Amanda Knox Trial: Friends and Family Ask That Victim Meredith Kercher Not be Forgotten
Amid all the global news frenzy surrounding Amanda Knox, family and friends of the victim Meredith Kercher are speaking out in the hope that in the end it will be Kercher that is not forgotten.
Kercher was studying European Politics and Italian in Perugia when she was killed at the age of 21 in the Italian villa she rented with Knox. She was found semi-naked in a pool of blood, her throat had been slashed and she had been stabbed 40 times.
The Kercher family has always maintained the original murder trial and conviction of Knox was fair.
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Kercher’s father, a freelance journalist, wrote of the case describing why Knox herself has caused such a media frenzy, saying that as a “young, attractive female” to most she seems an unlikely killer.
However he added, “As far as we are concerned, she has been convicted of taking our precious Meredith’s life in the most hideous and bloody way.”
With the appeals trial inching to a close, Meredith’s sister Stephanie wrote a letter to the Italian judges hearing the case asking them to “please not let Meredith die in vain.”
She added, “Can we just remember for a moment what this case is actually about; my sister, a daughter brutally and selfishly taken from us nearing four years ago and yet not a single day goes by that we can grasp any peace or closure. Please remember our beautiful Meredith.”
Kercher’s close friend, Natalie Hayward, told the Sunday Telegraph, that she believes that it was Knox that killed Kercher.
Hayward was also studying abroad in Perugia with Knox and Kercher when the incident happened.
Hayward explained that there was looming tension between the two roommates. She said that among other things, Kercher was uncomfortable with Knox keeping her vibrator in the bathroom the two girls shared.
Hayward also explained that Knox displayed disturbing behavior when a group of friends were called to a local police station for questioning. Hayward said, "She was acting very differently to everyone else. We were all shell-shocked, half dead. She seemed a bit to ok."
When asked if Knox would be freed in her appeals case, Hayward responded, “From all that we know it would be crazy, insane. I just hope it won’t happen.”
Knox’s lawyers are fighting diligently to release her from an Italian prison, arguing that her 2009 conviction was reached using flawed DNA evidence. They also allege that her conviction was part of a larger public defamation campaign that led the world to believe that Knox was a sex addicted wild child.
Now with the climatic appeals case coming to a close, to the Kercher’s what remains most important is the memory of their daughter that they so tragically lost.
Her father writes, “I cherish every memory of her short life. All we want now is the peace to be able to celebrate her life. Is that so much to ask?”
