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[시애틀=AP / KNS 뉴스통신]  3일(현지시간) 이탈리아 페루자에서 열린 항소심에서 무죄 판결을 받고 미국으로 귀향한 아만다 녹스(24)는 귀국 즉시 시애틀 공항에서 열린 기자회견에서 기쁨의 눈물을 흘리며 지난 4년 동안의 투옥 기간에 자신을 지지해 준 모든 사람들에게 감사를 표명했다.  아만다의 가족들은 그녀가 겪었던 시련의 충격에서 회복되어 정상적인 컨디션을 회복할 때까지 당분간 조용히 지낸 후에 워싱턴 대학에 복학할 예정이라고 밝혔다.

아만다는 2007년 남자 친구 라파엘레 솔레시토(27), 또 다른 친구 루디 구에데(23)와 함께 자신의 룸메이트였던 영국 유학생 메레디스 캐처에게 집단 성관계를 강요했고, 메레디스가 거부하자 살해했다는 혐의로 1심에서 26년 형을 선고받았다.  아만다의 삶을 극적으로 반전시킨 월요일의 무죄 평결은, 배심원 8명이 11시간의 숙고 끝에 수사 당국의 DNA 증거 자료에 오류가 있다는 점을 인정하면서 전원 일치로 이루어졌다.  살인 흉기로 사용되었다고 보여지는 부엌칼 손잡이에서 발견된 DNA는, 살인사건 발생 후 46일 만에 현장에서 수거된 것으로서 오염 가능성의 여부가 의혹을 제시했고, 또한 살해 동기의 불분명함과 증인의 증언이 엇갈렸다는 점 역시 무죄 평결을 이끌어 낸 중요한 요소였다.

사건은 향후 이탈리아 대법원에서 재고될 것이며, 만약 무죄 평결이 뒤집힐 경우에는 담당 검사가 아만다를 이탈리아로 소환할 수 있지만, 공식적인 소환 요청 여부는 이탈리아 정부의 결정에 달려 있다.  전 세계의 언론들은 월요일의 배심원 평결을 생중계하는 등 높은 관심을 보였고, 이 사건은 영화 ‘아만다 녹스:머더 온 트라이얼 인 이털리(Amada Knox: Murder On Trial In Italy)'로도 제작되어 주목을 끌었다.

 

▲ (사진제공=AP통신)

(영문기사 원문)

After 4-year ordeal, a Seattle homecoming for Knox

SEATTLE (AP) — Amanda Knox returned to her hometown of Seattle and was
as overcome with emotion as she was a day earlier in Italy, when she was acquitted
on murder charges after four years in prison. "Thank you for being there for me,"
she tearfully told her supporters in front of a crowd of international reporters.
"I'm really overwhelmed right now," she said at a news conference late Tuesday
afternoon minutes after she was escorted off a British Airways flight out of London.

The 24-year-old's life turned around dramatically Monday when an Italian appeals court
threw out her conviction in the sexual assault and fatal stabbing of her British roommate.
On Tuesday, photos of Knox crying in the courtroom after the verdict was read appeared
on the front pages of newspapers in Italy, the U.S., Britain and around the world.

Knox's father, Curt, later spoke to reporters outside his house, 　　　　where there was
a small welcome-home party but no sign of his daughter. He wouldn't say 　　　　where
she was.  He said Amanda would like to return to the University of Washington
at some point to finish her degree, but for now, "The focus simply is Amanda's
well-being and getting her reassociated with just being a regular person again."

Knox was studying abroad in Perugia when Kercher was killed in 2007.
Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini expressed disbelief at the innocent verdicts of Knox
and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito. Mignini maintains that Knox, Sollecito
and another man killed Kercher during a lurid, drug-fueled sex game.

Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison and Sollecito, an Italian, received 25,
but the prosecution's case was blown apart by a DNA review 　　　ordered during
the appeals trial that discredited crucial genetic evidence.  Prosecutors maintain that
Knox's DNA was found on the handle of a kitchen knife believed to be the murder
weapon, and that Kercher's DNA was found on the blade. They said Sollecito's DNA
was on the clasp of Kercher's bra as part of a mix of evidence that also included
the victim's genetic profile.

But an independent review — 　　　ordered at the request of the defense — found that
police conducting the investigation had made glaring errors. The two experts said
below-standard testing and possible contamination raised doubts over the attribution
of DNA traces, both on the blade and on the bra clasp, which was collected 　　　from
the crime scene 46 days after the murder.

The review was crucial to throwing out the convictions because no motive has
emerged and witness testimony was contradictory.  The highest court will determine
whether any procedures were violated. The hearing generally takes one day
in Rome, and defendants are not required to attend.  If the highest court overturns
the acquittal, prosecutors would be free to request Knox's extradition. It would be
up to the government to decide whether to make the formal extradition request.