Meredith Kercher, a British exchange student, was raped and murdered in Perugia, Italy. Amanda Knox and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were held for questioning; Knox initially implicated Patrick Lumumba and then retracted the statement. Lumumba was released after establishing a solid alibi. Rudy Guede, a drifter with a history of sexual assault, was detained and later convicted. Intense tabloid coverage amplified lurid theories about sex and drugs. Sollecito and Knox were convicted in 2009, saw verdicts overturned and reinstated, and were finally exonerated by Italy's highest court. A Hulu series presents the legal reversals from Knox's point of view.
Under questioning, Knox confessed, implicating Patrick Lumumba, the Congolese owner of the café where she worked part time, by saying she and Sollecito had been in the room when Lumumba killed Kercher. Although she retracted her statement the next day, all three were arrested. However, Lumumba had a tight alibi and, two weeks later, was released without charge. At the same time, the Italian police detained Rudy Guede, a drifter and small-time criminal with a history of sexual assault.
The combination of sex, drugs, and an attractive young female (alleged) villainess sent the media—especially the Italian and British tabloids—into overdrive. Guede stood trial and was convicted of Kercher's murder only a month after his arrest, but Sollecito and Knox languished in jail for another two years before having their day in court. In 2009 they were both found guilty of murder and sentenced to 25 and 26 years, respectively.
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