News from Perugia, a small Italian town, shocked the world as reports of a misterious murder began to surface. Meredith Kercher, an exchange student from the United Kingdom, had been brutally murdered under suspicious circumstances.

The case generated buzz among the International Media and Italian authorities were quick to arrest Amanda Knox, a student from Seattle, Raffaele Sollecito and Rudy Hermann Guede, all of whom were tried and prosecuted on murder charges.

After spending four years in jail, both Knox and Sollecito have been freed, after an appeal’s court ruled in their favour. Rude Guede is the only one now accused of sexually assaulting and killing Meredith Kercher and his lawyer admits he will seek a retrial. On the other hand, the prosecution is now seeking an appeal:

“We will appeal,” prosecutor Giuliano Mignini told Reuters. “The court will decide whether to confirm the first sentence or the second sentence.”

According to Italian Law, the prosecution can only file an appeal after the court publishes a formal explanation of the decision, which might take a couple of months. In the meanwhile, Meredith Kercher’s family seemed overwhelmed by the court’s decision, believed to have been ruled based on sloppy investigation and the contamination of several DNA samples.

“It was a bit of a shock,” Meredith Kercher’s sister told reporters, “It’s very upsetting … We still have no answers.”

After 11 hours of deliberations the verdict was read, as hundreds of protesters took over the streets in Perugia. Back home in Seattle, her supporters cheered and applauded over her release. According to a recent interview, John Lange, Knox’s high school drama teacher, admits that “When I knew her she was kind, hard-working and a team player. There was not a mean bone in her body.”

After a whirldwind media coverage, Knox is finally back home in Seattle and no one quite knows what the future holds for her; interviews are a sure thing but it won’t be easy being thrown back into all the media attention Amanda Knox has been getting for the past several years.

Knox took a moment to thank her Italian supporters “who shared my suffering and helped me survive with hope”, while also ackowledging “those who wrote, those who defended me, those who were close, those who prayed for me. I love you, Amanda.”

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Convicted of killing her roommate Meredith Kercher in 2007, Amanda Knox, now 24, is due to hear the final verdict on her appeal later today. Knox stood trial alongside her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, 27, for sexual assault and murder of the 21-year-old British national who was on a one-year exchange to Perugia, Italy from her university in Leeds. A third person was also convicted, drug dealer Rudy Guede, 21. In a separate trial, Guede, an Ivory Coast national, was sentenced to 30 years in prison but through appeal, his sentence was reduced to 16 years.

Amanda Knox and her family are hoping that the verdict will be overturned so Knox can return to her native Seattle.

Meredith Kercher was found dead in late 2007 at her and miss Knox’s shared apartment with 40 stab wounds and a slit throat. Evidence also suggested a sexual assault shortly before death. The Italian police launched a murder investigation and five days after the killing, Knox, Sollecito and 38-year-old barman Patrick Diya Lumumba were arrested on suspicion of “conspiracy to commit manslaughter and sexual violence,” according to the BBC timeline.

While Mr. Lumumba was let go soon after, Knox and Sollecito were sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively in December 2009. After 11 months of appeal, Knox’s defense lawyers have focused their case on the DNA evidence of the murder weapon, a kitchen knife, which they argue was contaminated during the investigation and should be considered unreliable. Both Knox and Sollecito’s defense have also suggested that Guede could have been the sole killer, according to CNN.

The case against Knox have been criticized by miss Kercher’s family for over-exposure of Knox’s plea of innocent. In a BBC report, Kercher’s sister is quoted for saying on Italian television: “in these four years, Meredith has been completely forgotten. But we need to find justice for her, we need to find the truth for her.”

Meanwhile, Knox’s father told ABC News that the family would continue fighting for her release. “We will do everything we can. If it happens to go bad we have another alternative in going to the Supreme Court within Italy and we son’t stop until she comes home to us.” He added, “We’re just very hopeful – and she is – that they see she really had nothing to do with this horrific crime.”

A jury of eight members, comprised of two judges and six members of the public, will make the final decision. There can be three different outcomes: The verdict is upheld, the verdict is overturned or, like in the case of Guede, the verdict is partially overturned. In case of the first two options, the losing side is expected to make a new appeal, this time to Italy’s highest court. If Knox is set free, there is no restrictions on her to remain in Italy pending the prosecution’s appeal and an unknown extradition process will likely commence. There will be at least four months between today’s verdict and a possible High Court appeal, according to CNN.

Reuters reported early Monday morning that there are high expectations for the release of the American among many in the United States — trust in the DNA evidence has been shaken and there is still hope that the doubt will set her free.

“She is confident, she is jittery, she is waiting and a little bit frightened by the wait,” Knox’s lawyer Maria Del Grosso told reporters on Saturday. The student will address the jury herself in Italian, which she has learned while being imprisoned for almost four years.

Deliberation has to finish before the jurors can leave their chamber. The two judges can guide the verdict but not control the final decision. Despite the forensic review that weakened the DNA evidence, the prosecution believes there is plenty of other evidence and the actions of Knox and Sollecito to speaks against their innocent.

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Convicted of murder, American student Amanda Knox, prepares to appeal her murder charge on Monday in an Italian court. The sister of the slain victim, Meredith Kercher, reminds the public of the life that was lost.

“Please remember our beautiful Meredith,” said Stephanie Kercher in a statement distributed Sunday by attorney Francesco Maresca. Stephanie Kercher said that the media frenzy that developed around the Amanda Knox trial has made people forget about what was taken from Meredith – her life.

In 2007, Knox and her ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, were convicted for the death of Meredith Kercher, 21. Kercher, a British exchange student, was found dead in the villa she and Knox rented together in the central Italian university town of Perugia. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison, Sollecito to 25.

A third defendant in the case is drug dealer Rudy Guede. An immigrant from the Ivory Coast, Guede was jailed in connection with Kercher’s death. According to CNN, he was sentenced to 30 years for murder and sexual violence following a fast-track trial in 2008. His sentence was later cut to 16 years.

His case will not be appealed. According to a prosecution reconstruction, Guede and Sollecito held Kercher down, while Knox stabbed her. Kercher was found semi-naked, with her throat slashed. In July, the Italian appeals court heard the testimony of a new DNA analysis that may call Knox’s conviction into question.

The proceeding will resume Monday, reported CNN. The original DNA found on the alleged murder weapon — the knife — has been dismissed as evidence. According to the West Seattle Herald, the Kercher family, who is suing Knox and Sollecito in a civil suit, believes the couple is guilty of mudering Meredith.

The fact that the experts, professors Carol Vecchiotti and Stefano Conti, who will be reexamining the case evidence Monday were appointed by the judge, is expected to create much controversy in the courtroom. “Over the last week, we have waited anxiously and with great concern as the rumours surrounding the original DNA evidence findings are spreading,” Stephanie Kercher said in the statement.

CNN reported that at trial, authorities testified that a knife found in Sollecito’s home had traces of Knox’s genetic material on the handle and Kercher’s on the blade. Kercher’s bra had traces of Sollecito’s DNA. Vecchiotti and Conti have brought into question the strength of the evidence that convicted Knox and Sollecito.

Edda Knox, Amanda’s mother, expressed to the Seattle Herald her gratitude for all those backing her daughter. “We are thrilled that so many people see that Amanda is clearly innocent,” Edda Knox said. “Support for her continues to grow and we appreciate each person.” Kercher said she is hopeful that the appeal will not change the original verdict on the case of her sister’s death.

“We still have confidence in the Perugia police and every faith in all those involved in court and the investigation,” Kercher said.

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