Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito: timeline of the seven-year legal fight
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Version 0 of 1. The convictions of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of Meredith Kercher have been annulled, bringing to a close a seven-year legal saga. Here are the key events in the case: 2 November 2007: Kercher, 21, is found dead in the Perugia apartment she shared with Knox. Investigators say she was killed the night before. Related: Amanda Knox murder conviction annulled - live coverage 6 November 2007: Knox is arrested with then-boyfriend Sollecito and Diya “Patrick” Lumumba, the Congolese owner of pub where Knox occasionally worked. 20 November 2007: Lumumba, implicated by Knox, is released for lack of evidence. 6 December 2007: Ivory Coast national Rudy Hermann Guede is extradited from Germany. 28 October 2008: Judge indicts Knox and Sollecito on charges of murder and sexual assault. Guede, in a fast-track trial, is convicted of murder and sexual assault and sentenced to 30 years in prison. 4 December 2009: Court finds Knox guilty of murder, sexual assault and slander; sentences her to 26 years in prison. Sollecito is convicted of murder and sexual assault, sentenced to 25 years. 22 December 2009: Appeals court upholds Guede’s conviction, cuts sentence to 16 years. 24 November 2010: Appeals trial for Knox and Sollecito opens in Perugia. 29 June 2011: Independent forensic report ordered by the appeals court finds much of the DNA evidence used to convict Knox and Sollecito is unreliable. 3 October 2011: Appeals court clears Knox and Sollecito of murder conviction and orders them to be freed immediately. 26 March 2013: Italy’s highest court overturns the acquittal and orders a new appeals trial. 30 September 2013: Florence appeals court opens third trial of Knox and Sollecito. 30 January 2014: Appeals court upholds murder convictions, sentencing Knox to 28 1/2 years and Sollecito to 25 years. Lawyers say they will take the case to Italy’s highest appeals court. 27 March 2015: The court annulled the convictions of Knox and Sollecito and declined to order another retrial. |