Strained Amanda Knox pictured in Italy for the first time since leaving prison over Meredith Kercher murder
AMANDA Knox has arrived in Italy for the first time since she was acquitted of the murder of her British roommate in the university town of Perugia.
Knox arrived at Milan's Linate airport on Thursday, where she was escorted by plainclothes officers and kept her eyes downward as she exited the airport.
The 31-year-old will make her way to the northern city of Modena, where she will join a panel discussion on wrongful convictions on Saturday.
Knox's 2011 acquittal was just one step in a long judicial process of flip-flop decisions before she was definitively acquitted in 2015 by Italy's highest court.
Europe's human rights court in January ordered Italy to pay Knox financial damages for failures to provide adequate legal and translation assistance during early questioning.
Knox was awarded a £16,000 pay out.
Days before her arrival in Italy, Knox made a bizarre on joke social media - posting a picture on Instagram showing her clinging onto a mountainside with just her face visible.
She wrote: “3 Days till I return to Italy for the first time since leaving prison. Feeling frayed, so I made my own inspirational workplace poster. "Hang in there!" Just imagine I'm a kitten.”
Knox also posted a picture of herself smiling in the arms of her fiancé Christopher Robinson with the words: “Here we go... Wish us, "Buon viaggio!”.
WRONGFUL CONVICTION
Knox spent four years in jail after being convicted with her then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito of knifing 21-year-old Brit student Meredith to death in the house they shared in Perugia.
She is returning to Italy to speak at a legal conference in Modena on wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice in Italy.
On her trip she will be accompanied by her fiancé and mother Edda Mellas.
Knox first revealed she would be returning to Italy in March and spoke about her fears about the trip while appearing at the True Crime festival in New York.
“It’s very scary and every day you need to face up to something new that is terrifying but I’ve been lucky and I am healing,” she said.
“I have an amazing family and friends and an incredible support network.
'I AM HEALING'
“But you have got to face up to your fears alone if you want to heal and I know the main thing that still terrifies me most is returning to Italy.
“It’s almost like I got to just leave it all behind and come home to America but it’s all still very raw there – people haven’t moved on and I don’t know how they would react to me.
“I know I have to go back at some point I’ve just got to prepare myself for it.”
The sensational case of the young American accused of murder first grabbed the world's attention in 2007.
I know I have to go back at some point I’ve just got to prepare myself for it.”
Amanda Knox
Seattle-born Knox moved to Perugia in Italy, with several other students including Meredith in September of that year but just a few weeks later her life changed forever.
When Knox arrived home on November 2, she noticed that the front door was open and there was dried blood in the bathroom.
CONVICTION QUASHED
After calling police, the body of her roommate Meredith was found inside her locked bedroom.
An autopsy conducted on her body found that her throat had been slashed and she had been stabbed almost 50 times.
It also found that she had 16 bruises, including on her nose and mouth, as well as suffering injuries related to sexual assault.
Italian cops believed Meredith’s death came as a result of a sex game that had gone horrifically wrong and quickly charged Knox and then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito with the murder.
They were convicted of stabbing the British student to death in 2009, but freed on appeal two years later.
Their guilty verdict was reinstated in 2014 but quashed by Italy’s top court in March 2015.
A drifter called Rudy Guede was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of Meredith.
Who is Amanda Knox?
Amanda Knox was an American student who grew up in Washington.
Then 20-years-old, Knox worked part-time during her study to fund an exchange to Italy.
Eventually moving to Perugia in Italy's centre, the young woman moved in with several other students including Meredith Kercher, 21, at Via della Pergola.
While there, she started dating Raffaele Sollecito, a 23-year-old Italian student, and worked in a bar.
BODY FOUND
But on November 2, 2007, Amanda's life changed forever.
Knox arrived at her home, later telling police that she noticed that the front door was open and there was dried blood in the bathroom.
After calling police, the body of roommate Meredith was found inside her locked bedroom.
CONVICTION
Knox and then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted of stabbing 21-year-old Brit student Kercher to death at a flat in Perugia, Italy, in 2007.
The pair were found guilty in 2009, but freed on appeal two years later.
Their guilty verdict was reinstated in 2014 but quashed by Italy’s top court in March 2015.
Who killed Meredith Kercher?
Meredith Kercher was born in London in 1985, with the young woman moving to Italy to study the University of Perugia in 2007.
The 21-year-old was last seen on November 1 of that year, with her body found in a pool of blood in her bedroom the next day.
An autopsy conducted on her body found that her throat had been cut and she had been stabbed almost 50 times. It also found that she had 16 bruises, including on her nose and mouth, as well as suffering injuries related to sexual assault.
Fingerprints were identified at the scene as belonging to Rudy Guede, who was ultimately jailed for the brutal murder.
What happened to Rudy Guede?
Rudy Guede was 20-years-old when he became embroiled in the murder investigation into Meredith Kercher's death.
The man, born in the Ivory Coast, had befriended Knox and her roommates, having visited their home before the murder.
With a history of break ins and burglaries, the man became the focus of the murder investigation with fingerprints at the scene identified as belonging to him.
He was found guilty of the murder in 2008, sentenced to 30 years behind bars.
His sentence was later cut to 24 years, with it again cut to 16 years.
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