Last year, American student, Amanda Knox was convicted of the brutal murder and sexual assault of her British roommate, Meredith Kercher.  The killing took place in the apartment the two young women shared in Pergugia, Italy, in 2007. It was an event that literally divided continents - Americans tended to believe Amanda innocent; while Europeans thought her guilty.  The paparzzi dubbed the 23-year-old, “Foxy Knoxy”, while the prosecution described her as a sex-mad, drug-addled psycho, all of which detracted from the horror of the crime and complexities of the case.

Now the first book about Knox’s time behind bars has been published. Passegiando con Amanda (Walking with Amanda) is written by Florisbela Inocencio de Jesus, a 58-year-old Brazilian, who befriended Knox in the Capanne women’s jail
in Umbria.  The UK’s Daily Telegraph has the details:

“The door opened and in walked this young girl, about 20 years old, blue eyes, fresh-faced – in fact so fresh-faced that it looked like she had just washed.
“She greeted everyone with a timid smile, looked around the room and sat down in a corner by herself. I was perplexed by the fact that no-one returned her greeting, ignoring her completely.”
Knox was initially envied by many of the female prisoners for her good looks and celebrity – through television, radio and newspapers, inmates were well aware of the huge interest the trial was attracting.
Fellow prisoners saw her as a “cold dominatrix”, gossiping about how the prosecution described her as a “she-devil focused on sex, drugs and alcohol, living life on the edge”.
She was also resented for perks she received, including special visitation hours for her family, who for months conducted a gruelling commute between the west coast of the US and Italy.
But the prisoners’ attitude changed after she was convicted of Kercher’s murder in December – Knox was now accepted, welcomed even.

Knox will next come under media scrutiny when she appears in court on Friday, charged with slandering Italian police.  This will be the dress rehearsal for next month’s court appearance, when Knox will appeal her sentence on 24th November.

Next month, will see the publication of Take Me With You, a book on Knox by Italian politician, Rocco Girlanda, who visited her prison.

But the media circus doesn’t stop here, as there is the possibility of a movie, to be directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring Colin Firth,  based on Angel face: The True Story of Student Killer Amanda Knox by Barbie Latza Nadeau, who has said: 

“You have sex, drugs, violence and lies – it’s perfect for the reality TV culture in which we live. Both the victim and the suspects are attractive, intelligent people. American parents see their own daughters in Amanda Knox, while British parents see their daughters in Meredith Kercher. And even after so much evidence has come out, it is still a mystery. No one really knows what happened that night.”