Edda Mellas and Curt Knox thought their heartbreak was over. They finally had their daughter home again after a four-year battle to have her murder conviction overturned.
But their lives have been blown apart by the news Italy’s highest court has ordered a retrial.
Amanda Knox, dubbed “Foxy Knoxy”, spent four years in jail for the 2007 murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher while they were studying abroad in Perugia, Italy. She and her former boyfriend Raffaele Solleito were convicted in 2009 to 25 years in prison for murder.
Convinced of their daughter’s innocence, Amanda’s divorced parents fought tirelessly to free her, taking out second mortgages on their homes and draining their retirement funds.
When her conviction was appealed and overturned in 2011, she finally returned home and the family began rebuilding their shattered lives.
Italian Judge Saverio Chieffi told the court he would publish the reasoning behind his decision within 90 days. Once it is published Amanda and Raffaele and their legal teams have 45 days to present their cases. The retrial is not expected until sometime early next year, to be heard in an appellate court in Florence.
It is expected that Italy will request the extradition of Amanda from the United States for the trial but the US government may refuse because it violates the US legal principle that a criminal defendant can't be tried twice on the same charge; the double jepoardy rule.
Parents are often forgotten in high drama cases such as that of Amanda Knox. But they were my first thought when I heard her acquittal had been overturned.
Divorced when Amanda was two, Edda Mellas and Curt Knox have worked closely together to get their daughter home. They were even charged with libel by the Italian police for comments they made to the press regarding Amanda’s treatment while in custody. They claimed she’d been physically abused during a police interrogation.
