Murdered Briton Meredith Kercher has been forgotten in the "fog" of a tireless media and public relations campaign to free the American student convicted of killing her, a lawyer for the victim's family says.
Seattle student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are appealing an Italian court verdict that found them guilty of murdering 21-year-old Kercher in 2007 during a drug-fuelled erotic game that turned violent.
A verdict is due this evening in a case that has centered largely on Knox, a 24-year-old alternately depicted as a sex-driven vamp who lived life on the edge or a naive American girl framed by prosecutors on a witch-hunt.
In the breathless Knox-obsessed media coverage, "Mez" - whose half-naked body bearing more than 40 gashes and bruises was found in her Perugia apartment - has disappeared from view, said Francesco Maresca, a lawyer for the Kercher family.
"One always thinks of the defendants, their families, the suffering of their families and the victim is forgotten."
Knox, in large part, can thank her family for keeping her at the centre of global media attention, Maresca said.
"They have done a huge public relations campaign to free her that has created a fog around the trial."
His comments come after prosecutors on Friday urged the jury to ignore a pro-Knox publicity campaign they said cost over a $US1 million ($1.03 million).
Maresca has also highlighted the contrast between reports of a private jet - denied by the Knox family - waiting to whisk away the student if she is freed, with the trouble the Kercher family were having in finding tickets to fly to Perugia from Britain.
"They are a modest, middle-class family without huge amounts of money to spend and so can't afford to stay in Perugia for weeks and weeks in a hotel to follow the trial, which is what the families of the accused have done," he said.
The Kerchers, who are expected in Perugia for the verdict, have kept a low profile - in stark contrast to the Knox family.
The Knoxes, who have hired Seattle public relations firm Gogerty Marriott, regularly appear on US morning talk shows and news programs, backed up by a supporting cast including Knox's friend Madison Paxton and former FBI agent Steve Moore.
Websites like Friends of Amanda and Amanda Knox Defence Fund have also campaigned to free the Seattle student, who is seen by many in the United States as an innocent victim trapped abroad in the clutches of a medieval justice system.
Seattle student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are appealing an Italian court verdict that found them guilty of murdering 21-year-old Kercher in 2007 during a drug-fuelled erotic game that turned violent.
A verdict is due this evening in a case that has centered largely on Knox, a 24-year-old alternately depicted as a sex-driven vamp who lived life on the edge or a naive American girl framed by prosecutors on a witch-hunt.
In the breathless Knox-obsessed media coverage, "Mez" - whose half-naked body bearing more than 40 gashes and bruises was found in her Perugia apartment - has disappeared from view, said Francesco Maresca, a lawyer for the Kercher family.
"One always thinks of the defendants, their families, the suffering of their families and the victim is forgotten."
Knox, in large part, can thank her family for keeping her at the centre of global media attention, Maresca said.
"They have done a huge public relations campaign to free her that has created a fog around the trial."
His comments come after prosecutors on Friday urged the jury to ignore a pro-Knox publicity campaign they said cost over a $US1 million ($1.03 million).
Maresca has also highlighted the contrast between reports of a private jet - denied by the Knox family - waiting to whisk away the student if she is freed, with the trouble the Kercher family were having in finding tickets to fly to Perugia from Britain.
"They are a modest, middle-class family without huge amounts of money to spend and so can't afford to stay in Perugia for weeks and weeks in a hotel to follow the trial, which is what the families of the accused have done," he said.
The Kerchers, who are expected in Perugia for the verdict, have kept a low profile - in stark contrast to the Knox family.
The Knoxes, who have hired Seattle public relations firm Gogerty Marriott, regularly appear on US morning talk shows and news programs, backed up by a supporting cast including Knox's friend Madison Paxton and former FBI agent Steve Moore.
Websites like Friends of Amanda and Amanda Knox Defence Fund have also campaigned to free the Seattle student, who is seen by many in the United States as an innocent victim trapped abroad in the clutches of a medieval justice system.
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