Latest news with #Sollecito
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Who is Amanda Knox and was she found guilty in Meredith Kercher murder slander case?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AMANDA Knox is part of a new documentary about her wrongful conviction releasing on Disney+. Read more about the latest updates in the slander case against her, and what she's been up to since her murder conviction was overturned. 4 Amanda Knox returns to an Italian courtroom for the first time in more than 12½ years to clear herself "once and for all" of a slander charge Who is Amanda Knox? Amanda Knox is an American author and journalist, best known for being wrongly convicted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in 2007. Knox was attending the University for Foreigners in Perugia on an exchange year from the University of Washington. While there, she started dating Raffaele Sollecito, a 23-year-old Italian student, and worked in a bar. 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 the police, the body of roommate Meredith was found inside her locked bedroom. Knox and then-boyfriend Sollecito were convicted of stabbing 21-year-old Kercher to death at a flat in Perugia, Italy, in 2007. In 2009, the pair were jailed, with Know receiving a 26 year sentence, and Sollecito receiving 25 years. Knox and Sollecito were acquitted of murder on March 27, 2015, by the Italian supreme court. Judges said that there were a litany of errors regarding the case, including a stark lack of evidence to suggest that either Knox or Sollecito were involved. After her experience, she said that people had flocked to apologise to her - even stopping her in the street to say sorry for jumping to conclusions about her. Knox recently spoke to a panel of lawyers and discussed the effect the case had on her family and how the case came to define her; and featured in a Netflix documentary about her experiences. She married poet and author Christopher Robinson in 2018. In 2021, Knox and Robinson welcomed their first child together. The baby was named Eureka Know Robinson. She took to Instagram to share her news. Since my exoneration, I've struggled to reclaim my identity and protect the people I love from being exploited as tabloid content. It's not easy, and I often feel like I'm trying to invent good choices out of bad whole cloth. I know that I cannot 100% protect my daughter from the kind of treatment I've suffered, but I'm doing the best I can. Which is why this will be the only picture of her I will ever share on social media. I'm so grateful to everyone who has wished @emceecarbon and I well on our journey to parenthood. Thank you for believing in us." Amanda Knox Knox believes that she has had to carry the burden for the murder of Kercher, saying that her real killer, Rudy Guede, is almost forgotten due to the high media presence surrounding the case. In 2024, Knox was back in court in Italy. She was re-convicted of a charge related to the brutal 2007 killing of Meredith Kercher. On June 5th, I will walk into the very same courtroom where I was reconvicted of a crime I didn't commit, this time to defend myself yet again. I hope to clear my name once and for all of the false charges against me. Wish me luck." Amanda Knox Knox was found guilty of slander for falsely accusing Patrick Lumumba, a Congolese bar owner, of killing Kercher. Lumumba was held for two weeks in 2007 before he was freed without charge. But despite being sentenced to three years in jail, the mum-of-two will not serve any more jail time, as the three years count as time already served. Who was Meredith Kercher? Meredith Kercher was born in Southwark, South London on 28 December, 1985. She lived in Coulsdon, a town within the London borough of Croydon. 4 British exchange student Meredith Kercher was murdered in Perugia 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. In 2007, fingerprints were identified at the scene as belonging to Rudy Guede, who was ultimately charged and sentenced for the brutal murder. He was granted early release in November 2021. The case attracted global media interest, with Knox at the centre. Did Amanda Knox get any compensation? Knox was awarded a £16,000 payout after winning a European Human Rights Court case against the Italian government on January 24, 2019. At the Court, she said Italian police had infringed her rights by failing to provide her with a lawyer, an interpreter, and not following proper procedure. She also insisted she had been slapped by cops during questioning but judges ruled there was no proof of that. They wrote: "There was insufficient evidence to conclude that Ms Knox had actually sustained the inhuman or degrading treatment of which she had complained." Within minutes of the decision, Knox, who now lives in Seattle, issued a statement again insisting she was hit. She said: "I was interrogated for 53 hours over five days, without a lawyer, in a language I understood maybe as well as a ten-year-old. "When I told police I had no idea who had killed Meredith I was slapped in the back of the head and told to 'Remember.'" Sources in Italy said Knox had been looking for £1.7m compensation but the ECHR gave her £9,000 damages and £6,900 towards costs. There was no immediate response from the Italian government, which has three months to reply. What happened to Raffaele Sollecito? Raffaele Sollecito was cleared of the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher after spending nearly four years in jail. The Italian man has since said that the convictions ruined his life, demanding £400,000 to cover legal costs that he incurred while trying to clear his name. 4 Italian student Raffaele Sollecito, murdered British woman Meredith Kercher and her American roommate Amanda Knox This bid was rejected in 2017, on the grounds that Sollecito made "contradictory or even frankly untrue" statements in the early stages of the investigation, which equated to "intent or gross negligence." He said: "There were many victims in this case. Amanda [Knox] 's parents, my parents, all our families... there are many others made by the prosecution's mistakes." He then added that people did not understand why he had been acquitted, saying: "I have to face this kind of society. I have to face anybody that doesn't support me." Sollecito now works as a computer engineer in Milan. He reunited with Knox in 2022 to visit the historic Italian town of Gubbio, a town they were planning to visit before being arrested for Kercher's murder. What happened to Rudy Guede? Rudy Guede was born December 26, 1986, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He was convicted of the murder and sexual assault of Meredith Kercher in October 2008, and sentenced to 30 years behind bars. However, this was reduced to 16 years. 4 Rudy Guede arrives at the Perugia courthouse for the sitting of his appeal against the sentence he received in the Meredith Kercher murder trial in 2009 Guede was released from prison on November 24, 2021 after having served 13 years of his sentence. He was allowed out 45 days early for good behaviour. What's in the Disney+ documentary? A new documentary illustrating the story of Amanda Knox has been released by Disney Plus, with the first two episodes premiering on August 20. The TV show will be eight episodes long, with new instalments arriving every Wednesday until concluding on October 1. "The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox" depicts Amanda's 15-year fight to clear her name, focusing on the investigation, courtroom twists, and shocking narratives- inspired by Amanda Knox's real life story. Amanda Knox executively produced the limited series herself, giving a real understanding to her own characters emotional struggle and mental state throughout the series. How to watch the Amanda Knox documentary The Amanda Knox documentary is available to watch on streaming platform Disney+ for UK and Hulu for US subscribers. Grace Van Patten stars as Amanda Knox in the programme, which is billed as a fascinating blend of media bias and of courage, hope, and forgiveness. UK viewers can sign up to watch Disney+ on smart devices or through the TV. Packages start from £4.99 a month.
Toronto Sun
24-07-2025
- Toronto Sun
Alleged Montreal Mafia leader Stefano Sollecito has bail hearing in murder case
Sollecito is seeking release for health reasons Published Jul 23, 2025 • Last updated 17 hours ago • 1 minute read Stefano Sollecito (striped shirt) exits a courtroom during a break in a hearing as part of Project Magot-Mastiff in 2017. Allen McInnis/Montreal Gazette A Quebec Superior Court judge has begun hearing evidence in a request from Stefano Sollecito, an alleged leader of the Montreal Mafia, who is seeking a release on bail following his arrest in June in Project Alliance, an investigation that resulted in the arrests of several organized crime figures. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Sollecito, 57, is seeking the release for health reasons. On Wednesday, he was brought into a prisoner's dock in the courtroom in a wheelchair and was assisted by two women who appeared to be nurses. One of the women moved his wheelchair around awkwardly, looking for a spot in the cramped space from which Sollecito could follow the hearing comfortably. When he was arrested in 2015, in Project Magot-Mastiff, a different investigation involving organized crime figures, he managed to get bail because he had cancer. Since then, Sollecito has lost a lot of his hair and he didn't appear to be in good health on Wednesday. Bettina Rizzuto, the sister of Leonardo Rizzuto, 56, another person who was arrested last month in Project Alliance, was in the courtroom. She stood up while the two women brought Sollecito into the courtroom and she waved to him. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Justice Alexandre Boucher repeated an order that a publication ban has been placed on all of the evidence heard during Sollecito's bail hearing. The judge is expected to hear evidence over the course of two days. The first witness to testify on Wednesday was David Desrochers, a Montreal police detective and the lead investigator in Project Alliance. Sollecito, Rizzuto and other men are charged with the murder of Lorenzo LoPresti, who was killed on Oct. 24, 2011, in the St-Laurent borough. Sollecito and Rizzuto are also charged with conspiring to kill LoPresti and seven other organized crime figures between 2011 and 2019. Sports Golf Sunshine Girls Canada Sunshine Girls
Montreal Gazette
23-07-2025
- Montreal Gazette
Alleged Montreal Mafia leader Stefano Sollecito has bail hearing in murder case
Montreal Crime By A Quebec Superior Court judge has begun hearing evidence in a request from Stefano Sollecito, an alleged leader of the Montreal Mafia, who is seeking a release on bail following his arrest in June in Project Alliance, an investigation that resulted in the arrests of several organized crime figures. Sollecito, 57, is seeking the release for health reasons. On Wednesday, he was brought into a prisoner's dock in the courtroom in a wheelchair and was assisted by two women who appeared to be nurses. One of the women moved his wheelchair around awkwardly, looking for a spot in the cramped space from which Sollecito could follow the hearing comfortably. When he was arrested in 2015, in Project Magot-Mastiff, a different investigation involving organized crime figures, he managed to get bail because he had cancer. Since then, Sollecito has lost a lot of his hair and he didn't appear to be in good health on Wednesday. Bettina Rizzuto, the sister of Leonardo Rizzuto, 56, another person who was arrested last month in Project Alliance, was in the courtroom. She stood up while the two women brought Sollecito into the courtroom and she waved to him. Justice Alexandre Boucher repeated an order that a publication ban has been placed on all of the evidence heard during Sollecito's bail hearing. The judge is expected to hear evidence over the course of two days. The first witness to testify on Wednesday was David Desrochers, a Montreal police detective and the lead investigator in Project Alliance. Sollecito, Rizzuto and other men are charged with the murder of Lorenzo LoPresti, who was killed on Oct. 24, 2011, in the St-Laurent borough. Sollecito and Rizzuto are also charged with conspiring to kill LoPresti and seven other organized crime figures between 2011 and 2019.
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Amanda Knox says she is GRATEFUL she was wrongly convicted of Meredith Kercher's murder - because it helped her 'know herself' better
Amanda Knox has insisted in a new interview she actually feels gratitude for being wrongly convicted of murdering student flatmate Meredith Kercher. The US writer and broadcaster, 37, who served four years in an Italian prison for the British student's killing, made the claims while promoting her new memoir - saying she now feels she knows herself better. Ms Kercher, a 21-year-old from Coulsdon in south London, was found stabbed to death in her bedroom at the apartment she shared with Ms Knox in the Italian hilltop town of Perugia on November 2 2007. American student Ms Knox, 20 at the time, and her Italian boyfriend Sollecito, who was 23, were arrested four days later and went on to be convicted at trial twice. Both convictions were overturned due to a lack of any evidence linking them to the crime and the pair were ultimately exonerated by Italy 's highest court in 2015. Police also arrested Rudy Guede, who ran a local bar - and his bloody fingerprints and DNA found at the crime scene ensured his conviction for murder, before he served 14 years of a 30-year prison sentence then was freed in 2021. Ms Knox has now written a new memoir, called Free: My Search for Meaning, that she has been publicising. And she opened up about her feelings about her experiences on former newspaper editor Andy Coulson's Crisis, What Crisis? podcast. He highlighted a phrase in her new book saying: 'I wouldn't wish my wrongful conviction on anyone, but nor would I trade it for the world.' Ms Knox expanded further by quoting ancient Roman philosopher Seneca, as she replied: 'I am who I am today because of what I went through. 'And there's this great stoic saying by Seneca where he says, basically paraphrasing, "I have pity for you if you have never gone through misfortune, because you do not know what you are capable of". 'And so I know as a result of having gone through this experience, both my greatest weaknesses and my greatest strengths. 'I know myself in a way that I would not have otherwise been able to know myself. And for that, I am grateful.' Ms Knox also told how she felt lucky to be alive, crediting her then-relationship with Mr Sollecito for being away from her student property when Guede broke in and attacked her flatmate. She said: 'I'm grateful to be alive today because, you know, if I had not met my at the time boyfriend and then eventually co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito five days before this crime occurred, I would have been home when this person broke into our house and I might have been raped and murdered too. 'So the very fact that I'm alive today to tell the tale, that I survived my own study abroad is a result of some fluke luck. 'And the fact that I spent four years in prison instead of 40 - I know people who have spent longer in prison as an innocent person than I have been alive. 'The fact that I get to have a family and have children when so many women who are wrongly convicted come out and it's too late and they lost that opportunity.' She met her now-husband Christopher Robinson in 2015 and they have two children - daughter Eureka, born in 2021, and son Echo, born in September 2023. Ms Knox added: 'There are so many things that I have that at one point in my life I thought I had lost - and just the experience of gratitude is kind of overwhelming 'It's not something that I have to remind myself of when I'm feeling down - it's very present in my life. 'And that's another reason to feel grateful, that I just have the kind of disposition that makes feeling gratitude for what I have in my life easy for me - that is not necessarily easy for other people.' Ms Kercher's family and their lawyers have been critical of Ms Knox and she acknowledged their antipathy - while also praising her student friend. Ms Knox told the podcast: 'This was a person I knew, who was kind to me, who I had pizza with and who I went dancing with and baked cookies with. And she was a very, very lovely person.' A dedication in the new book states: 'To Meredith, rest in peace, whose legacy I will never stop honouring, and her family, because I still hope we can share our grief one day.' Ms Knox said in the Crisis, What Crisis? podcast interview about Ms Kercher's family: 'I don't push. I've not pursued aggressively a relationship with them, because I know that they have to confront a lot of trauma just to even think about me, much less have a relationship with me or communicate with me or meet with me. 'So I try to be very sensitive to that. At the same time though, the day that Rudy Guede broke into our house and raped and murdered Meredith, all of our lives were destroyed, mine too, and we have a lot more in common than I think they realise. 'And I blame the prosecution and the media and especially their attorney, who I think has been extremely irresponsible, for making it impossible for that kind of connection to happen.' Ms Knox has previously released a bestselling memoir called Waiting to Be Heard, in 2013, and five years later started hosting a television series which examined the 'gendered nature of public shaming'. A Netflix series was also released in 2016 telling her story and she has been working on an upcoming show, Blue Moon, with Monica Lewinksy, to air on Hulu. Ms Knox described in her latest podcast appearance how she has tried to explain her prison past in an 'age-appropriate' way to her three-year-old daughter. She said: 'One of those amazing consequences of sharing your story is how someone responds - and my daughter responds almost like I've told her a fairytale. 'And she'll want to play pretend when mommy goes to Italy. So when we go to the park, if there's bars somewhere, she'll get behind the bars and be like, "Look, I'm mommy. Let me out".' Earlier this year Ms Knox broke down in tears after her conviction of slandering her former boss was upheld by Italy's highest court. She was found guilty of slander after she wrongly accused her then-boss Patrick Lumumba of murdering Ms Kercher - and in January lost her appeal to have the slander charge overturned, leaving her with a permanent criminal record in Italy. Ms Knox, who did not attend court but followed the hearing from the US, shared a video of herself weeping after the conviction was upheld, saying it was 'disappointing' that she will have a 'criminal record forever for something I didn't do'. Her defense team said she only accused Lumumba, a Congolese man who employed her at a bar in Perugia, during a long night of questioning and under pressure from police, who they said fed her false information. The European Court of Human Rights found that the police deprived her of a lawyer and provided a translator who acted more as a mediator. Reached by telephone following the latest court decision in January, Mr Lumumba said he was satisfied with the verdict. He added: 'Amanda was wrong. This verdict has to accompany her for the rest of her life.' In March this year Ms Knox revealed details about her unlikely friendship with the Italian prosecutor who convicted her of murder - revealing she sees it as a form of 'therapy' that helps the other feel 'absolved'. Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini and Knox forged a bond in the years after her conviction was overturned, with the lawyer stating previously he now has a 'good opinion' of her. The former adversaries have grown close despite Mr Mignini believing Knox was at the scene of the crime and declaring that Ms Kercher 'did not get justice'. Ms Knox's correspondence with Mr Mignini began when she wrote him letters, delivered by go-between priest Don Saulo Scarabattoli, before moving to the messaging platform WhatsApp and eventually meeting again. They now share personal news, family photographs and send holiday greetings to each other, after developing a friendship. Ms Knox told the Guardian: 'As much as I want him to absolve me, I think he wants me to absolve him more. 'The one time in my life where I felt unstoppable was when I realised that it wasn't about what I was going to get from him, it was about what I was going to give him.'
Business Wire
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Sinclair Names Vincent J. Sollecito Vice President and General Manager of WPEC in West Palm Beach, FL
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sinclair today announced the appointment of Vincent J. Sollecito as Vice President and General Manager of WPEC, serving the West Palm Beach, Florida market. Sollecito most recently served as Senior Vice President of Ad Sales at Marquee Sports Network, where he played a key role in launching the regional sports network in 2019. Prior to that, he was President of ABC National Television Sales, overseeing sales operations for eight ABC owned-and-operated stations. His extensive broadcast career also includes leadership roles as Vice President at ABC 7 Chicago and WABC in New York. 'With more than 20 years of experience leading high-performing teams in top markets across the country, Vincent brings exceptional insight, energy, and strategic vision to WPEC,' said Rob Weisbord, Chief Operating Officer and President of Local Media. 'His depth of experience and forward-thinking approach make him the ideal leader to guide the station's continued growth and innovation.' 'Sinclair's commitment to innovation and community-focused journalism aligns perfectly with my passion for building strong local connections and driving meaningful results,' said Sollecito. 'I'm honored to join the talented team at WPEC and to return to local broadcasting and I look forward to leading the station into its next chapter of growth and excellence.' Sollecito is a graduate of St. John's University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management. About Sinclair Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) is a diversified media company and a leading provider of local news and sports. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 185 television stations in 86 markets affiliated with all the major broadcast networks; and owns Tennis Channel and multicast networks Comet, CHARGE!, TBD/ROAR and The Nest. Sinclair's content is delivered via multiple platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and the nation's largest streaming aggregator of local news content, NewsON. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at Category: General
