The Murder of Meredith Kercher

by Gary C. King

One morning in early November 2007, police in the beautiful Italian city of Perugia made a gruesome discovery. The body of a young English exchange student from the University of Leeds, Meredith Kercher, was found under a blood-soaked duvet in her room in the small cottage she shared with other students. Her throat had been cut. Meredith's flatmate Amanda Knox, an American also studying in Italy, initially gave evidence that implicated Patrick Lumumba, the owner of a local bar, and he was arrested. However, Knox changed her story—claiming her memory had been affected by smoking cannabis—and another man, local drifter Rudy Guede, was arrested, charged with murder and, after a "fast track" trial, found guilty. But the story didn't end with Guede's conviction. What was Amanda Knox's role on the night of the murder? Prosecutors suspected that Guede, Knox and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito had killed Meredith in a perverted sexual game that went too far. With allegations of inaccurate forensic evidence, police brutality, blackmail, and even devil-worship, the trial was destined to be a long and complex affair. Top true-crime author Gary C. King presents the whole story behind the real-life courtroom drama that has made headlines around the world.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

238 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Gary C. King is a freelance author and lecturer who has published more than 500 articles in true crime magazines in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He is also the author of several true crime books including: Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer, Driven to Kill, Web of Deceit, Blind Rage, Savage Vengeance, An Early Grave, The Texas 7, Murder in Hollywood, Angels of Death, Stolen in the Night, Love, Lies, and Murder, An Almost Perfect Murder, Butcher, Rage, The Murder of Meredith Kercher, Crime Scene: True Stories of Crime and Detection, and Murder Most Foul: True Crime Stories of Murder and Mayhem.

Driven to Kill, the story of serial child killer Westley Allan Dodd's killing spree, was nominated for an Anthony Award in the Best True Crime Book category at Bouchercon 25.

Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer, details the bizarre case of Dayton Leroy Rogers, Oregon's worst serial killer. A German language edition of Blood Lust was published in 1995. Both Blood Lust and Driven to Kill were chosen as featured selections of Doubleday's True Crime Book Club.

King’s television appearances have included Entertainment Tonight, Larry King Live, Inside Edition, Court TV, MSNBC’s Headliners and Legends, E!, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Extra TV, and several other programs. He also frequently provides radio interviews and has given talks at libraries as well as organizations devoted to readers and writers interested in the genre of true crime.

After years of traditional publishing, King recently joined the growing ranks of indie authors.

Reviews

[Rossy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
An unbiased book, presents the facts of the already known crime and trials in an easy to read way, it gives some details I had already forgotten, but has some I think are totally accurate, but a good book nonetheless.
I forgot to mention that even though by all accounts, Meredith's death was tragic and a terrible loss, I got bored with the expression "poor Meredith" in tons and TONS of sentences.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Murder of Meredith Kercher by Gary C. King
Reviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews.

Meredith's flatmate Amanda Knox, an American also studying in Italy, initially gave evidence that implicated Patrick Lumumba, the owner of a local bar, and he was arrested. However Know changed her story - claiming her memory had been affected by smoking cannabis - and another man, local drifter Rudy Guede, was arrested, charged with murder and, after a 'fast track' trial, found guilty. But the story didn't end with Guede's conviction. What was Amanda Knox's role on the night of the murder? Prosecutors suspected that Guede, Knox and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito had killed Meredith in a perverted sexual game that went too far. With allegations of inaccurate forensic evidence, police brutality, blackmail and even devil-worship, the trial was destined to be a long and complex affair. Top true-crime author Gary C King presents the whole story behind the real-life courtroom drama that has made headlines around the world. (Synopsis provided by goodreads)


I have followed this case from the beginning and have read now 4 books on the case. What I liked about this book was how evenly balanced it was. King showed the evidence and showed the arguments that both sides used in connection with the evidence.
He was also very tactful in how he described the murder scene, which is very comendable due to the brutal nature of the killing. He also showed what the Italian, British and American press was saying and releasing during the trial and the time leading up to the trials.
I also really liked the emphasis he put on Meredith herself and how she was during her life, not just the way she died.
The way this book was written, it was difficult to tell what the author's personal thoughts on the case were, which is good, in reality the authors bias and thoughts have nothing to do with the facts of the case, and I really liked how he wasn't afraid to show all the evidence and all the "issues" with the case.
If you are interested in knowing more about this case, I would recommend that you give this book a try.

* Paperback: 238 pages
* Publisher: John Blake; 1st edition (April 1, 2010)
* ISBN-10: 184454902X
* Author: Gary C. King
* Cover Art: I like it, I like the picture of Meredith they found very pretty.
* Over all rating: **** out of 5 stars
* Obtained: My personal book shelf.

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was interesting if not frustrating, disturbing due to how the case in terms of evidence from a forensic point of view was very poorly handled.
Amanda Knox (also known as "La Luciferina" (angel faced devil) or "the dark lady of Seattle" and "Foxy Knoxxy" is a American student and Meredith was a British student that were both studying in Perugia, Italy they both attended a University for foreign students that oth British students attended.
Meredith Kercher was a student studying at the University as part of the (ERAMUS) Foreign Exchange Student Scheme which was called the European Region Action Scheme.
Meredith was studying Italian and about their culture, politics, and cinema history.
Amanda was almost fluent in Italian so there is no way she could claim not to know what was happening or why since her second boyfriend is/was Italian at the time she was studying in Perugia, Italy. She was studying Italian, German and Japanese.
She was attending a creative writing class and had to envision a fictional crime, so she decided to write a story about two men that "date raped" and woman and killed her, which is very similar to what happened to Meredith Kercher on the evening she was raped, stabbed, mutilated, strangled and murdered.
Witnesses statements and the testimonies of the roommate's that were living with Meredith at the time were not considered as vital evidence in terms of the time-frame before, during or after Meredith Kercher was murdered.
The fact that some of the forensic evidence for this murder investigation and the "Monster of Florence" serial killer cases was contaminated is appalling, some evidence such as fingerprints, impression of a bloody knife or Meredith's bra clasp were ignored or dismissed due to it being not useable in court as proof of DNA or definitive proof of the number of people involved in the crime and what they were doing when Meredith was murdered.
The prosecutor for this case was also the prosecutor for the "Monster of Florence" serial killer case.
I personally believe, that Amanda Knox took Meredith's money that she had withdrawn 250 Euros from her bank account to pay her rent bill, which Meredith had obviously noticed was missing and found it in Amanda's room which resulted in an argument.
They did not get on well or like each other Meredith "couldn't stand" Amanda and Amanda was very jealous of Meredith because a male student named Giacomo Silenzi living below them was interested in Meredith and she also liked him as well but said "you can have him" like he was her possession. Giacomo Silenzi later became Meredith's boyfriend, he seemed very kind, sweet, loving and caring, so why would Meredith invite anyone else other than her boyfriend into her bedroom if she was disgusted and fed up with Amanda inviting men over to see her when she already had a boyfriend? Did Raffaele know about this? Amanda claimed to have heen at Raffaele's place all night but said she went home to shower even though she saw blood in the bathroom.
Why wouldn't she investigate this and at least make sure her roommate's were okay?
Any normal or rational person would be concerned about seeing any amount of unexplained blood in a bathroom.
Why would she have a shower knowing there was blood in the bathroom and why didn't this concern her at all? She didn't once think to call the police when describing what happened when she returned home and the front door was open but Meredith's bedroom door was locked from the inside and her bedroom was 15 feet up and difficult to access from that area, unless you entered from the from or back of the building. The satanists that ransacked the building entered via a kitchen window.
I believe Raffaele Sollecito or Rudy Guede wanted to sleep with Meredith and she refused their unwanted sexual advances, so they decided to take what they wanted by force but then decided to kill her because she saw their faces, but just before she died she said the words of initials "AF"
She has sustained 47 wounds, some of which were superficial and may have been defensive wounds.
She was stabbed in her neck with force at a particular angle with two different knives that may or may not have been owned by Raffaele Solle ito since he said himself that "he collected knives" or that "had always carried a knife on him since the age of 13" Meredith's clothing had been removed, such as her bra, was cut off her and her underwear and whatever clothing she was wearing was also removed so it is difficult to say if she had consensual sex or not since there was no visible signs of trauma if she had been raped but she was found partially nude at the crime scene.
I think she was held down, and stabbed and cut in her throat, strangled since the hyoid bone in her neck was broken, but there was no mention of petechial haemorrhaging in her eyes which is normal or common when a person is strangled so it is strange that was not mentioned if she was strangled. I believe she was raped while being stabbed and strangled to death. I believe the motive was related to money, that Amanda was jealous of Meredith because she was a good person and Amanda was the exact opposite, she hated Meredith which is why she didn't cry or show any signs of emotional distress on the day Meredith was discovered dead, bloody and mutilated.
Amanda and her Italian boyfriend acted indifferent to what was going on around them as if they are the only people in the world, they were kissing, and holding hands, something which later greatly disturbed and upset Meredith's British friends due to Amanda's "very strange" behaviour and attitude towards the murder investigation as a whole, as if it was nothing that her "friend" was just murdered. There was a Albanion witness that saw Amanda, Raffaele and Rudy Guede outside of the villa or cottage whatever you want to call it, as if they had planned the murder and were just about to proceed but noticed someone saw them so they decided to wait a day before going ahead with their plan. The day after the murder of Meredith Kercher took place, Amanda and Raffaele were seen buying cleaning products such as bleach that they later used to clean up the crime scene and a knife that Raffaele used to stab or threaten Meredith with. His home smelled of bleach when they arrived to look for evidence, one knife was found in his garden, but was never tested for DNA, or any other possible traces of blood etc..
The suspects threw clothing around and broke a window from the inside out to try to make it look like there was a robbery, but no valuables were taken from the house. (There is a documentary about the crime scene and how th e murder took place) The front door was left open or unlocked internationally. Raffaele claimed to be using his computer all night long but there isn't conclusive evidence to back up his supposed "alibi".
Amanda was also seen washing her clothing at a laundrette Via Fabretti on (November 2nd) the day after the murder.
Amanda had a American boyfriend (his name was never mentioned) while dating Raffaele Sollecito, and slept with 7 other men so it is not not surprising that she was considered promiscuous or a "man-eater" by the Italian or European media due to the way she behaved and owning a vibrator and having condoms with her while living at Via de pergola.
It is also not surprising that Amanda is HIV positive either due to the number of men she was having sex with or not having safe sex.
The prosecutor Mignini described Amanda as, manipulative, narcissistic, angry, aggressive, transgressive, theatrical, took a dislike to anyone that did not agree with her or didn't follow her ideals. She is a pathological liar and emotionally manipulative of men so they will willingly do whatever she wants them to do including murder just to please her.
Raffaele was described as cold, dependent, and had a fear of losing the support of others.
I think they are both indifferent, cold, callous and very selfish and glib about their involvement in the crime, at no point did either of them show any sign of emotional distress, or sadness, they never cried about what happened to Meredith or didn't seem upset or hurt in anyway.
They both seemed quite happy or relieved after the murder took place. They had no remorse or guilt about what they had done at all, they only feel guilty because they were caught, tried and convicted of murder.
The testimony of their roomate at the time Filomena Romanelli or the neighbours was interesting and important, at least they cared enough about Meredith to be concerned about her wellbeing due to the blood in the bathroom that Amanda and Meredith shared.
After the murder suspects were in custody and they were interrogated Amanda changed her story several times to shift the blame onto a innocent man, which backfired and made her look even more guilty. If she was innocent why would she implement a innocent man in a crime he had nothing to do with, just because he fired her for being lazy or high at work? While working at the bar Le Chic Amanda behaviour was erratic and flirtatious, instead of her doing her job she would flirt with any man that would show her the slightest bit of attention, she acted in a antagonistic, narcissistic and childish way that Patrick Lumumba finally had enough of her and rightfully fired her.
This was one of the reasons she was aggravated and needed Meredith's money to buy pot.
The house was ransacked even though there was still police crime scene tape up the house was not guarded anymore which made it a easy target for satanists to break in and perform satanic rituals.
Even though the crime was not ritualistic in nature it was a brutal murder that involved a lot of bloodshed, pain and sexual assault.
There are a lot of satanists in Italy specifically in Perugia, Milan (the beasts of satan cult/band committed their crimes there but unfortunately there is no detailed book about the crimes which would be interesting to read) and Turin.
The satanists involved in witchcraft and performing rituals that I have spoken too online have said that sex is a vital aspect for rituals to give it more power.
Sexual energy is used as a type of currency for a spell or ritual to be effective because there is always a price to be paid so it isn't surprising that satanists would choose a place where a violent murder occurred for performing rituals.
Knives from the house were found, and candle wax drippings were also found in Meredith's bedroom.
Both Amanda and Raffaele were convicted of murder as well as several other charges which were the following: Amanda received 26 years in prison and Raffaele received 25 years in prison, both were charged with sexual assault charges (6-12 years), theft (1-6 years), simulation of a crime (staging a crime 1-3 years), possession of a weapon (1 year), murder with cruelty involved (a life sentence)
Amanda was also charged with slander for saying she was hit by a policewoman, or physically and psychologically intimidated during her interrogation and made her confession under duress.
I don't think there will ever be a conclusive answer as to what exactly happened to meredith, not unless Amanda Knox "foxy knoxy" and Raffaele Sollecito admit to what they have done and at least apologise to Meredith's family even though it wouldn't mean much due to what they have done.
R.I.P Meredith Kercher, you didn't deserve what happened to you, it makes me feel apprehensive about going to a European country as a British tourist.

[Mark Saha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gary C. King is an established "true crime" writer who has produced a "me too" book on the Amanda Knox case.

From what I can tell he has no particular bias one way or another, and tells the story chronologically as if it were a novel. We are assured in the preface that no fictional characters appear, and that he has followed the case closely from the beginning.

The problem here is a fatal one - for whatever the reason, Mr. King has only a very tenuous grasp of the facts. Everything, and I mean pretty much everything, is slightly off-kilter factually.

Sample...

King's "novel" opens with a woman discovering two cell phones in her back yard. One is ringing. She answers, and receives a threat. She notifies the postal police, who assure her there is no threat. They determine the phones belong to Meredith Kercher and go to her address to return them.

When they go to the apartment and knock, Amanda and Raffael answer the front door ...

The accepted facts are more like this...

The woman who finds the phones in her back yard had (coincidentally) received a telephone bomb threat the week before. Police investigated and determined it was a hoax. Nonetheless that experience made her nervous when she discovered a phone ringing in her back yard. She answered it but no one was on the line. Postal police came and picked up the phone.

Later that day she found a second phone which was also turned in to the police.

Only one of the two phones was registered to Meredith Kercher. The other belonged to her roommate Filomena who lived at the same address.

Meanwhile Amanda Knox had returned from a night with her boyfriend to discover disturbing signs of a break-in at her apartment. She went back for her boyfriend. They looked over the apartment and called the police. Amanda and Raffael were waiting outside for the police when the postal police arrived.

From this you can see King has it "approximately" right.

But reading his version does not entitle you to an opinion on the case because you can't draw meaningful conclusions from such a tenuous grasp of fundamental fact. Although benign, his book serves no purpose and I can see no reason for anyone to read it.

The best narrative account of this tragedy is probably Candace Dempsey's "Murder in Italy". Nina Burleigh's "The Fatal Gift of Beauty" is an intelligent and thoughtful alternative. If you really want to understand the case, read both.

"Angel Face", a frankly ignorant effort in the best tabloid tradition, lacks even King's "approximation" of fact. (The original edition subtitled "The true story of student killer Amanda Knox" is now a $1,000 per copy collector's item on Amazon.)

And, well... that's that.

[Simon Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd never really followed the Meredith Kercher murder so this was an interesting quick read way in. The book is superficial but doesn't pretend to be anything other than that. There is a good overview of the chronological sequence of events and the main points of evidence in the case. The appalling death that Meredith went through is quite vivid and the conclusion that can be drawn from the series of events, while up to the reader to make their mind up, is made obvious for all to see by the author

[Stuart Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very neutral book which gives the evidence with the arguments of both the prosecution and defence then leaves the reader to come to their own conclusion.

King goes into a bit more depth about Meredith and her life rather than usual superficial profile of other crime writers when describing the victim.