Featured Image Credit: Franco Origlia/Getty Images/Hulu
Topics: True Crime, Disney, TV And Film, US News, UK News
Madison Burgess
Topics: True Crime, Disney, TV And Film, US News, UK News
Meredith Kercher's family lawyer has released a statement condemning a new true crime miniseries about the student's tragic death in 2007.
For those unfamiliar with the harrowing story, Meredith was a British student on exchange from the University of Leeds in Perugia, Italy.
She was murdered and died aged just 21, found deceased on the floor of the room she shared with American student Amanda Knox, then 20, as well as two other Italian women.
At the time, Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, as well as Italian native Ruby Guede, were initially convicted of her murder.
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However, after Knox spent almost four years in jail for a crime she claimed she was innocent of, she and Sollecito had their conviction aquashed and were freed in 2001.
They were later convicted again in a retrial in 2014, before being acquitted by Italy's Supreme Court in 2015.
Meanwhile, Guede served 13 years of a 16-year sentence for the murder, and was released in 2021.
And now, 38-year-old Knox has has executive-produced a new TV series based on her memoir, called The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox.
The biographical drama, which stars stars Grace Van Patten as Knox, debuted its first two episodes on August 20, on Hulu in the US and Disney+ in the UK.
However, the Kercher family's lawyer has since issued a statement hitting out at the new show for dramatising the tragedy, as per The Mirror.
Attorney Francesco Maresca told the publication: "The important thing is that Amanda Knox clearly wants this case to continue. It would be nice and dignified to watch a program or TV show where everything is reconstructed, remembering the life and smile of poor Meredith."
He added: "Instead, once again, we have to witness an attempt to reshuffle the cards, and where the trailer states, ‘Amanda fights tirelessly to prove her innocence and regain her freedom’. Once again, the focus is on Knox.”
And it's not the first time Knox has faced backlash for this particular decision, as Meredith's sister has also previously made her thoughts clear.
When filming first began for the show in November last year, Stephanie Kercher told The Guardian: “Meredith will always be remembered for her own fight for life, and yet in her absence, her love and personality continues to shine. We will forever feel this indescribable void but we live by Meredith’s standards with dignity.”
She added: "Our family has been through so much and it is difficult to understand how this serves any purpose."
Knox has been vocal about her struggles over the years following her wrongful conviction and has also released two memoirs - Waiting to Be Heard: A Memoir in 2013, and Free: My Search For Meaning in March of this year.
In 2016, a Netflix documentary called Amanda Knox was released on the case featuring interviews with Knox talking about her story.
Tyla has contacted Disney+ and a representative for Amanda Knox for comment.