An Italian court has found Amanda Knox guilty for the 2007 murder of a British woman. Thursday's verdict also found Knox's ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito guilty of murder, USA Today reported.
Knox was sentenced to 28 years and six months in prison, a sentence that will most likely be appealed. Sollecito also faces more than 25 years in prison. Knox, who is now 26, was not present during the Italian court trial and is currently in Seattle.
The Amana Knox murder trial has captured international attention ever since she was first arrested for the murder of 21-year-old Meredeth Kercher. Knox and Sollecito were originally found guilty of Kercher's murder in 2009.
That guilty verdict was overturned in 2011 when a court ruled that significant blood and DNA evidence had been mishandled by authorities, USA Today reported.
Knox was then released after spending four years in custody. But then Italy's supreme court, the Court of Cassation, pushed aside the not guilty verdict, claiming that key evidence was not presented during the 2011 appeal, USA today reported. The case was sent back for a third trial.
Kercher, a student from south London, was found dead in a villa in Perugia that she and Knox rented together. Kercher suffered multiple stab wounds, including a slit throat. Prosecutors argued that Knox and her ex-boyfriend killed Kercher during a sex game, the BBC reported.
Knox has maintained her innocence during the entire time.
"The knowledge about Amanda is innocence is rock-solid and it allows us to wait for the verdict with complete serenity," Dalla Vedova, Knox's primary attorney, told the Florence court during closing arguments, according to USA Today. "It is impossible for the court to convict someone because they are 'probably' guilty or 'may be' guilty."
Legal authorities previously stated that if Knox was found guilty, Italy may apply for her extradition, but there is no official word yet, according to USA Today.
