Knox Trial: Friend Says Jailed Student Can't Sleep, Eat

By ALESSANDRA RIZZOPERUGIA, Associated Press -- Amanda Knox can't sleep or eat properly as she awaits to know if an appeals court in Italy will uphold or overturn her murder conviction, a friend of the jailed American student said Sunday.

A verdict is expected in early October, capping an appeals trial that began almost a year ago.

Knox was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering Meredith Kercher, her British roommate in Perugia, and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Knox's boyfriend at the time of the 2007 murder, Raffaele Sollecito of Italy, was convicted of the same charges and sentenced to 25 years.

They deny wrongdoing and have appealed their convictions, issued by a lower court in 2009.

Madison Paxton, a friend from the University of Washington who has moved to Perugia to be close to Knox and visits her in prison regularly, told The Associated Press that Knox has no energy and tires very easily.

"In these days coming towards the end, finding very peaceful moments is hard for her," Paxton said. "Her sleep is very disturbed, her eating is very disturbed."

The 24-year-old Knox has visibly lost weight and appears worn out by four years behind bars. Her lawyers and family have described her as increasingly anxious as she awaits a verdict.

The appeals case continues Monday, when a lawyer representing the Kercher family will make his closing arguments. The lawyer of a man who was implicated in the murder by Knox - and was briefly jailed as a result of her statement - is also expected to address the appeals court in Perugia. Both the Kercher family and the man figure as civil plaintiffs in the case.

Later in the week, defense teams will sum up their case.

Knox herself is expected to address the court in a final plea. In a letter sent to Italian lawmaker Rocco Girlanda, who has campaigned for her freedom and frequently seen her in prison, Knox said she has been thinking about what to say to the court and what to do if she is released. The letter, dated Aug. 9, was shown on an Italian TV show Sunday night.

Kercher, 21, was stabbed to death on Nov. 1, 2007. Her body - lying in a pool of blood, her throat slit - was found the following day in the apartment she shared with Knox.

Prosecutors maintain Kercher died in what had begun as a drug-fueled sexual assault. They have asked the appeals court to stiffen Knox's and Sollecito's penalties and sentence them to life in prison.

Also convicted in separate proceedings was Rudy Hermann Guede, an Ivorian man. Italy's highest criminal court has upheld Guede's conviction and his 16-year prison sentence. Guede denies wrongdoing.

Comments

[2011Arda2]

08:57 AM on 11/09/2011

guilty conscience?

[Lulu Barke]

02:21 AM on 11/09/2011

WHY?? maybe that dead girls ghost is haunting her.. uhhhhhhhhhh

[sfizi]

09:20 PM on 11/08/2011

Neither the girl she killed...

[missininakshin]

08:55 PM on 11/08/2011

You know, I really wish I was there at the hearing. I wonder if she did it, or if it was someone else. Unfortunately, I can't really judge because I know next to nothing about this case, and, well, innocent until proven guilty. If she's innocent, then I pray she's let go...if not, then I pray that justice is done.

[moutonnoir]

07:48 PM on 11/08/2011

i wont know what to think until Argento makes a film version.

[Michael P Valentin]

07:12 PM on 11/08/2011

This usually happens when one has been through a traumatic experience. The only real remedy is the support she's been getting, as well as professional psychiatric therapy. It'll take a lot more time than she's been out of prison, to regain her sense of self-confidence as well as the ability to trust others.

[gv007]

06:13 PM on 11/08/2011

Put a knife in her hand. Maybe she,ll sleep better.

[MarkSmith46]

12:37 PM on 10/04/2011

I am so happy that they finally listened and found her innocent. She never had anything to do with this. It was a set up from the beginning. They fumbled over and over again. Prosecutors will do anything, even lie to, make a case. Congratulations Amanda Knox! All of us who have supported you never doubted your innocence. Those of you complaining, Get Over It!!!

[Patricia1111]

06:52 PM on 09/30/2011

I have read a lot about the case and I feel she is guilty. That said, I am sure she will win her appeal as the Italians are sick of the Knox family and friends constant smear campaign. However, she will make millions once out and the first network that pays her for an interview will never be watched by me again. Just tired of guilty people getting off and then making money on their "pain".

[Stephen B Kidde]

06:15 PM on 11/08/2011

Apparently, you agree with the corrupted interpretation of DNA evidence.

Knox had been convicted because of anti-American sentiment. The sentiment had been prevalent in Italy due to the US invasion of Iraq. Whatever you feel about the invasion, she is not responsible for it. It is not right to put someone in jail based on a judgment for which someone else is responsible. It would have been better to throw Bush and Cheney in jail for the murder.

The physical evidence placed the person convicted of murder at the scene. The "DNA evidence" against Knox and her boyfriend was fabricated in an attempt to place them at the scene at the time of the murder. This was a great offense in itself. They are trying to cover for it by making the punishment for Knox more severe. They should be disbarred.

[Dustville]

05:06 PM on 09/30/2011

I'm an American living in Italy. Almost all people who think she's innocent are Americans instinctually sympathizing with a cute little white girl.

[Stephen B Kidde]

06:20 PM on 11/08/2011

The "DNA evidence" was fabricated to convict an American based on anti-American sentiment. You sure you're not a fascist? Do you want to punish a "cute little white girl" for the criminal behavior of others?

[loanshark]

01:35 PM on 09/30/2011

The girl she helped kill can't sleep or eat either.

[dim]

05:45 PM on 09/30/2011

Her name is Meredith. She is sleeping.

[Stephen B Kidde]

06:21 PM on 11/08/2011

Amanda Knox didn't help to kill Meredith Kerchner. The physical evidence showed that the convicted murderer had killed the deceased person.

[eurobearrs]

08:03 PM on 09/28/2011

Need to know basis: An interesting article from well respected FBI profiler John Douglas. It shows a compelling miscarriage of justice happened with Knox and Sollecito in Italy.
http://womanonawire.blogspot.com/2011/09/unarresting-arrested-famed-fbi-profiler.html

[dim]

06:59 PM on 09/30/2011

Thanks! Il Messagero is pathetic for not publishing this interview.

[Robert Yager]

06:21 AM on 09/28/2011

At first I thought she was guilty, then I realized she was attractive so she must be innocent.

[vinno]

02:02 PM on 09/28/2011

and she's american

[dim]

05:46 PM on 09/30/2011

At first I thought she was guilty, then I realised the evidence against her didn't hold up, so she must be innocent.

[mudshark12]

11:58 PM on 09/30/2011

I've always thought she was framed and the more I read and hear about this case the more I believe she's innocent of this crime.

[Stephen B Kidde]

06:22 PM on 11/08/2011

Thank you.

[basta]

01:40 AM on 09/28/2011

There is absolutely no evidence against this girl except a coerced confession. Unfortunately, the odds are she will not walk. Her sentenced will be reduced but she will likely spend another ten years in jail so as not to embarrass the Italian magistrates and police who so profoundly bungled this case. The Italian legal system is obviously flawed and a good example of this is how
Berlusconi manipulates the country and the courts. Guede has already been convicted and will be released in three years. And then there is the story of a confession: "Gangster Luciano Aviello claims it is not Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito who are guilty, but his own brother, Antonio."

I suggest anyone interested in her case read the following Rolling Stone article:

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/the-neverending-nightmare-of-amanda-knox-20110627?page=2

[dim]

05:59 PM on 09/30/2011

Thanks for the link. Good read!

[sdofkposdmkf]

12:21 PM on 10/03/2011

"The Italian legal system is obviously flawed"

The US legal system is obviously flawed also.

[dim]

01:34 PM on 10/03/2011

This is an Amanda Knox thread. You may want the Troy Davis thread instead.

[Megadoodles]

10:18 PM on 09/27/2011

I bet she walks.

[Oralloy]

03:38 AM on 09/28/2011

@Megadoodles
"I bet she walks."
---

Of course. The evidence has been clear from the beginning that Amanda and Raffaele are innocent.

Now it's time for Italy to pay them both millions of Euros.

[mudshark12]

12:00 AM on 10/01/2011

.... or maybe thousands of Euros as Euros are getting scare over there.

[dim]

05:47 PM on 09/30/2011

I hope she walks.

[mudshark12]

11:59 PM on 09/30/2011

2x!