A spokesman for the Knox family says they will hold a news conference at about 5:45 pm PDT at the South Ground Transportation lot at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Knox's parents and their legal adviser will speak to reporters, and Amanda Knox may speak.
PR experts have said Knox can look forward to making as much as £10million from her story, with potential for a string of lucrative TV and newspaper interviews followed by a movie and book deals, according to the Guardian.
However, public relations guru Max Clifford said Knox will find herself at the centre of another disaster if she doesn't address the "half the world that still thinks she's guilty":
The past four years have been very damaging for her. She has a long way to go to win over the hearts and minds of the public. There were more boos outside that courtroom than there were cheers.
If I were advising her, and I would only advise her if I thought she was innocent, the first thing I would do to convince the world of my innocence was meet the Kercher family. Then you have the foundations in place in terms of TV, movie and books.
Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini has said he will appeal yesterday's acquittal.
The prosecution will have to appeal to the Court of Cassation, Italy's highest appeals court. According to the Italian judicial process, the prosecution cannot file its appeal until the court publishes a formal explanation of its decision which is expected in a few months.
A British Airways attendant on the flight from London to Seattle blocked members of the media from the plane's secluded upper deck "to preserve the privacy" of passengers. The attendant, quoting a Knox family member, said journalists should not allowed to contact Knox or her family on the flight but were welcome to attend a press conference later in Seattle, according to AP.
About 50 per cent of all criminal convictions in Italy are reversed or greatly modified on appeal, according to US writer Douglas Preston in the Guardian. Knox and Sollecito join the 4 million Italians since the war who have seen their lives ruined by false criminal charges, only to be proclaimed innocent after many years of agony and imprisonment.
If you are arrested for a crime and have no alibi, you are in very serious trouble. The de facto burden of proof is on you to prove your innocence, despite lip service in the Italian constitution to the idea of innocent until proven guilty. The Italian justice system often seems more concerned with preserving the honour and reputations of powerful individuals than with finding the truth.
The embattled government of Silvio Berlusconi has attempted to make political capital out of the Amanda Knox case. Ministers have said the fact that Knox was first convicted of murder and then had her conviction overturned shows that "in Italy judges never pay for their mistakes".
Silvio Berlusconi has claimed for years that he has been unfairly persecuted by politically-biased magistrates and judges.Angelino Alfano, the secretary of Mr Berlusconi's PDL party and a former justice minister, claimed that judges had made mistakes in relation to the prime minister's many corruption cases, just as they had in the case of Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.
"If the imprisonment of Amanda was unjust, who will pay for it?" he said. "Who will ever pay for her unjust imprisonment and that of Sollecito? In Italy no one pays for judicial errors."
Opposition parties accused the minister of wrongly exploiting the case for political purposes. Massimo Donadi, an opposition MP, joked that the prime minister might now try to have his three trials transferred from Milan to Perugia in the hope of acquittals.
Carlo Dalla Vedove, Knox's lawyer, told NBC's Today Show in America that his team was ready for a legal fight.
We are ready. The opposition to the Supreme Court can only be filed for violation of law, so there would be no review of the evidence. It will be only limited to a possible violation of the principle of law. If that happens, we will be ready to defend and support our clients’ rights. We are not worried.
Francesco Sollecito tells reporters about the first breakfast he has shared with his son in four years after Rafaelle was acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher along with his ex-girlfriend Amanda Knox.
Knox hugs an unknown man as she departs Italy, bound for Seatle, via London, after being cleared of the murder of Meredith Kercher.
15.48 It is now fully "airborne". You can follow Knox's plane, BA049, all the way during her journey to Seattle, thanks to planefinder.net
Amanda Knox's plane has left Heathrow bound for Seattle, The Daily Telegraph understands.
15.30 Stephanie Gosk, London correspondent for NBC News, has posted this on Twitter
@stephgosk #knox expected to land in Seattle's airport later today. The last time she was here, she was leaving for a school year abroad in Italy.
The Daily Telegraph understands that Knox was taken to the Windsor Suite at Heathrow, which is usually used for members of the Royal Family and is also hired out to celebrities such as Cheryl Cole. She is not far from taking off, bound for Seattle on a British Airways flight.
Amanda Knox was seen smiling and hugging an unnamed friend at Rome's Fiumicino airport as she prepared to board a flight bound for the United States via London.
Tom Chivers, the Telegraph's assistant comment editor, has filed this interesting blog, titled Amanda Knox acquitted: the Devil was in the details.
A flavour:
I don't know what the psychological explanation for this common human tendency to spot Satanic cults in every walk of life, but it's not new: one need only read Arthur Miller's The Crucible to realise that. It's not just Satanism – think of Joe McCarthy's Communist "witch-hunts" in 1950s America, which Miller was satirising – but it seems historically to have been Satan and witchcraft that excite the most attention.
Nick Squires, reporting from Perugia, says Amanda Knox was “serene” after being released from Capanne prison outside Perugia and driven to Rome’s Fiumicino airport for her flight to Seattle.
Corrado Maria Daclon, the secretary general of the Italy-USA Foundation, who accompanied her on the journey, said:
During the trip from Perugia to Rome, Amanda was serene, even with all the strong and contrasting emotions that she felt as she glimpsed freedom for the first time after four long years in which she was wrongly locked up in a cell,”
Amanda told me that she was really keen to publically thank the many Italians who supported her in these years of unjust incarceration and who believed in her and in her innocence.
She confirmed to me that in the future she’d like to return to Italy."
Matthwe Wright.
The Wright show, on Channel 5, has been forced to defend itself over claims it ran an inappropriate programme on Amanda Knox, titled "Foxy Knoxy: Would Ya."
According to its website, the programme explored what critics called the "most crass topic in history", on what effects the case had on the American, 24, who has flown back home to Seattle.
So Amanda Knox has been cleared of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. She’s entirely innocent. She’s also undeniably fit and loves wild sex. Or did. So if you were a guy who’d met her in a bar and she invited you back to hers, would you go? I’m being quite serious. Or would something in your brain make you think twice?
We’ll hear what you have to say about that before it’s over to Kelly for the rest of the day’s headlines."
The TV debate was held as Miss Kercher's distraught family held a press conference today and told the world they were "back to square one" after Knox was set free.
But after dozens of users on Twitter expressed outrage over the programme, broadcast this morning, officials were forced to issue a statement defending it.
Such was the flow of anger, that it has become a "trending" topic on the mirco-blogging website in Britain.
The Twitter user markaugustyn, captured this screengrab:
Andrew Livingston, a media rights expert, summed up the outrage, tweeting: "The Wright Stuff goes with possibly the most crass topic in history."
In a statement Matthew Wright, the programme's host, refused to apologise, claiming:
For the last four years, the world has been more than happy to refer to a woman, then presumed to be a killer, as 'Foxy Knoxy' something I find appalling. I thought it would be interesting to find out if mud sticks, or whether an innocent young woman could now go out and behave in a perfectly normal way. The real disgrace is the Foxy Knoxy epithet."
A Wright Stuff spokeswoman denied it was in poor taste, claiming instead that it was "handled extremely sensitively".
The discussion conducted between Matthew Wright and our panel of Kelly Hoppen, Christopher Biggins and Liz McClarnon was handled extremely sensitively and at no point did we lose sight of the fact that at the heart of the matter is the tragic death of a young girl - Meredith Kercher."
Francesco Sollecito tells reporters about the first breakfast he has shared with his son in four years
British Airways declined to say if it was making special arrangements for Knox, saying that the company did not "discuss the details of individual passengers".
The 24-year-old Knox arrived at the Rome airport in a Mercedes with darkened windows and waited for boarding inside a private waiting area Tuesday, out of public view and away from the media scrum.
NBC News reported that Knox's passenger on the flight said the American and her family members boarded right before it left the gate in Rome.
Amanda Knox has arrived In London, The Daily Telegraph understands.
Raffaele Sollecito, has arrived back home near the southern Italian city of Bari.
Arriving before dawn on Tuesday, he said he was looking forward to seeing the sea, but he declined to make any appearances after reaching home.
Sollecito's father Francesco said that his son remained stunned by the events.
He is trying to recover himself. He is going around touching things as if he is a child who needs to take back the things of his life, to acquire forgotten elements.
Just 24 hours earlier Amanda Knox was overcome with emotion just moments after her verdict
Amanda Knox smiles at the Leonardo Da Vinci airport in Fiumicino.
Amanda Knox doesn't feel any resentment, supporters say.
Corrado Maria Daclon from the Italy-USA Foundation which helped Knox during her detention and was at the airport seeing her off.
Miss Daclon told reporters:
She told me she does not feel any resentment.
Nick Squires reports that Knox issued an open letter to Italians through an Italian-American foundation, thanking “those who wrote, those who defended me, those who were close, those who prayed for me. I will be forever grateful to you. I love you, Amanda."
She said she had found comfort during her four-year incarceration from those who “shared my suffering and helped me survive with hope.”
Further to Nick's exclusive detail on prosecutors seeking an appeal (see 09.05), Reuters have now got confirmation of the case being far from over.
"The public prosecutor said on Tuesday he would appeal against the acquittal of American student Amanda Knox for murdering British housemate Meredith Kercher in the Italian town of Perugia.
According to Italian judicial process, the prosecution cannot file its appeal until the court publishes a formal explanation of its decision, expected in a few months. The prosecution will appeal to the Court of Cassation, Italy's highest appeals court."
Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini said:
We will appeal. The (higher) court will decide whether to confirm the first sentence or the second sentence."
He added to the Associated Press:
Let's wait and we will see who was right. The first court or the appeal court. This trial was done under unacceptable media pressure. The decision was almost already announced; this is not normal.
The case has transfixed audiences in three countries. Clockwise from top left: Amanda Knox leaves prison, her family after her acquittal, Meredith Kercher, the Kercher family address reporters after the verdict was returned
Timony Egan, writes in the New York Times about the lessons that can be learned from the Amanda Knox case.
There is much to be learned from this case: about the strengths and fallibilities of two ancient legal systems, about human prejudice, about honor and retribution. And yes — about justice.
Matthew Chance, a CNN correspondent, posted on Twitter that media interest had been massive.
Old British newspaper snapper told me he never seen so many media on story, including on death of pope, release of Mandela.... #AmandaKnox
The New Scientist has put together this interesting story on how "DNA doubts" helped clear Amanda Knox of murder. Here is a flavour:
Questions about the reliability of DNA evidence implicating Knox and Raffaele were raised even before their 2009 convictions.One half of the DNA evidence came from a knife found in a kitchen drawer at Sollecito's apartment: the lab that tested the knife said that DNA on the handle matched that of Knox, whereas DNA on the blade matched that of Kercher. The lab also found Sollecito's DNA on a clasp that was severed from the bra Kercher was wearing. In 2009, US forensic experts wrote an open letter voicing concerns about the DNA evidence. They pointed out that a chemical test for blood on the knife came back negative and that the little DNA recovered was only enough for a partial DNA profile. In June 2011, court-appointed forensic experts Stefano Conti and Carla Vecchiotti from Rome's Sapienza University reviewed the DNA evidence and similarly concluded that very little DNA was obtained from the knife and that the lab did not follow the proper technical procedures for testing small amounts of DNA, a procedure known as "low copy number DNA analysis".
The Knox family were on their way home to Seattle via London on Tuesday (Picture: PLANEFINDER.NET)
For those who are wanting to follow Amanda Knox's BA flight 553 flight from Rome, via London, to Seattle, can follow planefinder.net in real time. She has left out route to London.
The Knox were pictured on camera arriving at Rome Airport for their trip home to Seattle.
Nick Allen, reporting from Seattle, has more reaction from America.
Donald Trump, the property and media tycoon who has long championed Miss Knox's innocence, said she could "become a big star" if she chose to on her return. Mr Trump had previously called for a US boycott of Italy until Miss Knox was freed.
He said:
For her to have spent four years in a terrible jail is just outrageous. I don’t think they (the Knox family) can leave quick enough. She went to Italy to learn the language. Well, she learned the language.”
Kercher family: acquittal brings us 'back to square one'
Meredith Kercher's father says Amanda Knox acquittal is 'ludicrous', reports John Bingham.
Meredith Kercher’s father has described the ruling overturning Amanda Knox’s conviction for her murder as “ludicrous”. John Kercher said that the verdict by the appeal court in Perugia was “crazy” and made a “mockery” of the original trial
Amanda Knox has thanked supporters in a letter released by the Italian-American foundation, that was published by Ansa, the Italian news agency.
I will always be grateful for their courageous commitment ... to those who wrote to me, to those who defended me. I am forever grateful to whoever wrote to me, defended me, was close to me, prayed for me.
Amanda Knox's father Curt Knox (left) and other members of the family walk towards a special gate after checking in at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport (Picture: AP)
Prime Minister David Cameron urged people not to forget Meredith Kercher's parents.
He told ITV's Daybreak programme:
Those parents ... had an explanation for what had happened to their wonderful daughter, and that explanation isn't there ... I think everyone today should be thinking about them and how they feel.
He later told Sky News:
I feel for Meredith Kercher's family because they have previously had an explanation about what happened to their daughter and that explanation isn't there any more and I think all of us shoud be thnking of them.
Obviously there is someone in prison for the murder still but you can't help but think of the difficult time they will be going through.
Edda Mellas, the mother of Amanda Knox, waits to board a plane at Rome's Fiumicino airport
Nick Squires reports from the Kercher press conference in Perugia.
The Kercher family say they feel as though they are “back to square one” after Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were cleared of killing Meredith Kercher.
In an emotional press conference in Perugia, the family said they had already lived through four torturous years since Miss Kercher was murdered in Nov 2007 and now face months, if not years, more of uncertainty.
Prosecutors say they will refer the case to Italy’s highest criminal court in a bid to have the acquittals overturned.
But that could take more than a year and a member of the prosecution team said on Tuesday there was no extradition treaty between the US and Italy, meaning Knox could not be brought back to the country.
Lyle Kercher, Meredith’s brother, said the family had been left wondering how a decision that was “so emphatic” two years ago, when Knox and Sollecito were found guilty of sexual assault and murder, had been overturned.
“If those two are not the guilty parties, then who are the guilty people?” he said in front of a room packed with journalists from Italy, the US and Britain.
“For us it feels like back to square one and the search goes on for what really happened.
“Ultimately, while we accept the decision that was handed down and respect the court and the justice system, we do now find that we are left looking at this all over again.”
Meredith Kercher’s mother, Arline, said: “What happened to my daughter Meredith is every parent’s nightmare."
Her daughter, Stephanie Kercher, was asked if the family could begin to forgive Meredith’s killers. “It’s still very difficult to speak in terms of forgiveness until we have the truth. The decision was made and we need to respect it for now. Until the truth comes out, we can’t forgive anyone because no one has even admitted to it. it may be a case of waiting another year to get the truth. We have to leave it up to the police and the courts.”
The family will return from Perugia to the UK today.
Knox supporters, (L to R) Kellanne Henry, Margaret Ralph and Joe Starr, celebrate in a Seattle hotel room after the judge's announcement
Meanwhile, in Seattle friends were preparing for Miss Knox's homecoming, Nick Allen reports.
Rumours swirled over what she would do when she gets back. Those in touch with the Knox family say she wants to resume a normal life, picking up where she left off four years ago, but there are questions over whether that will be possible given media attention. Friends said Miss Knox will undergo a period of "readjustment" during which time her whereabouts will not be public. Although she is well aware of the global media circus surrounding her case those close to her fear it will still come as shock.
One said:
Her family have had time to get used to it but Amanda has been in prison and it's going to take time for her to adjust to it.
Our correspondent Philip Willan in Rome reports that Amanda Knox and her family are leaving Italy.
The Knox family will leave Rome Leonardo da Vinci airport on BA flight 553 for London Heathrow departing at 11.45 a.m.
Knox's father Kurt and mother Edda Mellas declined to talk to reporters as they were escorted through the check-in process and security by plainclothes Italian police officers. They were accompanied by their spouses and children, but Amanda herself was spared the public check-in process and was due to meet up with her family on the flight.
The family had indicated they wished to return to Seattle as soon as possible after their daughter’s four-year ordeal in an Italian prison.
The press conference has finished. No once did the family refer to Knox or Sollecito by name.
Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito outside the rented house where Meredith Kercher was found dead, in Perugia in 2007
09.34 Merdith's mother said the killing was "every mother's worst nightmare". Her brother said the case had been "incredibly difficult" to deal with. He said people getting let off on a "technicality" can happen anywhere.
Lyle said:
It is very disappointing. Somebody so young, killed in such brutal circumstance, makes it incredibly difficult and being prolonged for four years makes it very difficult and try and get back to a normal life really.
We are grateful for the support not just from Italians but from all over the world. Also Americans. Some people in the press, anonymous blogs and forums tried and create US/British/ Italian divide and that is nonsense as we have had so much support. We thank Italian people for their support while we have been here.
But If people are let off on a technicality that can happen in any system. I don’t think that is any criticism of the Italian system.
Arline added:
No one will get off Scott free. Their lives have been disrupted as well. What happened to my daughter is every parents nightmare. She was in the safest place, her bedroom and a student who was studying at the Italian university. Nobody is untouched by this. Obviously it was a shock to anybody. They had all been affected by this, so you do have sympathy for them,.
Amanda Knox, Meredith Kercher and Raffaele Sollecito: (Picture: REUTERS/ PA/ AP)
Stephanie finished:
It was a bit of shock. We had prepared for all the outcomes possible. You don’t know how you will react or fell once that news. It is very upsetting either way. Last year we were pleased but not celebrating. This time it is the same. We don’t have any answers.
Lyle says the family cannot forgive for a crime that remains unsolved. He said that if an appeal goes ahead it would be it would be difficult to have “started other dialogues”.
The Kercher family did not refer to Knox by her name at their press conference. (Picture: AP)
He said:
You can’t really forgive something if they haven’t admitted anything. What would be forgiving? At the moment we need to have a mutual respect for each other and have a distance between us and try and bring some normality back in our lives.
Stephanie added
We don’t want the wrong want people put away for crimes they didn’t commit. But we now have to wait… to get the truth. We can’t decide that, we have to leave that up to the forensics and the courts. We have to wait now really
09.27 Stephanie says the family respected the decision but it has been difficult.
We don’t want the wrong want people put away for crimes they didn’t commit. But we now have to wait… to get the truth. We can’t decide that, we have to leave that up to the forensics and the courts. We have to wait now really.
(From L) Meredith Kercher's mother Arline, brother Lyle and sister Stephanie hold a press conference in Perugia
09.24 Stephanie Kercher says the family have found it difficult to find forgiveness.
I don’t know how it (the DNA) was collected, we don’t know if it was definitely collected wrongly or not. However this appeal was overturned based on that. We have to wait for the report that we had in the initial case. Once we have got the reasons why the decision this time, we can understand why it happened. That is the biggest disappointment not knowing still and knowing that there is someone, or people out there that have done this. I think it is still very difficult to speak in terms of forgiveness until we have the truth. That is what we have to accept now. Until the truth comes out we can’t forgive anyone because no one has even admitted it. It until that happens we (can’t forgive). Until we have the full truth it would be very difficult to have those convversations when we don't have any other answers.
He said that if an appeal goes ahead it would be it would be difficult to have “started other dialogues”. Lyle adds
You can’t really forgive something if they haven’t admitted anything. What would be forgiving? At the moment we need to have a mutual respect for each other and have a distance between us and try and bring some normality back in our lives.
Meredith's mother Arline says there are similarities with the OJ Simpson case in America.
It is very difficult as don't know details of that case. But you do see a parralel as to what happened. We are still absorbing it. I think it is early days really.
Lyle Kercher says the family respect the court's decision but they are back at "square one".
I really just wanted to say it was a long and difficult day yesterday. While we accept the decision, and respect the court and Italian justice , we do find now, looking at this agin and how a decision that was so certain two years ago, has been so empathically turned over now. We are left wondering. We are back to square one.
The Kercher press conference has started. They look devastated. They will return to Britain today.
The packed courtroom in Perugia's Court of Appeal listens to the verdicts being read
From Nick Squires again:
I'm in a Perugia hotel, the Sangallo Palace, awaiting the start of a press conference with the Kerchers - Meredith's mother, Arline, her brother Lyle, and her sister Stephanie. They are expected to express their profound disappointment with the acquittals.
Nick Squires, has just filed this exclusive detail from Perugia,
Italian prosecutors are expected to announce today that they will appeal against Amanda Knox's acquittal in the country's highest criminal court. The chief prosecutor in the case, Giuliano Mignini, wants to try to reverse the decision to release Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, her ex-boyfriend, from prison.
A source close to the case told The Daily Telegraph in Perugia that he and his colleagues want to take the case to the Cassation Court in Rome, which could overturn the acquittal and reinstate the charges against the pair. It could take a year for the court to make a decision. With Knox long gone from Italy, it is not clear what would happen if the court overturned the acquittal. Prosecutors might try to extradite her from the US back to Italy.
Knox and her family were reported to have taken an early morning flight from Rome to Seattle, with a stopover in London. They will arrive home later on Tuesday.
Reports in Italy saying that Knox family have been seen checking in at Rome's International Airport. There had been speculation the family would hire a private charter flight to Seattle.
Amanda Knox's face was splashed across many front page newspapers all over the world on Tuesday.
Here is a round-up of the Telegraph's coverage from this morning paper.
Amanda Knox cleared of Meredith Kercher murder: she-devil, dominatrix, Venus in furs? Gordon Rayner, chief reporter, reports.
She-devil. Witch. Dominatrix. Venus in furs. Rarely can a defendant have been subjected to such an unbridled courtroom character assassination as Amanda Knox. She was painted as a siren who could apparently entice a virtual stranger to commit murder with her hypnotic sexual charms. Over the past four years, the Italian legal system has served up a steady diet of salacious, sensational claims about the American's "demonic" sex life that allegedly held the key to the brutal murder of her flatmate, Meredith Kercher. It has made Knox, 24, the most infamous woman on the continent and the subject of books, a feature film, television debates and newspaper articles the world over.
Meredith Kercher.
Meredith Kercher: 'Forgotten' victim as world focuses on Amanda Knox
Meredith Kercher has become the "forgotten" victim of a murder, her family said yesterday, as international attention focused on the fate of Amanda Knox. As the appeal court jury was deliberating its verdicts, the Kercher family arranged a press conference in Perugia in an attempt to redress the balance between the intense interest in Miss Knox and their own daughter's dwindling media profile.
Amanda Knox freed: joy in Seattle as she's set to come home, reports Nick Allen in America
Amanda Knox's acquittal was greeted with jubilation by her supporters in America. Before the verdict was in, news presenters had been reporting that she was "railroaded" by Italian prosecutors and was the victim of a "witch hunt". As Knox was freed last night, American television networks were engaged in a bidding war, vying for her first interview. One network was said to be on standby in Italy to fly her home for a heroine's welcome. In Seattle, there were whoops of delight and friends of Miss Knox embraced each other and cheered as the realisation that she was free dawned on them. Tom Wright, a campaigner, said: "To Amanda we say 'way to go kid.' We look forward to welcoming you home with open arms and open hearts.
Meredith Kercher's sister Stephanie after hearing the verdict
Nick Squires, in Perugia, filed this main front-page piece for the paper last night: Amanda Knox freed: tears of joy as four-year nightmare is over
Amanda Knox is preparing to fly back to the United States after being cleared of murdering British student Meredith Kercher and released from prison in Italy. The 24-year old collapsed sobbing in court last night as she was cleared of murdering the British student Meredith Kercher. A jury decided that Knox, who has spent almost four years in jail, was the victim of a miscarriage of justice following a chaotic Italian police investigation. Her acquittal sparked jubilant scenes among her family in the courtroom in Perugia, who said her “nightmare” was finally over. But the verdict was greeted with anger by crowds in the street who branded her a “murderer” and denounced the decision as an “embarrassment”. It was also a bitter blow to the family of 21-year-old Miss Kercher, who just hours earlier had urged the jury to ignore the “hype” surrounding Knox and uphold her conviction for the 2007 murder.
The Kercher family are due to address the media in about twenty minutes. They were shocked at the result last night.
Here is the last picture taken of Knox last night as she sped away from the prison in Perugia she spend three years of her life. She is expected to fly home to Seattle later on Tuesday.
Earlier Amanda Knox's mother Edda Mellas reacted after hearing her daughter's verdict:
While, Knox burst into tears on hearing the 'not guilty' verdict:
You can read all the latest stories on the case that has transfixed three countries from our correspondents all over the world.
You can also follow our team covering the case on Twitter:
Nick Squires, who is in Perugia.
Nick Allen, with "Friends of Amanda" support group in Seattle.
BST/ 09.30 Perugia/ 00.30 Seattle Good morning and welcome to the Telegraph's coverage of all of the drama surrounding the dramatic aquittal of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito after their appeal hearing last night. Both were cleared of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
However, the judge upheld Knox's conviction for slandering Patrick Lumumba, whom she had intially accused of the murder, and increased her sentence from one to three years. But since she has already spent four years in jail, Knox today walked free.
PR experts have said Knox can look forward to making as much as £10million from her story, with potential for a string of lucrative TV and newspaper interviews followed by a movie and book deals, according to the Guardian.
However, public relations guru Max Clifford said Knox will find herself at the centre of another disaster if she doesn't address the "half the world that still thinks she's guilty":
The past four years have been very damaging for her. She has a long way to go to win over the hearts and minds of the public. There were more boos outside that courtroom than there were cheers.
If I were advising her, and I would only advise her if I thought she was innocent, the first thing I would do to convince the world of my innocence was meet the Kercher family. Then you have the foundations in place in terms of TV, movie and books.
Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini has said he will appeal yesterday's acquittal.
The prosecution will have to appeal to the Court of Cassation, Italy's highest appeals court. According to the Italian judicial process, the prosecution cannot file its appeal until the court publishes a formal explanation of its decision which is expected in a few months.
A British Airways attendant on the flight from London to Seattle blocked members of the media from the plane's secluded upper deck "to preserve the privacy" of passengers. The attendant, quoting a Knox family member, said journalists should not allowed to contact Knox or her family on the flight but were welcome to attend a press conference later in Seattle, according to AP.
About 50 per cent of all criminal convictions in Italy are reversed or greatly modified on appeal, according to US writer Douglas Preston in the Guardian. Knox and Sollecito join the 4 million Italians since the war who have seen their lives ruined by false criminal charges, only to be proclaimed innocent after many years of agony and imprisonment.
If you are arrested for a crime and have no alibi, you are in very serious trouble. The de facto burden of proof is on you to prove your innocence, despite lip service in the Italian constitution to the idea of innocent until proven guilty. The Italian justice system often seems more concerned with preserving the honour and reputations of powerful individuals than with finding the truth.
The embattled government of Silvio Berlusconi has attempted to make political capital out of the Amanda Knox case. Ministers have said the fact that Knox was first convicted of murder and then had her conviction overturned shows that "in Italy judges never pay for their mistakes".
Silvio Berlusconi has claimed for years that he has been unfairly persecuted by politically-biased magistrates and judges.Angelino Alfano, the secretary of Mr Berlusconi's PDL party and a former justice minister, claimed that judges had made mistakes in relation to the prime minister's many corruption cases, just as they had in the case of Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito.
"If the imprisonment of Amanda was unjust, who will pay for it?" he said. "Who will ever pay for her unjust imprisonment and that of Sollecito? In Italy no one pays for judicial errors."
Opposition parties accused the minister of wrongly exploiting the case for political purposes. Massimo Donadi, an opposition MP, joked that the prime minister might now try to have his three trials transferred from Milan to Perugia in the hope of acquittals.
Carlo Dalla Vedove, Knox's lawyer, told NBC's Today Show in America that his team was ready for a legal fight.
We are ready. The opposition to the Supreme Court can only be filed for violation of law, so there would be no review of the evidence. It will be only limited to a possible violation of the principle of law. If that happens, we will be ready to defend and support our clients’ rights. We are not worried.
Francesco Sollecito tells reporters about the first breakfast he has shared with his son in four years after Rafaelle was acquitted of the murder of Meredith Kercher along with his ex-girlfriend Amanda Knox.
Knox hugs an unknown man as she departs Italy, bound for Seatle, via London, after being cleared of the murder of Meredith Kercher.
15.48 It is now fully "airborne". You can follow Knox's plane, BA049, all the way during her journey to Seattle, thanks to planefinder.net
Amanda Knox's plane has left Heathrow bound for Seattle, The Daily Telegraph understands.
15.30 Stephanie Gosk, London correspondent for NBC News, has posted this on Twitter
@stephgosk #knox expected to land in Seattle's airport later today. The last time she was here, she was leaving for a school year abroad in Italy.
The Daily Telegraph understands that Knox was taken to the Windsor Suite at Heathrow, which is usually used for members of the Royal Family and is also hired out to celebrities such as Cheryl Cole. She is not far from taking off, bound for Seattle on a British Airways flight.
Amanda Knox was seen smiling and hugging an unnamed friend at Rome's Fiumicino airport as she prepared to board a flight bound for the United States via London.
Tom Chivers, the Telegraph's assistant comment editor, has filed this interesting blog, titled Amanda Knox acquitted: the Devil was in the details.
A flavour:
I don't know what the psychological explanation for this common human tendency to spot Satanic cults in every walk of life, but it's not new: one need only read Arthur Miller's The Crucible to realise that. It's not just Satanism – think of Joe McCarthy's Communist "witch-hunts" in 1950s America, which Miller was satirising – but it seems historically to have been Satan and witchcraft that excite the most attention.
Nick Squires, reporting from Perugia, says Amanda Knox was “serene” after being released from Capanne prison outside Perugia and driven to Rome’s Fiumicino airport for her flight to Seattle.
Corrado Maria Daclon, the secretary general of the Italy-USA Foundation, who accompanied her on the journey, said:
During the trip from Perugia to Rome, Amanda was serene, even with all the strong and contrasting emotions that she felt as she glimpsed freedom for the first time after four long years in which she was wrongly locked up in a cell,”
Amanda told me that she was really keen to publically thank the many Italians who supported her in these years of unjust incarceration and who believed in her and in her innocence.
She confirmed to me that in the future she’d like to return to Italy."
Matthwe Wright.
The Wright show, on Channel 5, has been forced to defend itself over claims it ran an inappropriate programme on Amanda Knox, titled "Foxy Knoxy: Would Ya."
According to its website, the programme explored what critics called the "most crass topic in history", on what effects the case had on the American, 24, who has flown back home to Seattle.
So Amanda Knox has been cleared of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. She’s entirely innocent. She’s also undeniably fit and loves wild sex. Or did. So if you were a guy who’d met her in a bar and she invited you back to hers, would you go? I’m being quite serious. Or would something in your brain make you think twice?
We’ll hear what you have to say about that before it’s over to Kelly for the rest of the day’s headlines."
The TV debate was held as Miss Kercher's distraught family held a press conference today and told the world they were "back to square one" after Knox was set free.
But after dozens of users on Twitter expressed outrage over the programme, broadcast this morning, officials were forced to issue a statement defending it.
Such was the flow of anger, that it has become a "trending" topic on the mirco-blogging website in Britain.
The Twitter user markaugustyn, captured this screengrab:
Andrew Livingston, a media rights expert, summed up the outrage, tweeting: "The Wright Stuff goes with possibly the most crass topic in history."
In a statement Matthew Wright, the programme's host, refused to apologise, claiming:
For the last four years, the world has been more than happy to refer to a woman, then presumed to be a killer, as 'Foxy Knoxy' something I find appalling. I thought it would be interesting to find out if mud sticks, or whether an innocent young woman could now go out and behave in a perfectly normal way. The real disgrace is the Foxy Knoxy epithet."
A Wright Stuff spokeswoman denied it was in poor taste, claiming instead that it was "handled extremely sensitively".
The discussion conducted between Matthew Wright and our panel of Kelly Hoppen, Christopher Biggins and Liz McClarnon was handled extremely sensitively and at no point did we lose sight of the fact that at the heart of the matter is the tragic death of a young girl - Meredith Kercher."
Francesco Sollecito tells reporters about the first breakfast he has shared with his son in four years
British Airways declined to say if it was making special arrangements for Knox, saying that the company did not "discuss the details of individual passengers".
The 24-year-old Knox arrived at the Rome airport in a Mercedes with darkened windows and waited for boarding inside a private waiting area Tuesday, out of public view and away from the media scrum.
NBC News reported that Knox's passenger on the flight said the American and her family members boarded right before it left the gate in Rome.
Amanda Knox has arrived In London, The Daily Telegraph understands.
Raffaele Sollecito, has arrived back home near the southern Italian city of Bari.
Arriving before dawn on Tuesday, he said he was looking forward to seeing the sea, but he declined to make any appearances after reaching home.
Sollecito's father Francesco said that his son remained stunned by the events.
He is trying to recover himself. He is going around touching things as if he is a child who needs to take back the things of his life, to acquire forgotten elements.
Just 24 hours earlier Amanda Knox was overcome with emotion just moments after her verdict
Amanda Knox smiles at the Leonardo Da Vinci airport in Fiumicino.
Amanda Knox doesn't feel any resentment, supporters say.
Corrado Maria Daclon from the Italy-USA Foundation which helped Knox during her detention and was at the airport seeing her off.
Miss Daclon told reporters:
She told me she does not feel any resentment.
Nick Squires reports that Knox issued an open letter to Italians through an Italian-American foundation, thanking “those who wrote, those who defended me, those who were close, those who prayed for me. I will be forever grateful to you. I love you, Amanda."
She said she had found comfort during her four-year incarceration from those who “shared my suffering and helped me survive with hope.”
Further to Nick's exclusive detail on prosecutors seeking an appeal (see 09.05), Reuters have now got confirmation of the case being far from over.
"The public prosecutor said on Tuesday he would appeal against the acquittal of American student Amanda Knox for murdering British housemate Meredith Kercher in the Italian town of Perugia.
According to Italian judicial process, the prosecution cannot file its appeal until the court publishes a formal explanation of its decision, expected in a few months. The prosecution will appeal to the Court of Cassation, Italy's highest appeals court."
Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini said:
We will appeal. The (higher) court will decide whether to confirm the first sentence or the second sentence."
He added to the Associated Press:
Let's wait and we will see who was right. The first court or the appeal court. This trial was done under unacceptable media pressure. The decision was almost already announced; this is not normal.
The case has transfixed audiences in three countries. Clockwise from top left: Amanda Knox leaves prison, her family after her acquittal, Meredith Kercher, the Kercher family address reporters after the verdict was returned
Timony Egan, writes in the New York Times about the lessons that can be learned from the Amanda Knox case.
There is much to be learned from this case: about the strengths and fallibilities of two ancient legal systems, about human prejudice, about honor and retribution. And yes — about justice.
Matthew Chance, a CNN correspondent, posted on Twitter that media interest had been massive.
Old British newspaper snapper told me he never seen so many media on story, including on death of pope, release of Mandela.... #AmandaKnox
The New Scientist has put together this interesting story on how "DNA doubts" helped clear Amanda Knox of murder. Here is a flavour:
Questions about the reliability of DNA evidence implicating Knox and Raffaele were raised even before their 2009 convictions.One half of the DNA evidence came from a knife found in a kitchen drawer at Sollecito's apartment: the lab that tested the knife said that DNA on the handle matched that of Knox, whereas DNA on the blade matched that of Kercher. The lab also found Sollecito's DNA on a clasp that was severed from the bra Kercher was wearing. In 2009, US forensic experts wrote an open letter voicing concerns about the DNA evidence. They pointed out that a chemical test for blood on the knife came back negative and that the little DNA recovered was only enough for a partial DNA profile. In June 2011, court-appointed forensic experts Stefano Conti and Carla Vecchiotti from Rome's Sapienza University reviewed the DNA evidence and similarly concluded that very little DNA was obtained from the knife and that the lab did not follow the proper technical procedures for testing small amounts of DNA, a procedure known as "low copy number DNA analysis".
The Knox family were on their way home to Seattle via London on Tuesday (Picture: PLANEFINDER.NET)
For those who are wanting to follow Amanda Knox's BA flight 553 flight from Rome, via London, to Seattle, can follow planefinder.net in real time. She has left out route to London.
The Knox were pictured on camera arriving at Rome Airport for their trip home to Seattle.
Nick Allen, reporting from Seattle, has more reaction from America.
Donald Trump, the property and media tycoon who has long championed Miss Knox's innocence, said she could "become a big star" if she chose to on her return. Mr Trump had previously called for a US boycott of Italy until Miss Knox was freed.
He said:
For her to have spent four years in a terrible jail is just outrageous. I don’t think they (the Knox family) can leave quick enough. She went to Italy to learn the language. Well, she learned the language.”
Kercher family: acquittal brings us 'back to square one'
Meredith Kercher's father says Amanda Knox acquittal is 'ludicrous', reports John Bingham.
Meredith Kercher’s father has described the ruling overturning Amanda Knox’s conviction for her murder as “ludicrous”. John Kercher said that the verdict by the appeal court in Perugia was “crazy” and made a “mockery” of the original trial
Amanda Knox has thanked supporters in a letter released by the Italian-American foundation, that was published by Ansa, the Italian news agency.
I will always be grateful for their courageous commitment ... to those who wrote to me, to those who defended me. I am forever grateful to whoever wrote to me, defended me, was close to me, prayed for me.
Amanda Knox's father Curt Knox (left) and other members of the family walk towards a special gate after checking in at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport (Picture: AP)
Prime Minister David Cameron urged people not to forget Meredith Kercher's parents.
He told ITV's Daybreak programme:
Those parents ... had an explanation for what had happened to their wonderful daughter, and that explanation isn't there ... I think everyone today should be thinking about them and how they feel.
He later told Sky News:
I feel for Meredith Kercher's family because they have previously had an explanation about what happened to their daughter and that explanation isn't there any more and I think all of us shoud be thnking of them.
Obviously there is someone in prison for the murder still but you can't help but think of the difficult time they will be going through.
Edda Mellas, the mother of Amanda Knox, waits to board a plane at Rome's Fiumicino airport
Nick Squires reports from the Kercher press conference in Perugia.
The Kercher family say they feel as though they are “back to square one” after Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were cleared of killing Meredith Kercher.
In an emotional press conference in Perugia, the family said they had already lived through four torturous years since Miss Kercher was murdered in Nov 2007 and now face months, if not years, more of uncertainty.
Prosecutors say they will refer the case to Italy’s highest criminal court in a bid to have the acquittals overturned.
But that could take more than a year and a member of the prosecution team said on Tuesday there was no extradition treaty between the US and Italy, meaning Knox could not be brought back to the country.
Lyle Kercher, Meredith’s brother, said the family had been left wondering how a decision that was “so emphatic” two years ago, when Knox and Sollecito were found guilty of sexual assault and murder, had been overturned.
“If those two are not the guilty parties, then who are the guilty people?” he said in front of a room packed with journalists from Italy, the US and Britain.
“For us it feels like back to square one and the search goes on for what really happened.
“Ultimately, while we accept the decision that was handed down and respect the court and the justice system, we do now find that we are left looking at this all over again.”
Meredith Kercher’s mother, Arline, said: “What happened to my daughter Meredith is every parent’s nightmare."
Her daughter, Stephanie Kercher, was asked if the family could begin to forgive Meredith’s killers. “It’s still very difficult to speak in terms of forgiveness until we have the truth. The decision was made and we need to respect it for now. Until the truth comes out, we can’t forgive anyone because no one has even admitted to it. it may be a case of waiting another year to get the truth. We have to leave it up to the police and the courts.”
The family will return from Perugia to the UK today.
Knox supporters, (L to R) Kellanne Henry, Margaret Ralph and Joe Starr, celebrate in a Seattle hotel room after the judge's announcement
Meanwhile, in Seattle friends were preparing for Miss Knox's homecoming, Nick Allen reports.
Rumours swirled over what she would do when she gets back. Those in touch with the Knox family say she wants to resume a normal life, picking up where she left off four years ago, but there are questions over whether that will be possible given media attention. Friends said Miss Knox will undergo a period of "readjustment" during which time her whereabouts will not be public. Although she is well aware of the global media circus surrounding her case those close to her fear it will still come as shock.
One said:
Her family have had time to get used to it but Amanda has been in prison and it's going to take time for her to adjust to it.
Our correspondent Philip Willan in Rome reports that Amanda Knox and her family are leaving Italy.
The Knox family will leave Rome Leonardo da Vinci airport on BA flight 553 for London Heathrow departing at 11.45 a.m.
Knox's father Kurt and mother Edda Mellas declined to talk to reporters as they were escorted through the check-in process and security by plainclothes Italian police officers. They were accompanied by their spouses and children, but Amanda herself was spared the public check-in process and was due to meet up with her family on the flight.
The family had indicated they wished to return to Seattle as soon as possible after their daughter’s four-year ordeal in an Italian prison.
The press conference has finished. No once did the family refer to Knox or Sollecito by name.
Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito outside the rented house where Meredith Kercher was found dead, in Perugia in 2007
09.34 Merdith's mother said the killing was "every mother's worst nightmare". Her brother said the case had been "incredibly difficult" to deal with. He said people getting let off on a "technicality" can happen anywhere.
Lyle said:
It is very disappointing. Somebody so young, killed in such brutal circumstance, makes it incredibly difficult and being prolonged for four years makes it very difficult and try and get back to a normal life really.
We are grateful for the support not just from Italians but from all over the world. Also Americans. Some people in the press, anonymous blogs and forums tried and create US/British/ Italian divide and that is nonsense as we have had so much support. We thank Italian people for their support while we have been here.
But If people are let off on a technicality that can happen in any system. I don’t think that is any criticism of the Italian system.
Arline added:
No one will get off Scott free. Their lives have been disrupted as well. What happened to my daughter is every parents nightmare. She was in the safest place, her bedroom and a student who was studying at the Italian university. Nobody is untouched by this. Obviously it was a shock to anybody. They had all been affected by this, so you do have sympathy for them,.
Amanda Knox, Meredith Kercher and Raffaele Sollecito: (Picture: REUTERS/ PA/ AP)
Stephanie finished:
It was a bit of shock. We had prepared for all the outcomes possible. You don’t know how you will react or fell once that news. It is very upsetting either way. Last year we were pleased but not celebrating. This time it is the same. We don’t have any answers.
Lyle says the family cannot forgive for a crime that remains unsolved. He said that if an appeal goes ahead it would be it would be difficult to have “started other dialogues”.
The Kercher family did not refer to Knox by her name at their press conference. (Picture: AP)
He said:
You can’t really forgive something if they haven’t admitted anything. What would be forgiving? At the moment we need to have a mutual respect for each other and have a distance between us and try and bring some normality back in our lives.
Stephanie added
We don’t want the wrong want people put away for crimes they didn’t commit. But we now have to wait… to get the truth. We can’t decide that, we have to leave that up to the forensics and the courts. We have to wait now really
09.27 Stephanie says the family respected the decision but it has been difficult.
We don’t want the wrong want people put away for crimes they didn’t commit. But we now have to wait… to get the truth. We can’t decide that, we have to leave that up to the forensics and the courts. We have to wait now really.
(From L) Meredith Kercher's mother Arline, brother Lyle and sister Stephanie hold a press conference in Perugia
09.24 Stephanie Kercher says the family have found it difficult to find forgiveness.
I don’t know how it (the DNA) was collected, we don’t know if it was definitely collected wrongly or not. However this appeal was overturned based on that. We have to wait for the report that we had in the initial case. Once we have got the reasons why the decision this time, we can understand why it happened. That is the biggest disappointment not knowing still and knowing that there is someone, or people out there that have done this. I think it is still very difficult to speak in terms of forgiveness until we have the truth. That is what we have to accept now. Until the truth comes out we can’t forgive anyone because no one has even admitted it. It until that happens we (can’t forgive). Until we have the full truth it would be very difficult to have those convversations when we don't have any other answers.
He said that if an appeal goes ahead it would be it would be difficult to have “started other dialogues”. Lyle adds
You can’t really forgive something if they haven’t admitted anything. What would be forgiving? At the moment we need to have a mutual respect for each other and have a distance between us and try and bring some normality back in our lives.
Meredith's mother Arline says there are similarities with the OJ Simpson case in America.
It is very difficult as don't know details of that case. But you do see a parralel as to what happened. We are still absorbing it. I think it is early days really.
Lyle Kercher says the family respect the court's decision but they are back at "square one".
I really just wanted to say it was a long and difficult day yesterday. While we accept the decision, and respect the court and Italian justice , we do find now, looking at this agin and how a decision that was so certain two years ago, has been so empathically turned over now. We are left wondering. We are back to square one.
The Kercher press conference has started. They look devastated. They will return to Britain today.
The packed courtroom in Perugia's Court of Appeal listens to the verdicts being read
From Nick Squires again:
I'm in a Perugia hotel, the Sangallo Palace, awaiting the start of a press conference with the Kerchers - Meredith's mother, Arline, her brother Lyle, and her sister Stephanie. They are expected to express their profound disappointment with the acquittals.
Nick Squires, has just filed this exclusive detail from Perugia,
Italian prosecutors are expected to announce today that they will appeal against Amanda Knox's acquittal in the country's highest criminal court. The chief prosecutor in the case, Giuliano Mignini, wants to try to reverse the decision to release Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, her ex-boyfriend, from prison.
A source close to the case told The Daily Telegraph in Perugia that he and his colleagues want to take the case to the Cassation Court in Rome, which could overturn the acquittal and reinstate the charges against the pair. It could take a year for the court to make a decision. With Knox long gone from Italy, it is not clear what would happen if the court overturned the acquittal. Prosecutors might try to extradite her from the US back to Italy.
Knox and her family were reported to have taken an early morning flight from Rome to Seattle, with a stopover in London. They will arrive home later on Tuesday.
Reports in Italy saying that Knox family have been seen checking in at Rome's International Airport. There had been speculation the family would hire a private charter flight to Seattle.
Amanda Knox's face was splashed across many front page newspapers all over the world on Tuesday.
Here is a round-up of the Telegraph's coverage from this morning paper.
Amanda Knox cleared of Meredith Kercher murder: she-devil, dominatrix, Venus in furs? Gordon Rayner, chief reporter, reports.
She-devil. Witch. Dominatrix. Venus in furs. Rarely can a defendant have been subjected to such an unbridled courtroom character assassination as Amanda Knox. She was painted as a siren who could apparently entice a virtual stranger to commit murder with her hypnotic sexual charms. Over the past four years, the Italian legal system has served up a steady diet of salacious, sensational claims about the American's "demonic" sex life that allegedly held the key to the brutal murder of her flatmate, Meredith Kercher. It has made Knox, 24, the most infamous woman on the continent and the subject of books, a feature film, television debates and newspaper articles the world over.
Meredith Kercher.
Meredith Kercher: 'Forgotten' victim as world focuses on Amanda Knox
Meredith Kercher has become the "forgotten" victim of a murder, her family said yesterday, as international attention focused on the fate of Amanda Knox. As the appeal court jury was deliberating its verdicts, the Kercher family arranged a press conference in Perugia in an attempt to redress the balance between the intense interest in Miss Knox and their own daughter's dwindling media profile.
Amanda Knox freed: joy in Seattle as she's set to come home, reports Nick Allen in America
Amanda Knox's acquittal was greeted with jubilation by her supporters in America. Before the verdict was in, news presenters had been reporting that she was "railroaded" by Italian prosecutors and was the victim of a "witch hunt". As Knox was freed last night, American television networks were engaged in a bidding war, vying for her first interview. One network was said to be on standby in Italy to fly her home for a heroine's welcome. In Seattle, there were whoops of delight and friends of Miss Knox embraced each other and cheered as the realisation that she was free dawned on them. Tom Wright, a campaigner, said: "To Amanda we say 'way to go kid.' We look forward to welcoming you home with open arms and open hearts.
Meredith Kercher's sister Stephanie after hearing the verdict
Nick Squires, in Perugia, filed this main front-page piece for the paper last night: Amanda Knox freed: tears of joy as four-year nightmare is over
Amanda Knox is preparing to fly back to the United States after being cleared of murdering British student Meredith Kercher and released from prison in Italy. The 24-year old collapsed sobbing in court last night as she was cleared of murdering the British student Meredith Kercher. A jury decided that Knox, who has spent almost four years in jail, was the victim of a miscarriage of justice following a chaotic Italian police investigation. Her acquittal sparked jubilant scenes among her family in the courtroom in Perugia, who said her “nightmare” was finally over. But the verdict was greeted with anger by crowds in the street who branded her a “murderer” and denounced the decision as an “embarrassment”. It was also a bitter blow to the family of 21-year-old Miss Kercher, who just hours earlier had urged the jury to ignore the “hype” surrounding Knox and uphold her conviction for the 2007 murder.
The Kercher family are due to address the media in about twenty minutes. They were shocked at the result last night.
Here is the last picture taken of Knox last night as she sped away from the prison in Perugia she spend three years of her life. She is expected to fly home to Seattle later on Tuesday.
Earlier Amanda Knox's mother Edda Mellas reacted after hearing her daughter's verdict:
While, Knox burst into tears on hearing the 'not guilty' verdict:
You can read all the latest stories on the case that has transfixed three countries from our correspondents all over the world.
You can also follow our team covering the case on Twitter:
Nick Squires, who is in Perugia.
Nick Allen, with "Friends of Amanda" support group in Seattle.
BST/ 09.30 Perugia/ 00.30 Seattle Good morning and welcome to the Telegraph's coverage of all of the drama surrounding the dramatic aquittal of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito after their appeal hearing last night. Both were cleared of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
However, the judge upheld Knox's conviction for slandering Patrick Lumumba, whom she had intially accused of the murder, and increased her sentence from one to three years. But since she has already spent four years in jail, Knox today walked free.
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