Knox Found Guilty of Murder

Italian jury convicts American student of killing roommate
By Marie Morris,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 4, 2009 5:22 PM CST
Updated Dec 4, 2009 5:52 PM CST
Knox Found Guilty of Murder
Judge Giancarlo Massei, the court president, reads the guilty verdicts in the trial of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito in the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, in Perugia, Italy, Dec. 4, 2009.   (AP Photo/APTN)

Amanda Knox was found guilty today of murdering her roommate Meredith Kercher and sentenced to 26 years in an Italian prison. The 22-year-old American, who cried as the verdict was read, was found guilty of 11 counts related to the crime. Co-defendant and former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was also convicted and sentenced to 25 years. Lawyers for both said they will appeal.

In addition to the prison sentences, Knox and Sollecito were ordered to pay $7.4 million to Kercher's family, CNN reports. "While we always knew this was a possibility, we find it difficult to accept this verdict when we know that she is innocent, and that the prosecution has failed to explain why there is no evidence of Amanda in the room where Meredith was so horribly and tragically murdered," the Knox family said in a statement.
(More Amanda Knox stories.)

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