THE MURDER OF MEREDITH KERCHER
All Saint’s Day would end with the tragic death of Meredith Kercher, an exchange student from Leeds University in the United Kingdom. Meredith, a London native, dreamed of a year abroad and planned to follow her father’s footsteps and become a writer. She had been in Perugia approximately 45 days.A year in Italy was an eagerly awaited dream for this young, dark-haired beauty, but those hopes were dashed when she had the misfortune of walking in on a burglary-in-progress at the apartment she shared with three young women. It was rent day and the thief was looking for cash and technology. Rudy Guede was already in her apartment, using the toilet in the front bathroom, when she arrived. He surprised Meredith in her tiny bedroom, trapping her, and during the struggle he savagely stabbed her in the throat.
As she fought for her life the valiant young woman was no match for the street tough, however the thug could not escape science, his was the only DNA found on her body and personal effects. But in a tragic twist, Meredith’s innocent friends, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, along with Amanda’s employer, Patrick Lumumba, were also blamed for her murder; police tied the students to the crime scene with two miniscule and tainted DNA samples that were thrown out by a higher court in 2011. And for Patrick, Amanda’s coerced statement stemming from her illegal interrogation at the hands of the Perugian police; Patrick was fortunately released after two weeks and Guede was substituted in his place in an act that defied common sense. By the time police released Lumumba, they knew that DNA evidence did not support the Sex Game Gone Wrong theory advanced by Public Minister Giuliano Mignini.
Today Guede is serving the last few years in his reduced sentence. Amanda and Raffaele are free after spending four years in prison for a crime they did not commit, but they have a tenuous hold on that freedom because the Italian Supreme Court (ISC) returned the case to the appeal level in 2013; their case will have to be retried at the appellate level and then set back to the ISC. Meredith’s family is still searching for the truth and no wonder…
Meredith Kercher, 21, hails from Coulsdon, South London, UK. She was the beloved youngest daughter of John and Arline Kercher, who were divorced at the time of her death, and the baby sister to John Jr., Stephanie and Lyle. Meredith was a delightful, witty and fashionable young woman who was in her junior year at Leeds University when she left for Perugia, Italy in the fall of 2007.
The young Briton lived just outside Perugia’s medieval walls on a picturesque hillside with three young women. Amanda Knox, from the United States, was an exchange student, like herself, and they lived with two young Italian professionals, Filomena Romanelli and Laura Mezetti, who both worked for lawyers in Perugia. The four lived in the top floor apartment of a converted farmhouse at the edge of a wild garden that dropped into a ravine crisscrossed with a trail system as old as Italy itself. The villa overlooked the Tiber River valley below and Meredith had a spectacular view from her bedroom window, her family was duly impressed. Downstairs were four young Italian men and Meredith had been dating Giacomo Silenzi in the weeks prior to her murder.
The lively house was a source of amusement to the apartment dwellers in the complex just across the street, between the antics of the young adults and the panorama; the residents had the best show in town.
Meredith had taken a class in Italian at the University of Foreigners when she first arrived, then transferred to the University of Perugia to continue her European Studies. She was a thoughtful and studious young woman who took the opportunity offered by the Erasmus Programme seriously. But she also had a lighter side, along with classes, Meredith was enjoying the Perugian nightlife with her English girlfriends; the young women were often seen clubbing in a happy, giggling group. Meredith also found time to introduce her American roommate, Amanda, to Perugia and the two often shopped together, for household necessities as well as for pleasure. They attended Perugia’s famed Chocolate Festival where Amanda had assisted in picking out a box of chocolates for her father. She and Amanda had also gone to a classical music concert where Amanda had met her boyfriend. Meredith was very popular amongst all of her friends.
On Halloween, October 31, 2007, Meredith went out with her British girlfriends, first to a party and then club-hopping, the group did not return home until nearly 4am on November 1st, All Saint’s Day. Meredith had gone as a vampire and posing with friends at the disco were the last memories captured of this sweet and friendly young woman. She slept in and awoke to find Amanda and her boyfriend, Raffaele, making lunch, they invited her to join them but she declined and went to take a shower. Afterward they chatted while she put in a load of laundry, then she drew a fake tattoo on Amanda’s arm and, late in the afternoon, left for a dinner party at the apartment of Robin Butterworth and Amy Frost.
Meredith, Robin, Amy and their friend Sophie Purton shared a pizza and movie, but she was tired and decided to go home about 8:30pm. The whole group was tired and ready for a relaxing weekend, All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day are a national holiday in Italy. Meredith borrowed a book from Robin then she and Sophie left to return to their respective apartments. Everyone was looking forward to an early night, plus Meredith would have the apartment to herself; all of her roommates were gone. Amanda and Filomena were spending the night with their respective boyfriends and Laura had left for Rome to spend the holiday with her parents.
Meredith was no doubt pleased to have some private time; she was planning to do some homework, laundry and then get some rest. She would be leaving for London a few days later to celebrate her mother’s birthday and wanted to have things in order before going. Meredith was devoted to her mother and looked forward to giving her an opera calendar as a birthday present; she was excited to see her family and looking forward to telling of her adventures in Perugia.
Guede, by all accounts, was a personable, lively child but hard to control, from a young age Guede learned to fend for himself. He was often seen wandering the streets when his father locked him out and once a teacher intervened because he came to school poorly dressed for the cold winder.
By his teens he literally had The Village trying to raise him after suffering through a chaotic childhood, at one point the wealthy Paolo Caporali family took him in. He had met Caporali’s son playing basketball and they were impressed with his athletic prowess and friendly demeanor, so they informally “adopted” him about age 16. They provided an education but Guede would not attend school or work with a tutor and he often lied about what he was doing. He had problems with memorization and was frustrated with the educational experience. One member of the family remarked that he didn’t seem “to know right from wrong” and “was afraid of the dark,” but thought of him as a “sweet and shy boy.”
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