News reports that Knox’s lawyer announced the American citizen will not attend her retrial. The decision was made known to the lawyer, Lucian Ghirga, when he met Knox in Seattle for a briefing.

Knox and her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were acquitted of killing Meredith Kercher in 2011. However, Italy’s supreme court called for a retrial in March because of inconsistencies in the appeal court’s decision.

CNN notes that Amanda Knox indicated in a May interview that she wasn’t sure at the time if she would return to Italy or not. Speaking to Chris Cuomo, Knox explained, “It’s a really complicated question. I mean, I’m afraid to go back there. I don’t want to go back to prison.”

While she and Sollecito were initially convicted of the crime, they were released after the appeals court overturned the convictions for lack of evidence. But the Italian Supreme Court ruled that evidence in the case could support the prosecutors’ initial argument that Kercher was killed in a twisted sex game.

Knox has said that the claims were “a bombardment of falsehood and fantasy.” She added that the claims were “simply coming out of the prosecution” and had no basis elsewhere.

The retrial is expected to start this fall and will examine things like discrepancies in testimony during the initial trial. Amanda Knox is not required to return to Italy for the retrial.