Amanda Knox and the Media
Amanda Knox and the Media
Gina Pardue
SPEA-J 370 Popular Culture and Crime
Instructor Stephanie N. Whitehead, PhD
4/15/2012 Amanda Knox is an American student who was studying abroad in Italy when was accused and convicted of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher, and was found innocent of the crimes after serving four years in an Italian prison. The scrutiny surrounding this case is one of media influence and how it set her fate. Knox was not able to get a fair trial in Italy because of the negative image the media painted of her. With no concrete evidence, people believed she was guilty because of the horrible and twisted opinions of her in the media.
Amanda Marie Knox Before The Murder
Amanda Marie Knox was born in Seattle, Washington. Her mother, Edda Mellas, was a math teacher, and her father, Curt Knox, was a vice president of Macy’s stores. Knox grew up in Washington and attended the University of Washington in 2005. In 2007, she moved to Perugia, Italy, to attend the University of Foreigners in order to study creative writing and Italian. She shared a home with another foreign student, Meredith Kercher and two other women. Knox and Kercher shared a bathroom which was between their rooms. Knox was also involved in a romantic relationship with Raffaele Sollecito, who was from Giovinazzo, Bari and was studying at Perugia University. Sollecito’s father is urologist, Dr. Francesco Sollecito. (Dempsey, 2010)
The Murder and Sexual Assault On November 1, 2007, Kercher was murdered in her apartment. Knox had stayed the night at Sollecito’s home and returned the next morning. Knox found blood on the bathroom floor and feces in the toilet. She also noticed that a rock had been thrown through one of the windows and there were clothes and items thrown everywhere. Kercher’s bedroom door was locked. Knox assumed that there may have been a break-in. Knox alerted her boyfriend and they called the police.
Gina Pardue
SPEA-J 370 Popular Culture and Crime
Instructor Stephanie N. Whitehead, PhD
4/15/2012 Amanda Knox is an American student who was studying abroad in Italy when was accused and convicted of murdering her roommate, Meredith Kercher, and was found innocent of the crimes after serving four years in an Italian prison. The scrutiny surrounding this case is one of media influence and how it set her fate. Knox was not able to get a fair trial in Italy because of the negative image the media painted of her. With no concrete evidence, people believed she was guilty because of the horrible and twisted opinions of her in the media.
Amanda Marie Knox Before The Murder
Amanda Marie Knox was born in Seattle, Washington. Her mother, Edda Mellas, was a math teacher, and her father, Curt Knox, was a vice president of Macy’s stores. Knox grew up in Washington and attended the University of Washington in 2005. In 2007, she moved to Perugia, Italy, to attend the University of Foreigners in order to study creative writing and Italian. She shared a home with another foreign student, Meredith Kercher and two other women. Knox and Kercher shared a bathroom which was between their rooms. Knox was also involved in a romantic relationship with Raffaele Sollecito, who was from Giovinazzo, Bari and was studying at Perugia University. Sollecito’s father is urologist, Dr. Francesco Sollecito. (Dempsey, 2010)
The Murder and Sexual Assault On November 1, 2007, Kercher was murdered in her apartment. Knox had stayed the night at Sollecito’s home and returned the next morning. Knox found blood on the bathroom floor and feces in the toilet. She also noticed that a rock had been thrown through one of the windows and there were clothes and items thrown everywhere. Kercher’s bedroom door was locked. Knox assumed that there may have been a break-in. Knox alerted her boyfriend and they called the police.
Cited: Alves, S. (2011, September 27). Lessons from the Amanda Knox Arrest. Retrieved April 13, 2012, from Indelibleinternational: http://indelibleinternational.com/index.php?pc=justArticle&ora=E0_70130&so=safety Bustillo, D. (2011, October 3). Meredith Kercher. Retrieved April 13, 2012, from KIMBIO: http://www.zimbio.com/Meredith+Kercher/articles/1gYb9YAiOkd/Meredith+Kercher+Pictures+Amanda+Knox+Update Dempsey, C. (2010). Murder in Italy. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group. Kington, T. (2011, September 17). Confident and optimistic, Amanda Knox waits to hear the final verdict. Retrieved April 13, 2012, from The Observer: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/18/amanda-knox-awaits-verdict Precourt, S. (2011, October 3). Amanda Knox Appeal. Retrieved April 13, 2012, from Strollerderby: http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2011/10/03/amanda-knox-appeal-murder-conviction-overturned-amanda-to-be-freed/ Prickett, S. (2011, October 5). SNP 's Word of the Day: Luciferina. Retrieved April 13, 2012, from fashionmagazine.com: http://www.fashionmagazine.com/blogs/society/2011/10/05/snps-word-of-the-day-luciferina/ Surette, R. (2011). Media, Crime and Criminal Justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Centage Learning. Turner, R. (2010, May 23). Motivations Against Giuliano Mignini . Retrieved April 13, 2012, from knoxarchives.com: http://knoxarchives.blogspot.com/2010/05/motivations-against-mignini_23.html Wikipedia. (n.d.). Murder of Meredith Kercher. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Meredith_Kercher