THE FAMILY OF murdered British student Meredith Kercher says they feel “left back at square one” in the investigation into their daughter’s death following the release of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito.
Knox and Sollecito were convicted of the sexual assault and murder of Kercher at the apartment she shared with Knox in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. They spent almost four years in prison before being released last night after successfully overturning their convictions.
A third person, Rudy Guede from Ivory Coast, was convicted of Kercher’s murder in separate proceedings. That conviction was appealed and upheld, though the sentence was reduced to 16 years. His trial concluded that he did not act alone, but did not identify any other participant in the crime.
Speaking at a press conference today, Kercher’s brother Lyle said that the family is struggling to understand how the court overturned a conviction it was so certain of two years ago.
He said the family was also left wondering who is guilty of Kercher’s death and feels “back at square one”.
The BBC reports that Kercher’s sister Stephanie said that “it’s still very difficult to speak in terms of forgiveness”. The most difficult thing for the family is knowing that those responsible for the murder are still “out there”, she said.
Kercher’s sister and mother said in a recent television interview that they felt she has been forgotten because of the intense media focus on Knox and Sollecito.
It is understood Italian prosecutors will appeal yesterday’s ruling. Today, Italian media reports that Knox and her family have left Rome for the US.
- Additional reporting by the AP
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