Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito reunite: Fifteen years after the murder of Meredith Kercher, ex-lovers who were wrongly imprisoned and twice acquitted of Brit’s tragic death reunite in Italy
- Amanda Knox, 35, traveled to Italy to meet up with her former lover after 15 years
- The couple were wrongly arrested and twice convicted of Meredith’s murder
- The real killer was Rudy Guede, who stabbed her 47 times after attacking her
Amanda Knox and her former lover Raffaele Sollecito have reunited 15 years after they were arrested and wrongly charged in the murder of Brit Meredith Kercher in Italy.
In a carefree photo, the two were seen smiling as they visited the historic town of Gubbio – the same place they intended to visit the day Meredith’s body was discovered in her room.
Almost 15 years before the day of Meredith’s death, Mr Sollecito, 38, told The Mirror that being reunited with Ms Knox, 35, was “the nicest thing” after their long ordeal, which saw them wrongly spend four years im spent in prison.
Meredith, 21, was a Leeds University student living in Peruga on an exchange who was found dead on 2 November 2007 with her throat cut and signs of sexual assault.
Police were called by Mr Sollecito after he and Ms Knox, a roommate of Meredith, discovered her body the day after her death.
The then 20-year-old American student M. Knox and her 23-year-old Italian boyfriend Mr. Sollecito were arrested four days later and subsequently sentenced twice in court.
Both convictions were overturned due to a shocking lack of evidence linking them to the crime. Also arrested was Rudy Guede, who ran a local bar. His bloody fingerprints and DNA, found at the scene, secured his murder conviction, and he was serving 14 years of his 30-year sentence behind bars.
Amanda Knox, 35, of Seattle, was twice wrongly convicted of Meredith’s murder and served four years in prison
Raffaele Sollecito, 38, originally from Milan, was convicted along with his former lover
Kercher, from Coulsdon, Surrey, was killed just three months after moving to Italy to study abroad at the prestigious University of Perugia (pictured in an undated photo released November 2007).
Mr Sollecito, now a computer engineer in Milan, told The Mirror: “There was also something very easy about Ms Knox saying, ‘Why don’t we go back to Gubbio?
“She said we could go with her family after all this time and I could see they had a lot going on there.
“It was bittersweet to return as we were supposed to go there under such different circumstances, but it was just nice for us to be able to talk about something that wasn’t the case.”
Meredith, from Coulsdon, south London, had been in Perugia for just three months when she was found dead of 47 stab wounds after being sexually assaulted.
In 2011, the couple’s initial convictions were overturned after experts told Italy’s Supreme Court that there had been major flaws in the original case.
Meredith Kercher’s killer Rudy Guede (pictured waving from a volunteer center window in 2016, file photo) has been officially released from prison 14 years after the gruesome murder
A new trial began in 2013 and both were found guilty again – although Ms Knox remained in the US.
Two years later they were acquitted for a second time by the Supreme Court.
The judges said there were staggering flaws in the murder investigation and a lack of evidence the couple were involved in the attack.
Forensic errors such as a contaminated glove were also highlighted during the trial.
Although they hadn’t seen each other for 10 years, the two stayed in touch via Whatsapp.
During the trip to Italy, Mr. Sollecito met Ms. Knox’s young daughter, Eureka, and her husband, Christopher.