Amanda Knox a 'drug-taking, sex-crazed she-devil' who blamed murder on innocent man-AMANDA Knox was described yesterday as a drug-taking, sex-crazed "she-devil" who tried to blame the murder of the British student Meredith Kercher on an innocent man.
A lawyer for the falsely accused man denounced the American exchange student in the harshest terms at the conclusion of her appeal against her conviction for the murder in 2007 of Ms Kercher, who was her housemate in the medieval Italian hill town of Perugia.
Carlo Pacelli quoted testimony by Ms Kercher's friends about tensions between the two over the American's alleged promiscuity and bad bathroom hygiene.
At the time of the murder, Knox was "an explosive mix of drugs, sex and alcohol", he said. He claimed that Knox had a split personality.
One side is "angelic, good, compassionate, and in some ways even saintly", he said. The other is "Lucifer-like, demonic, satanic, diabolic" and "longs to live out borderline extreme behaviour".
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Urging the jury to ignore her "doll-like" appearance, he added: "She is a spell-casting witch, a virtuoso of deceit."
Knox, 24, from Seattle, is appealing against a 26-year sentence for the murder of Ms Kercher in what prosecutors say was a drug-fuelled sex game turned violent. Ms Kercher, a Leeds University student from Coulsdon, in Surrey, was found half-naked in a pool of blood in her bedroom in Perugia after being stabbed in the throat.
Ms Knox's one-time Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 27, is also appealing against a 25-year sentence. A third man, Rudy Guede, a small-time drug-dealer from the Ivory Coast, has been separately convicted of participating in the murder "with others" and sentenced to 16 years.
The appeal comes to a head next Monday when Knox and Sollecito are expected to address the court in a last-ditch attempt to sway the jury, after their lawyers sum up.
Yesterday was the turn of the civil plaintiffs in the case. Carlo Pacelli was representing Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, a Congolese bar-owner who was jailed for two weeks after Knox initially identified him as the killer.
Outside the courtroom, Mr Lumumba said: "I ask for justice, not vendetta. She is a great actress, I know her better than most. I don't know if she was the assassin, but she lied because she needed time."
Knox's father, Curt, dismissed Mr Pacelli's speech, as "name-calling".
Francesco Maresca, the Kercher family's lawyer, urged the court not to forget the victim. He showed the jury a photo of a smiling Ms Kercher, telling them: "Look at her. She was a beautiful girl in the prime of her life."
Then he confronted jurors with images of her dead body covered with blood. "This is to show you her suffering," he said. "We're not in a TV show."
Manuela Comodi, the prosecutor, said that she would appeal to Italy's highest court if Knox's conviction is overturned.
A lawyer for the falsely accused man denounced the American exchange student in the harshest terms at the conclusion of her appeal against her conviction for the murder in 2007 of Ms Kercher, who was her housemate in the medieval Italian hill town of Perugia.
Carlo Pacelli quoted testimony by Ms Kercher's friends about tensions between the two over the American's alleged promiscuity and bad bathroom hygiene.
At the time of the murder, Knox was "an explosive mix of drugs, sex and alcohol", he said. He claimed that Knox had a split personality.
One side is "angelic, good, compassionate, and in some ways even saintly", he said. The other is "Lucifer-like, demonic, satanic, diabolic" and "longs to live out borderline extreme behaviour".
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
Urging the jury to ignore her "doll-like" appearance, he added: "She is a spell-casting witch, a virtuoso of deceit."
Knox, 24, from Seattle, is appealing against a 26-year sentence for the murder of Ms Kercher in what prosecutors say was a drug-fuelled sex game turned violent. Ms Kercher, a Leeds University student from Coulsdon, in Surrey, was found half-naked in a pool of blood in her bedroom in Perugia after being stabbed in the throat.
Ms Knox's one-time Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, 27, is also appealing against a 25-year sentence. A third man, Rudy Guede, a small-time drug-dealer from the Ivory Coast, has been separately convicted of participating in the murder "with others" and sentenced to 16 years.
The appeal comes to a head next Monday when Knox and Sollecito are expected to address the court in a last-ditch attempt to sway the jury, after their lawyers sum up.
Yesterday was the turn of the civil plaintiffs in the case. Carlo Pacelli was representing Diya "Patrick" Lumumba, a Congolese bar-owner who was jailed for two weeks after Knox initially identified him as the killer.
Outside the courtroom, Mr Lumumba said: "I ask for justice, not vendetta. She is a great actress, I know her better than most. I don't know if she was the assassin, but she lied because she needed time."
Knox's father, Curt, dismissed Mr Pacelli's speech, as "name-calling".
Francesco Maresca, the Kercher family's lawyer, urged the court not to forget the victim. He showed the jury a photo of a smiling Ms Kercher, telling them: "Look at her. She was a beautiful girl in the prime of her life."
Then he confronted jurors with images of her dead body covered with blood. "This is to show you her suffering," he said. "We're not in a TV show."
Manuela Comodi, the prosecutor, said that she would appeal to Italy's highest court if Knox's conviction is overturned.
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