For most students, the opportunity to travel abroad and study in an exchange program is a dream come true. This was certainly the case for Meredith Kercher from the United Kingdom and Amanda Knox from the United States. During the fall of 2007, they were both in Perugia, Italy, as part of an Erasmus-funded exchange program. Kercher was a European studies student, and Knox, a creative writing major. Neither knew each other before traveling to Italy, but shortly after their arrival, they began to share an apartment in Perugia with two other girls. However, sometime after 9 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2007, Meredith's dream turned into a nightmare.
Details remain somewhat sketchy, but it is clear that on that fall night Meredith was sexually assaulted and brutally murdered inside her bedroom. Evidence collected at the scene suggested Knox was involved in the crime. During police questioning, Knox initially said she was not in the apartment at the time of Meredith's murder but admitted she had been doing drugs and was confused. During further questioning, she said she was present at the time Meredith was killed but implicated another person, Patrick Lumumba, in the murder.
According to Knox, Lumumba and Meredith had gone into the bedroom together, and a short time later, she heard Meredith scream but was too afraid to do anything. However, not long after making this revelation, Knox retracted her statement and reverted to her original contention that she was not home.
Knox's boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, was also a suspect. While he denied any involvement, a footprint in a pool of blood at the crime scene proved to be a match for his footwear. In addition, a knife with DNA from both Knox and Meredith was found at his residence.
The case took another twist when investigators found a diary Knox had been keeping about the murder.
"Perhaps this is what happened," she wrote. "Raffaele went to Meredith's house, raped her and killed her, and then came home, where he put my fingerprints — while I slept — on the knife. But I can't begin to understand why Raffaele would have done it."
