The oddly polarizing Amanda Knox trial and appeal has been one of those things where there are not only a significant number of people who have a strong opinion (guilty or innocent) but also a large group who don’t feel they are swayed either way by the (admittedly very complex) evidence.
Regardless of what really happened that night several years ago between exchange students in Italy and what resulted in the tragic murder of Meredith Kercher, there are many elements of the tale that give people, Americans in particular- pause. Differing arrest and trial procedures and a young person subject to the justice system in a foreign country, for instance, make many sympathetic to the plight of Amanda Knox and her family.
So sympathetic, in fact, that the family of victim Meredith Kercher says their daughter and sister has been all but forgotten in the rush to ensure Knox was tried fairly and that all evidence was presented to clear her name should her appeal go in her favor. While the attractive young woman who has spent the better part of half a decade behind bars in Italy has garnered much support, Kercher’s family says their own daughter has been made an afterthought.
Speaking to press, sister Stephanie Kercher confirmed the Kercher family was “satisfied with the verdict… Nothing’s changed.” Brother Lyle referenced graphic post-mortem pictures of Meredith’s body and said:
“It’s very difficult to talk about forgiveness at this time, with the [media] hype around the case. And the defendant is involved in that. The brutality of it has been forgotten. There comes a point when we are just battling against what’s essentially a PR machine… I’m not sure we’ll be looking for forgiveness for a while.”
Stephanie Kercher lamented:
“It’s been four years now, and the focus has shifted for obvious reasons onto the proceedings at court at the moment, but Meredith has been forgotten in all of it.”
Mother Arline Kercher spoke of a daughter who was loving and caring, and talked about the shock of the loss of Meredith and how she continues to expect to see her daughter at every turn. Kercher’s mother said she believed her daughter had been murdered by her fellow students because she was “all that they weren’t.”