E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
NBC News
Amanda Knox makes a short statement at Sea-Tac Airport.
By msnbc.com's Kari Huus and Alex Johnson
Update 9 p.m. ET: As Amanda Knox and her family leave and the ladders are folded, supporters urge the media crowd to "give them some peace. ... Give them some time."
_____
Update 8:51 p.m. ET: Amanda Knox's statement at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport:
They're reminding me to speak in English, because I'm having problems with that.
I'm really overwhelmed right now. I was looking down from the airplane, and it seemed everything wasn't real.
What's important for me to say is just thank you to everyone who's believed in me, who's defended me and who's supported my family.
My family is the most important thing to me right now, and I just want to go be with them. So, thank you for being there for me.
_____
Update 8:41 p.m. ET: The news conference is over. Amanda Knox spoke briefly, saying, "I'm really overwhelmed right now."
She arrived in the briefing room to loud whoops from a crowd of supporters. She was crying, with her hand over her mouth.
• Full coverage of the Amanda Knox case on msnbc.com
She then sat with her family, still crying and clutching a relative's hand.
_____
Kari Huus / msnbc.com
A supporter of Amanda Knox at the Seattle airport Tuesday evening.
Update 8:32p.m. ET: Amanda Knox and her family have arrived for a news conference at the Seattle airport. A groan went up from journalists when it was announced that no questions would be taken.
_____
Update 8:16 p.m. ET: The first Italian press to show up were Manuela Moreno, an anchor for Rai TV in Italy, and a producer who arrived with a producer this morning from New York, where they had been for the previous month.
For these veterans of the Amanda Knox drama — they've been covering it since the news of the murder — there's no surprise that even in relatively far-flung Seattle, press hunger for the story remains at a fever pitch.
"I expected it, yes, because Amanda is young, beautiful and enigmatic. There are three young people, love, sex and a horrible murder in a small town. ... It has all the ingredients for a horrible story," said Moreno.
None of the same frenzy surrounds Knox's former boyfriend, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, whose conviction was also overturned. Moreno says she thinks this is because he is more "naive."
"But she is like a sphinx," Moreno says of Knox. "No one knows what she thinks."
Moreno sees no end to press interest in Italy for a long time, especially if she delays talking to Italian press.
"It all depends on how long Amanda drags is out before talking ot the press. The sooner she does, the sooner she will get rid of us."
They hope to understand her better by seeing how she acts now that she is back in the United States. But if she is very elusive, they might end up camped in front of her house in West Seattle.
"It could get quite obnoxious," says Morena.
— Kari Huus
_____
Update 8:09 p.m. ET: Amanda Knox's plane has landed safely at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
_____
Update 7:40 p.m. ET: While there was a sense of relief and joy among supporters of Amanda Knox, she and her family face a host of challenges, NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports. The family has been nearly bankrupted by legal fees, and her grandmother says she's drowning in debt:
_____
Update 7:25 p.m. ET: While news crews make up most of the crowd at Sea-Tac airport waiting for Amanda Knox, a couple of civilians did make their way to the press area.
Kari Huus / msnbc.com
News crews jam Seattle-Tacoma International Airport ahead of Amanda Knox's arrival.
"I wondered why there weren't more people here," Rochelle Fitzgerald — who landed in Seattle on her way back to Port Angeles, Wash., from Los Angeles — said upon learning that Knox wasn't expected to land until after 5 p.m. local time (8 p.m. ET).
Fitzgerald just happened by coincidence to be in the airport as the press was setting up and she was hoping to catch a glimpse of Knox, who she said got a raw deal.
"All I can say is it's a shame when our American people go into another country, and the things that happen," she said. "I think it's a sad situation to go through that, and [Knox] needs all the support she can get."
• Full details and background on the Amanda Knox case
By contrast, Thomas Bakker of Seattle has been following the case from day one, and with a day off work, he took Seattle's light rail to Sea-Tac expressly for Knox's homecoming.
In Bakker's opinion, "after all is said and done, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"She kept mixing up her story at the beginning," he said, "and so that probably triggered the prosecution, who was able to go after her."
— Kari Huus
____
Update 6:32 p.m. ET: Anne Bremner, a Seattle defense attorney who served as a spokeswoman for Friends of Amanda Knox, which raised money for her defense, tells Reuters that Knox is likely to make a brief statement thanking her supporters.
NBC station KING-TV of Seattle reported that Friends of Amanda Knox would not be at the airport but would instead wait for Knox to decide when and where they would hold a celebration.
_____
Original post: Nearly a dozen TV satellite trucks are sitting outside the Seattle airport, part of a media maelstrom awaiting Amanda Knox's return home after she served four years in an Italian prison for a murder she was ultimately found not to have committed.
After four years in prison, Amanda Knox is a free woman after an Italian appeals court overturned her conviction for the murder of her roommate. NBC News' Keith Miller reports.
Knox's British Airways flight was on schedule for an estimated arrival at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport about 8:12 p.m. ET. When she lands, customs agents will meet her and her family, and then they will be whisked through a secure door for a news conference, said Perry Cooper, a spokesman for the Port of Seattle, which operates Sea-Tac.
Knox's parents and the family's legal adviser are expected to speak, but it isn't known whether Knox, 24, an exchange student at the University of Washington, herself plans to make any statement. They'll then be whisked away to depart privately.
Msnbc.com will stream the news conference live, probably beginning around 9 p.m. ET.
Knox was initially sentenced to 26 years in prison after she and her then-boyfriend were convicted in 2009 of sexually assaulting and killing her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, in 2007. An Italian appeals court overturned the convictions Monday, setting off a media frenzy in Italy and the U.S. alike. The prosecutor said he would appeal the ruling, and Kercher's family was left without a resolution to her killing.
Knox's case generated enormous interest and sympathy in the U.S., but NBC News' Claudio Lavanga reported from Perugia that as soon as the verdict became clear Monday, the air filled with cries of "Shame, Shame." The Knox family, pelted with heady insults when they emerged from the court, had to be whisked away by security.
• Full details and background on the Amanda Knox case
Carlo Dalla Vedova, one of Knox's Italian attorneys, said Knox is weak, stressed and scared after her ordeal.
"She hasn't got so much sleep, and this week has been extremely heavy on her," Dalla Vedova said in an interview with NBC's TODAY:
Carlo Dalla Vedova, one of Amanda Knox's attorneys, says his client's exoneration is the "end of a nightmare" for the American student.
Leave a Comment:
I just don't get why people have mob her right when she lands. The poor girl has been through a lot, why can't we just leave her alone?
This is American, and now she has celebrity status, therefore the press and paparazzi will proceed to make her life miserable for as long as possible. My own feeling is that every American has the right to protect themselves, so if she pulled out an AR-15 to clear the way, that would be fine with me. These people are bottom feeders, and should be treated as such.
Guede,plead GUILTY,convicted and sentanced to 30 yrs. On a plea bargin he implcated Knox and boyfriend and thus had his sentance reduced to 16 yrs. There's no great question here, He was there, said he did it, Case closed.
Actually, has never confessed to the crime. He still says he's innocent, despite all the evidence. Of course, he is, but he's never admitted to killing Kercher. His sentence was not reduced by a plea bargain. In Italy, defendants can opt for a "fast track" trial which automatically cuts their sentence by 1/3. With all the evidence against him, Guede chose this option (without confessing) in order to get the reduced sentence. He only implicated AK and RS after he found out about their arrests, having first said a "dark haired Italian man" had killed MK. How convenient for Mignini.
All these stupid people think she's innocent, just because she got out of it....morons.
You must have some intelligence. She was there, participated and got off. Thats the story.
All these people think she's guilty because they have a conspiracy theory, and no other life.
notld68, smart people don't think she's innocent just because she got out of it. We think she's innocent because the evidence supports it while no evidence supports her guilt. Of course, we could be wrong and she's really a witch who made all the physical evidence of hers and Sollecito's fly out the window, but that's the chance we'll have to take.
I am so happy for Amanda. If I were her, I would be looking forward to simply sleeping in late in a comfortable bed, awakening to sunshine, showering in privacy, and maybe take a ride in the mountains to see the leaves changing colors while listening to my favorite songs, stop and eat foods I hadn't tasted for so long, and then just bask in the understanding that so many of us fail to acknowledge--that we truly live in a land that is precious above all others. Breathe it all in, Amanda, until your heart is content.
All of you sheeple who believe she is innocent...I'll bet 99% of you are medicated 90% of the day. Clueless and hopeless.
I'm getting a little tired of you. Isn't it time for you to be banned from talking among civilized people?
Spoken like one who hasn't a clue what is going on with our borders.
Er, what?
And her first words off the plane were; "We elected WHO president??!!!" "WTF???"
Troy Davis will not be coming home to his family. Two tier justice system is unfair.
Two completely different cases tried and appealed in two completely different countries. Stay on topic...
I really doubt she is guilty. So much media coverage of her and the majority was negative about her. She was 20 when she was accused, arrested and thrown into a jail in another country. Italian was not even her first language, I imagine she was terrified. The prosecutor in Italy made so much up with no evidence, mind you, just one scurrilous lie after another, from what I have read this isn't the first time he has tried to sensationalize a trial, I also have read there are those in Italy that want this guy fired because of his questionable court antics. Ms. Kershers' murderer was caught and sentenced and is still in jail. I figure he dragged them into it to make his sentence lighter, to spread the blame around. I can only sympathize with the Kersher's pain and loss.
The Knox family is not wealthy they live in West Seattle not in a mansion just a middle class home. There is so much misinformation out in the media about the Knox family. I hope they can recover and heal and move ahead in their lives.
It reminds me of the hikers in Iran.
Oh yeah this poor girl went through hell and back a few times being locked up in the italian prison. She will smell like chicken soup garlic and a young girls urine for yrs now. Then the hairy women she had to fight off in prison, some of the older italian women have their short hairs like wires and the armpit hairs with garlic stench I mentioned before oozing from their pores. May she live long and prosper now. The italians should offer her a few tomato sauce factories for what they did to her. She should be the sole owner of RAGU and PREGO.
She would just be on the hook for them when Italy defaults...
F$%k all you liberal azhoes in Seattle, why did she lie to police? You got a clue? Let her babysit your kids you pompous bunch of A-hoes
If I were interrogated for more than 24 hours by Italian police without a lawyer present, I'd become a babbling idiot and say just about anything to get some peace. Her statements to police under those conditions have no credibility.
And what state are you from, Smith, so we know never to sent our children there for an education in civility. Your post is the ranting of a deranged bigot. Hopefully you aren't contributing to the stereotype of the undereducated hate mongers of the south east.
Marc Smith, spoken like a person who hasn't got the faintest knowledge of the case. Why is that those who know the least feel the most entitled to give an opinion?
A story like this being front-page matter demonstrates MSNBC's deliberate tactic of denying even-handed coverage, especially when it comes to all thing Obama and his Administration.
As of this post, there is no mention whatsoever of the momentum building in Congress to investigate the Attorney General, Eric Holder" for possibly lying to Congress.
Seems he's testified that he didn't know about the (also kept in the background by the MSM) Fast and Furious program, which was a disaster for the Fed that allowed felons and straw buyers to knowingly purchase many guns.
CNN has it. Of course FOX has it, and very few others.
Once again, we see the term 'journalistic integrity' has become an oxymoron.
Of course Fox Propaganda has it. I looked pretty hard for it on CNN, and couldn't find anything. Is it on page 97 of some obscure section? Not in politics, or crime. Certainly not a headline. Maybe you could point it out. I wonder if it says, "Fox talks of growing momentum to investigate Eric Holder."
One of their earliest and most used tactics was to make up a story, let other stations pick it up, and make a big deal about it being on other stations, or make up a story, and have dick c. come on Sunday morning citing a story in "a news agency" supporting whatever lie he told Fox to promote.
Quoting Fox won't get you anywhere, well anywhere but on the Fox Forum.
So link to the CNN story; I'd like to see it.
Still waiting for that link, steve. By the way, just as an after thought, referring to Fox employees as "journalists" is an oxymoron.
Well, I'm going to bed. If you ever find that CNN link, I'll come back tomorrow (with little hope) to look at the story. See you Steve, FoxBot.
Cavalier, you'll be waiting for that link about as long as I've been waiting for a "guilter" to explain the complete and total absence of any physical evidence of AK or RS in MK's bedroom. I've asked numerous times on numerous forums but they just never seem able to explain it. Instead, they go off on some tangent about Casey Anthony, Troy Davis,or how they can tell AK is guilty just by looking in her eyes.
She's pretty hot. I call dibs on her butt.
Amanda Knox was originally convicted of the murder of Meredith Kercher
Here is the site dedicated for the pursuit of justice for the poor victim, Meredith Kurcher, just 21 years old...
... it details the brutal, horrific attack she suffered at the hands of Knox and her boyfriend.
Most of the court's evidence is documented here as well. Do some research.
It refutes much of Amanda Knox's testimony, including her compulsive lying to authorities and being caught out, time & time again, with misleading or false testimony.
Amanda Knox has gotten away with murder.
And yet she is feted by a gullible public in the US.
It is so tragic for this victim's family once more.
Ruth An.. I belive YOU are the GULLIBLE. If you belive the made up story by the prosecutor, if you beliebve that a man left DNA (including sperm, saliva, blood, and hair< and he already has plead guilty and is in jail BUT you think that Amnda and her boyfriend who have NO FORENSIC EVIDENCE than you are just delusinal. Have you seen the tiny hands on Amanda, the tiny stature, and six=ze of her? And you think she can weild a knofe 40 times in this girls body and leave NO DNA? Perhaps you should become familiar with CSI. You are really not knowlegeable anough to even FORM an opinion. You sound very naive. Every American family, especially the Knox family, has great sympathy for the Kercher family. Do you not know what goes on inside of a room where there is an interrogation? You need to become more of an informed person before you shout out such hate for inocent people. There were THREE inncovent victims here.
Where do you get your news from? The Italian prosecutors should be jailed for what they did to Amanda Knox and her boyfriend. A young woman. barely a teen, doesn't become a murderer overnight. This smells of prosecutorial misconduct and all 'evidence' should have been thrown out at the get go. Neither one of them should have been jailed for even ONE day, never mond FOUR LONG YEARS. It appears as though the prosecution was desperate to 'solve' the crime. The town is a magnet for college students and you couldn't have any 'murderers' walking around, I mean the college kids would have been sent home by their parents. I hope Amanda writes a book amd makes a movie and earns millions. I hope the famly of Meredith can heal. I hope Rudy serves plenty of time in jail and relives that night he terrorized and murdered Meredith in his mind everyday I also hope with every fiber of my being that the police and prosecutors rot in some cold, dank jail for the abuse of power and the justice system.
Amanda Knox had her family hire a professional public relations firm, for over a million dollars, to fool the American public (seems to have worked)
The victim's family, the Kurcher's, could barely afford to fly to Italy to see the trial of their daughter's cold-hearted murderer.
Go to Google and search under "justice for meredith kercher"
This is the website dedicated to the young victim of this horrendous and vicious crime committed by Amanda Knox.
Research and read what happened.
The American public are looking at the court finding her innocent after reviewing all the so-called "evidence" in her case. If they hired a public relations firm, they wasted their money on me, because I only began paying attention again with the new verdict. Based on the original conviction, I figured she was guilty, but I didn't have all the, apparently falsified, evidence to sift through. You seem to have either a personal stake in this, or just a general hatred for young pretty women, or no life, and a need to feel angry and cheated somehow. I find this to be very sad, and suggest that you talk all this out with a trained psychiatrist.
Ruth An
Amanda Knox had her family hire a professional public relations firm, for over a million dollars, to fool the American public (seems to have worked)
Yes, the Knox family (not Amanda) did hire a firm in order to counter the character assassination campaign that the prosecution had mounted against Amanda in the press, most specifically the Italian and British tabloids. Daily salacious headlines provided misinformation, conjecture and outright lies to the public often leaked to the press by the prosecutor or the police.. The Knox family felt they had no choice but to fight back.
As for the finances, the Knox family borrowed money, mortgaged their homes to the hilt (including her grandmother), emptied their retirement accounts and ran up their credit cards to pay for this, her defense lawyers, and travel back and forth to Italy. They have been financially ruined defending their daughter.
MOST OF YOU HERE are very sick people.READ the case history before you make yourself look very very stupid,oh wait that has already happened,what complete morons.She IS innocent,get over it and move on with your pathetic lives. SHE DID NOT DO IT,period !!!
She was there, she participated, People were paid off. Now buy her book like all the other morons in this Country. If she is innocent, so is OJ and Casey Anthony. Now the three of them can appear on Dancing with The Frauds, which has taken a new low as of this evening.
I think most people posting here think she is innocent. Aside from a few, like Lazaro, Lusitania, and Ruth An who seem to have some kind of unfathomable chips on their shoulders, it's pretty clear that people believe the second verdict to be the correct one.
Like I said before I got "collapsed by the weak assed community".
The best thing she could have done was go hide after she got off the plane.
Maybe she could hang out with Casey Anthony.
I read your sad little post the first time, and can understand why it was collapsed.
If she's innocent and completely clueless as to what actually happened, then justice has been served for her. Unfortunately, it seems like the Italian legal system wanted to make an example of an American, driving home the point that we can't expect to get away with murder (so to speak) in other countries. They may already think that people get away with too much in the US. Amanda is more than elated knowing that she's free to even focus on the fact that she has been robbed of four precious years.
If she's guilty, she deserves an Academy Award. Whichever network gets the exclusive will take care of the family's debt.
I'm sure she will get around to the 4 years after the shock wears off.
Ruth An: You need to check yourself big time !! The really sad part in all this is that the real killer or killers are long gone now because those foolish pollice and prosecuters screwed up BIG !! Amanda's parents are in serious debt over this.They maxed credit cards,re-financed their homes,so go blow it out your a$$ you have no clue as to what your talking about.I have lived in Seattle for fifteen years and know she could NEVER NEVER even begin to think about doing something this horrible.
This girl is NOT guilty and that's what the court finally decided. Even if she were, it's better that a guilty person go free than for an innocent one to be incarcerated for life. If she can sell her story for a ton of money that's the upside of having to spend four years in jail.
Pam, it has been on EVERY news station, Every newspaper, Every talk Show... He is in jail for 16 years. he plead guilty and had a reduced sentence after an appeal. His DNA was ALL OVER HER BEDROOM.
Why is it impossible for most people to have differing opinions without all the absolute hatred and animosity being exhibited through grotesque descriptions and foul language? Or, is everyone just acting the part in order to draw attention to themselves and their posts? Some of you think she is guilty...so talk about it intelligently and present your thoughts. Some think she is innocent, and they should share likewise.
Sadly, there are many trolls on these forums. They like to take the "She's guilty!" tactic because their aim is to stir up trouble and argue, not to have a reasonable discussion. Being civil is the last thing they want.
LAZARO~~ So you think you have it ALL 'figured out?' Is it the 'poor and middle classes' that are in support of Amanda? Quite Frankly people ALL OVER THE WORLD support Amanda while at the same time mourn for the loss of Meredith. You are so impressed with yourself and your two dollar words. What did you do look them up on Google before you typed a sentence? If you believe what the Italian Prosecutor says then you must NOT be the brightest watt in ANY bulb.It is no secret that innocent people all over the world are judged by their ethnicity and to be an American Girl in Italy must have been an open invitation to those nasty policemen and prosecutors. The only justice is to have them jailed and fined. As far as the Kercher family there is a man in jail who had DNA all over their daughter's body if that is NOT enough of an answer I don't know what is. How many times in history has THREE people killled one young girl. It must have been VERY easy for her assailant (rapist/murderer) to attack her. A large man and a slim college girl. How easy for him.
How horribly sad. One young woman robbed of her life in a ghastly way, another young woman losing 4 years of her life in prison and the rest of it demolished because of the sick and pathetic judgements of the people on this blog who choose to ignore the actual evidence and spew their venom. One would think that in this country that was built on the premise of "innocent until proven guilty" compassion would be the first emotion to come forth. Amanda was not found guilty because of evidence - she was found guilty because she was tried on the basis of the overactive imagination of the prosecutor and the filth and innuendo attached to her by the Italian media.
What is really disgusting is that somehow the horror she and the victim experienced has to be turned into some political garbage of name calling and total disrespect of others opinions. I cannot think of a nice way to address such hate filled, vile and pathetic human beings. You are frightening because you are simply irrational entities pouring your anger out on a world that doesn't deserve your hate. God help you.
Congrats to Amanda and the young Italian man who was freed with her. And condolences to Meredith's family. I believe the real killer is behind bars and that justice will never fully be served until he retracts his implications and serves his full sentence as it was originally set before the plea bargain. At least Amanda can take the ability to fluently speak Italian away from all this...