Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Francesco Maresca, in his closing arguments on behalf of the Kercher family in the third trial of Knox and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, urged the eight lay jurors on the panel of 10 to disregard publicity over the case as well as Knox's own statements, including her criticism of Italy's judicial system.
"She has become a well-known person. You know she signed contracts for millions of dollars for her book. She has someone who takes care of her public relations. She has a personal website where she invites people to collect donations in the memory of the victim, Meredith Kercher, which is an unbearable contradiction for the family," Maresca said.
He said the world's attention has focused on Knox, while "the victim has fallen into oblivion, to the immense pain of the Kercher family."
Francesco Maresca, in his closing arguments in the third trial of Knox and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, urged the panel of two professional judges and eight lay jurors to disregard Knox's claims of innocence and her criticism of Italy's judicial system as 'failed, or fallible'.
Maresca urged the Florence appeals court to find Knox and Sollecito guilty of Kercher's murder, backing the state prosecutor's demands for sentences of 26 years for the murder and a four-year sentence for Knox for slander - up from the three years already confirmed by Italy's highest court.
He sought damages of 25 million euros ($34 million) for the family.
WHAT'S NEXT
The lawyer representing Kercher's family, Francesco Maresca, will sum up his arguments on Monday. Amanda Knox's defense makes its final arguments on Tuesday, while Raffaele Sollecito's defense is scheduled to close on January 9. Both sides will have a chance for rebuttals on Jan. 10. The panel of 10, two professional judges and eight lay jury members, will begin deliberations on Jan. 10 or Jan. 15. A verdict is likely the same day of deliberations, but there is no telling how long they might go on.
"I didn't kill. I didn't rape. I didn't rob. I didn't plot. I didn't instigate. I didn't kill Meredith," Knox wrote.
Presiding Judge Alessandro Nencini read the five-page email written in Italian into the court record. He noted that the email, presented by Knox's lawyers before their closing arguments, was not a normal procedure in Italy. He said it highlighted Knox's absence and indicated it did not have the same legal standing as a declaration made in person.