Italy's top court on Friday quashed the convictions of American Amanda Knox and her Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
Here are the main dates in the case:
2007
November 2: The half-naked body of Leeds University exchange student Kercher is found in a pool of blood in the cottage she shared with Knox in Perugia, central Italy. Her throat had been slit and she suffered multiple stab wounds.
November 6: Police arrest Knox, Sollecito and Patrick Lumumba, a bar owner. Knox says she was in the house and that Lumumba committed the murder. She later said she made the statement under duress.
November 20: Police in Germany arrest Ivorian immigrant Rudy Guede, who had fled Perugia, after DNA evidence linked him to the murder scene. He is extradited to Italy. Lumumba is released and exonerated.
2008
October 28: Guede is sentenced to 30 years in jail for the murder and sexual assault of Kercher. His sentence is later reduced to 16 years on appeal.
2009
January 16: Knox and Sollecito go on trial for murder.
December 5: Knox and Sollecito convicted, sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively.
2010
March 22: The ruling from Guede's appeal says he sexually assaulted Kercher but did not kill her. It says that she was killed during a violent sexual assault involving Guede, Sollecito and Knox.
November 24: Appeal hearings for Knox and Sollecito begin in Perugia.
2011
July 25: Experts tell the court DNA evidence is likely to have been contaminated due to late collection and use of dirty gloves.
October 3: The appeal court acquits Sollecito and Knox, who returns immediately to the United States.
2012
February 14: Italian prosecutors appeal the acquittal
2013
March 26: Italy's highest court overturns the appeal verdict and orders a retrial
September 20: The retrial begins in Florence, with Knox tried in absentia.
2014
Jan 30: Appeal court reinstates Knox and Sollecito's murder convictions and increases her prison sentence to 28 years, 6 months
2015
March 27: Italy's top court rules that Knox and Sollecito did not murder Kercher, bringing the legal process to an end.
Italy’s top court on Friday quashed the convictions of American Amanda Knox and her Italian former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
Here are the main dates in the case:
2007
November 2: The half-naked body of Leeds University exchange student Kercher is found in a pool of blood in the cottage she shared with Knox in Perugia, central Italy. Her throat had been slit and she suffered multiple stab wounds.
November 6: Police arrest Knox, Sollecito and Patrick Lumumba, a bar owner. Knox says she was in the house and that Lumumba committed the murder. She later said she made the statement under duress.
November 20: Police in Germany arrest Ivorian immigrant Rudy Guede, who had fled Perugia, after DNA evidence linked him to the murder scene. He is extradited to Italy. Lumumba is released and exonerated.
2008
October 28: Guede is sentenced to 30 years in jail for the murder and sexual assault of Kercher. His sentence is later reduced to 16 years on appeal.
2009
January 16: Knox and Sollecito go on trial for murder.
December 5: Knox and Sollecito convicted, sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively.
2010
March 22: The ruling from Guede’s appeal says he sexually assaulted Kercher but did not kill her. It says that she was killed during a violent sexual assault involving Guede, Sollecito and Knox.
November 24: Appeal hearings for Knox and Sollecito begin in Perugia.
2011
July 25: Experts tell the court DNA evidence is likely to have been contaminated due to late collection and use of dirty gloves.
October 3: The appeal court acquits Sollecito and Knox, who returns immediately to the United States.
2012
February 14: Italian prosecutors appeal the acquittal
2013
March 26: Italy’s highest court overturns the appeal verdict and orders a retrial
September 20: The retrial begins in Florence, with Knox tried in absentia.
2014
Jan 30: Appeal court reinstates Knox and Sollecito’s murder convictions and increases her prison sentence to 28 years, 6 months
2015
March 27: Italy’s top court rules that Knox and Sollecito did not murder Kercher, bringing the legal process to an end.
