Four years after her initial acquittal, American Amanda Knox has been cleared a second time for the murder of former roommate Meredith Kercher.
Italy's highest court on Friday overturned Knox and ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito's murder conviction, ending an eight-year-long case that captivated trial-watcher all over the world.
In a statement issued from her Seattle home, Knox said she was "relieved and grateful" for the decision, adding, "The Knowledge of my innocence has given me strength in the darkest times of this ordeal." Joy filled the Knox home as the verdict was announced. Friends and relatives joined in a celebration that seemed inauspicious in 2007.
Knox was charged with Kercher's murder after the British student's lifeless body was found in their Perugia, Italy apartment on Nov. 2, 2007. The case was marred by questionable forensics, leading DNA experts to call evidence "made up" and "incredulous."
Knox and Sollecito maintained their innocence throughout the trial, and though a prison stint mandated by the courts in 2009. The former lovers were acquitted and freed in 2011. Italy's Supreme Court overturned the acquittals soon after and convicted the pair after a retrial.
"We want to express our profound gratitude to all of those who have supported Amanda and our family," read a separate statement released by the Knox family. "Countless people - from world-renowned DNA experts, to former FBI agents, to everyday citizens committed to justice - have spoken about her innocence. We are thrilled with and grateful for today's decision from the Supreme Court of Italy. And we are grateful beyond measure for all that so many of you have done for her."
Judges on Friday declared that Knox and Sollecito did not commit a crime, though their exact reasoning will be released within the next three months.
"Finished!" Knox's lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova exclaimed after the verdict. "It couldn't be better than this."
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