Meredith Kercher murder: Amanda Knox slams early release of killer Rudy Guede, claims she's also his 'victim'
Amanda Knox is seething at the early prison release of Rudy Guede, the convicted murderer of Meredith Kercher. He was initially convicted of Meredith’s murder and then his sentence reduced. 33-year-old Knox said while speaking to Good Morning America on Monday, December 7 that Guede also victimized her and she has carried the burden of his crime.
Knox condemned the fact that Guede, 33, who was convicted in 2008, was allowed to finish his 16-year sentence doing community service for charities in Viterbo, near Rome. “I continue to this day to be shocked that he is the forgotten killer," Knox said. “The one who was quietly tucked away, convicted of a lesser crime, and does not have to live with the burden of forever being associated with Meredith’s death. I do know that many, many people have suffered a great deal because of what he did.”
Kercher, 21, from Coulsdon, Surrey was found half-naked with her throat split open in Perugia, Italy, in September 2007. Knox was the victim's housemate and along with then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 36, was convicted of the murder of Kercher. But they were released in 2011 following an appeal. The ruling, however, suggested that he did not act alone. He was serving his sentence in Viterbo prison just north of Rome and was expected to complete his sentence in March 2022.
In 2008, Guede's DNA was found on Kercher and he later fled the country. He escaped to Germany via train where he was arrested days after the murder. He was given a 30-year sentence and then on appeal it was reduced. Guede became the only person handed a final conviction in connection to the case and in 2010, his 16-year sentence was upheld by Italy's top appeal court. Guede denies murdering Kercher.
In 2019, the Sun reported about how Guede began working at a local library, being on day release from prison. After his lawyer struck a deal with judges, it was revealed that he will serve the final years doing community service for local charities. Guede's lawyer Fabrizio Ballarini said: ''He will continue with his studies and will also carry on his work with Caritas (Italian charity). He will live in an apartment in central Viterbo that has been made available for him. We are very satisfied with the decision which has come about because of my client's desire and intelligence and who did not waste his time while in prison but put it to good use and studied hard.''
Kercher had just moved to Perugia in central Italy to study at the city's prestigious university in September 2007. Two months later, she was murdered. At the time, Guede said he went into a "state of shock" after finding Kercher's body following a visit to the bathroom after meeting her on the night she was killed. Earlier this year there were reports of him planning to write a book about the murder.
We previously reported that when Knox heard that a US publication was looking to reveal Guede's claims about her in the book on Kercher's murder, she was left enraged. Knox has accused the publication of "crafting an article that omits all evidence of my innocence to bully me into commenting".