Amanda Knox of Seattle, Washington, was found guilty in a trial in Italy for the murder of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher. The guilty verdict and subsequent 26-year prison sentence was handed down on December 5, 2009 in Italy.http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/04/amanda-knox-meredith-kercher-murder

Prosecutors accused Knox of slitting Kercher's throat with the help of her Italian ex-boyfriend Rafaelle Sollecito and Ivory Coast native Rudy Hermann Guede.CNN.com: U.S. student accused of Satanic rite (October 19, 2008) Sollecito was also found guilty and sentenced to 25 years in prison. In a separate trial from Knox and Sollecito, Guede was sentenced to 30 years in prison on October 28, 2008.FoxNews: American Student, Co-Defendant Indicted in Slain British Coed Case (October 28, 2008)

On December 1, 2009, attorneys for Knox stated that the prosecutors in the case had changed motives. Initially the prosecutors claimed she committed the murder during a sex game, while recently they claim she was seeking revenge for being criticized for her tendency to bring men back to their apartment and sloppy housekeeping skills.http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AmandaKnox/amanda-knox-lawyer-prosecutor-switched-motives/story?id=9215634 The day previously, Knox's attorneys argued that Amanda was not "Amanda the Ripper," but rather, a kindhearted, precocious young woman—comparing her to the title character of the film Amelie.http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AmandaKnox/amanda-knox-amanda-ripper/story?id=9205161

Knox testified on June 12, and June 13, 2009, that she was visiting her boyfriend the night her roommate was killed. CNN reports she testified to the fact that "she said she checked her e-mails at his place before the couple had dinner, watched a movie, smoked a marijuana joint, made love and fell asleep."http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/12/italy.amanda.knox.trial/ Her mother, Edda Mellas, testified as well, telling the court that Knox and Kercher "got along great."http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8109734.stm

On April 23, 2009, a grisly videotape of the crime scene was shown during the trial of Amanda Knox. Witnesses reported that Knox was unable to watch the video and kept looking away and averting her eyes. Knox's co-defendant and ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was said to have watched the video intently.ABC: Knox Can't Look at Video of Slain Roommate (April 23, 2009)

Merdith Kercher was a Leeds University student living in Perugia, Italy, when she was found semi-naked with her throat slit at the home she shared with Knox on November 1, 2007.Telegraph: Meredith Kercher Murder Trial (September 16, 2008) She was stabbed in the neck after she allegedly refused to participate in a sexual orgy with her roommate Amanda Knox and Knox's two Italian friends, Rudy Guede and Rafaelle Sollecito.UK Telegraph: Amanda Knox Says Her "Confession" Was Flawed (November 23, 2008)

On January 16, 2009, the trial against Amanda Knox and former boyfriend Rafaelle Sollecito began in Italy, but instead of discussing trial procedures and documents, the defense used the media spotlight to present their clients in a more favorable light, referring to them as "innocent lovebirds" not murderers. Both defendants were present, and Knox was dressed casually as she conferred with her lawyers. She avoided looking at Sollecito. Prior to the trial, Knox had fought for it to be held behind closed doors, but the judge ruled all the evidence would be presented in public unless the court believed it would be offensive to the victim's family. He also said any closed sessions would be determined on a case by case basis. Times Online: We Are Innocent Lovebirds Not Meredith Kercher’s Murderers, Trial Told (January 17, 2009)

When initially questioned, Knox said that she was not in the apartment the night Kercher was killed. She said he was at the apartment of Sollecito until about 10 a.m and then left to go to her apartment. She later changed her story and said she had been in the kitchen and heard Kercher scream. In March 2009, Knox's stepfather said that Knox had been severely beaten and intimidated by police during the interrogations and changed her story because of it and that one of the policewomen involved faces charges of abusing other suspects. He also said that Knox's interpreters during the interrogations had not been neutral.First Post: Amanda Knox was ‘beaten by police’, says stepfather (March 20, 2009)

A few days earlier, the owner of a supermarket in the area said in court that Knox had been in his store at 7:45 a.m., looking at cleaning products. Knox had previously said she had been asleep in Sollecito's apartment at that time. The owner said he did not remember if she bought anything. Police have previously said that they found a receipt for cleaning products from the same store in Sollecito's home and that they believe bleach and other products were used to clean up the murder weapon and the murder scene.The Telegraph: A new hole appears in Amanda Knox's alibi (March 21, 2009)

Knox's behavior in the days following the murder have been the focus of much of the prosecution's case in her trial. Italian police officers have testified that she was behaving in an erratic fashion. Witnesses have previously described Knox's demeanor in the immediate aftermath of the murder, cold towards the authorities and oddly affectionate towards Sollecito, as "inappropriate."ABC News: Amanda Knox's Odd Behavior Focus of Testimony (March 13, 2009) On February 27, 2009, former flying squad chief Domenico Profazio told a court in Perugia, Italy that Knox and Sollecito had a "strange attitude" after being called into the police station to be interviewed. Profazio said that at one point Knox was doing cartwheels and splits in the station. Profazio had to tell her the she was acting inappropriately after she allegedly sat on Sollecito's lap while awaiting interrogation. Profazio also presented DNA evidence which he says links the couple to the murder.BBC News: Kercher suspect 'did cartwheels'

On June 11, 2009, Knox's father, Curt Knox, was a guest on CBS's ]]The Early Show]]. He said that although Amanda Knox is nervous about the trial, she is confident and has "nothing to hide."http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/11/earlyshow/main5080596.shtml