In a tearful turn of events for both the prosecution and the defense, Amanda Knox and her one-time boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were freed after spending almost four years in an Italian prison after an appeals court found them not guilty of committing the murder that originally put them in jail. On November 6, 2007, Knox and Sollecito were arrested and jailed just four days after Knox's roommate, Meredith Kercher, was found murdered in their apartment. Police and media immediately pinpointed Knox as an accomplice in the murder and portrayed her as a sex-crazed, wild foreigner who held the knife after a drug-fueled sex game went awry, ending in Kercher's murder (CBS News). .
Just two hours after Knox collapsed in the courtroom when her freedom was announced, she traveled by limousine to the airport where police escorted her through a private entrance. "She just couldn't wait to get on the plane," reported Knox's friend, Giulia Alagna. "She told me that, even though she wasn't yet on the plane, she felt like she was already flying. She was just very, very happy to get on that flight" (CBS News). .
Knox spoke briefly with the Italy-US Foundation, an organization that is dedicated to strengthening the ties between the two countries. "During the trip from Perugia to Rome, Amanda was serene," said Corrado Maria Daclon, the secretary-general of the foundation. "She confirmed to me that in the future she intends to come back to our country" (CBS News). .
Knox also thanked those "who shared my suffering and helped me survive with hope. Those who wrote, those who defended me, those who were close, those who prayed for me" (CBS News).
While the defense shared tears of joy, the victim's family mourned over the jury's decision. Kercher's older sister cried quietly, while her mother sat rigid and still. Her brother commented that the family was back at "square one" (CBS News).
"That's the biggest disappointment, not knowing still," said Kercher's sister.
